Photo Credit: Shayla Rice
The Flyers losing streak has reached 10 games, where they are 0-8-2 in their last 10. They have also been outscored 46 to 18 over a span of these losses, and it’s something not to be proud about. The Flyers have yet again another 10 game losing streak, and it’s first since the 2017-18 season. This is just something to not be proud of by any means.
Unfortunately, as stated above the Flyers have been in this territory before with enduring a 10 game losing streak, and they are hoping that history could repeat their fate. In 2007-08, the Flyers went 0-5-5 at one point, and they made a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Moreover, in 2017-18 the Flyers went 0-7-3, while finishing with a 98 point season, this earning a playoff spot. How did the Flyers get here?
Bad puck support
Unfortunately, the Flyers are turning to puck over way too much on breakouts. The forwards do not support the defense and vice versa the defense does not support the forwards transitioning up the ice. This leads to more attack time, and more time with the possession of the puck for the opposition.
Bad puck support is also contributing to more turnovers, and the puck appears to be going into crowded areas along the wall inadvertently, thus the Flyers are losing those 1-on-1 battles along the walls.
Hot Potato
The puck appears to be like a hot potato for the Flyers. When a player gets it on their stick, they hurry up and try to pass it, thus leading to turnovers has the passes aren’t crisp tape to tape.
“You could see the frustration level if things go wrong. You have to want the puck on your stick.” – Mike Yeo said following the Devils game
The Flyers have yielded 10 goals in the Mike Yeo era, and have scored at a rate of 2.5 goals per game. They have to want the puck and take it up the ice confidently. This is a fragile bunch right now, and the smallest mistake is turning into a large mistake, or multiple mistakes for that matter. There is just a lack of confidence within this fragile team right now.
Bad Passing/Breakouts
The Flyers are having trouble passing tape to tape. There are many reasons for this, but none more most notably than bad breakouts. The Flyers are having trouble making clean passes, thus it’s exploiting bad breakouts. The defense really misses a healthy Ryan Ellis here, as he is an effective puck moving defenseman, however, there are no excuses to be made here.
In all, the Flyers defense is receiving bad puck support from their forwards, and vice versa. For instance, under Head Coach Alain Vigneault’s final days as coach of the Flyers. Forwards Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes exploded out of their own zone, while Scott Laughton won a puck battle but couldn’t make an effective pass. The forwards should have supported Laughton with making simple passes, but they left him out to dry, thus the opposition forced a turnover that ended in the back of the net. Vigneault said Laughton needed to make a better play to spring the forwards, but Hayes and Konecny got off scott free of criticism. This is what is happening to the Flyers, and it won’t get better unless there is some sort of system change.
In this clip below the forwards did not support Rasmus Ristolainen so he took his man which was the puck carrier. Actually he did what he was supposed to, but the forwards did not support the defenseman, thus leading to a 3-on-2 rush the other way practically. Simply put, they need to support each other more.
Bad Defensive Coverages
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers in the defensive zones are also a issue, and it’s leaving the defensemen and goaltenders in bad positions. It appears the Flyers opposition can sense the extra pass, thus picking off the puck and taking it the other way for an odd man rush. The Flyers defensively as a unit are making too many turnovers, and it’s starts with the number one defenseman in Ivan Provorov. He is just committing turnover after turnover, leaving himself in a vulnerable position defensively.
It appears at times the Flyers defense are not communicating, leaving players wide open in the slot time after time. The Flyers suffocate back to their goaltenders, leaving snipers or average players with too much space to create and wide up with a blast, that often finds twine more often than not.
If a player gives too much space to create it is a recipe for disaster, but that’s exactly what it transpiring with this group. This team reminds many of last season where one thing goes wrong and it snowballs from there, and it has been starting with bad defensive coverages from everyone, to include the forwards.
It’s time to stop making excuses. The Flyers are just not a good hockey team right now. The Flyers have yielded 10 goals during the first two games of the Mike Yeo era, and they scored at a rate of 2.5 goals per game. It only took two games for the Flyers to get shut out during the Yeo era, thus leading to their fourth time being shutout this season. It can’t get much worse.
I think it’s time for a full rebuild after this season concludes. This team is stuck in mediocrity, and it pains me to write this. Hopefully they prove me wrong, but the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have surpassed the Flyers in terms of their rebuild. Maybe it’s time the Flyers rip down the house entirely, except Carter Hart.
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i argee this is a team that is lacking confidence and trying to play for themselves not as a team things need to change quickly making some trades before the deadline is not going to change this team there is a lot of talent on this team need to play as a team and support each other and it will improve once they start winning again i wish they would give Danny Briere a chance to coach or possible GM position what do they have to lose at this point