The Flyers had a marvelous weekend, so much so it was pretty historic. Not only did the Flyers dominate the Buffalo Sabres with back to back shutouts, but the Flyers Penalty Killing Unit killed off six power plays against the league’s best power play unit in the Sabres. However, the historic portion was Head Coach Alain Vigneault gathering his 700th NHL coaching victory.
Vigneault has made some weird lineup decisions within the past few weeks in terms of benching David Kaše for Mark Friedman in Lake Tahoe against the Boston Bruins, and it just so happened that Friedman didn’t play the Right-Wing position since he was 10-years-old before that game. Moreover, pairing two former defensemen on the same line (Mark Friedman and Samuel Morin) was just a weird looking line. However, Vigneault should be trusted with these type of decisions as he is right almost 100% of the time, hence always choosing the right netminders to start a game.
Simply put, Vigneault is a good coach, and Flyers fans should be thankful for him. He has tallied 52 wins as coach of the Flyers, and has a 52-25-10 record during his short tenure with the orange and black.
Vigneault commands the most from his players, and knows how to push them to become better players. For instance, James van Riemsdyk had a rocky 2019-20 season as he adjusted to Vigneault’s coaching styles, but van Riemsdyk is on a tear this season while accumulating 25 points in 18 games played, “I’m working on that one thing I don’t have yet and I’m going to continue to work real hard for it,” Vigneault said following his 700th NHL coaching victory yesterday.
The way Vigneault had his team overcome long-term injuries and ailments to Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom in just his first season as Flyers Head Coach it definitely SHOULD give fans hope for the future. It was not an easy task to do, as both players fill a top nine role. Vigneault got his team to believe in themselves, and that they could conquer whatever hurdles came their way, and this season turning out to be no different.
