ajm7719

"10 Minute Misconduct"

Philadelphia, PA • United States • 21 Years Old • Male

Friday Fly By

Another up and down week for the Orange and Black. On Tuesday night they looked great defensively and in net against a very good Lightning squad and came out with a 2-1 W, thanks to Tom Sestito. Last night they lost a tough shootout to the Florida Panthers. It looked like they might have been able to win the game in OT but failed to capitalize on any of their chances.

WANTED: Offensive Production

The Flyers offense this year has been a shell of its former self from last season. They are averaging 2 goals a game and have only scored more than 2 goals TWICE all season. While they have been proving they can play a very defensive game and hold other teams at bay they still need to pick up the scoring to win games, especially these close ones.

Claude Giroux has started to re-emerge this week finding the net last Saturday vs. Carolina and picking up 3 assists in his last 3 games. It is not enough for just Giroux to step up especially with Simmonds still out with concussion issues. Schenn and Couturier will need to drastically ramp up their games still. If neither one of them wants to become trade bait then their names will need to begin to appear on the scoresheet. Another player needing to step up is Jakub Voracek. After signing a big, multi-year deal in the offseason he has been nothing short of disappointing this season. He hasn't produced on offense and many games he has been a ghost. If this play keeps up he may be on Homer's list to be shipped out on April 3rd. The Flyers best forward so far has been Matt Read. He is showing flashes of brilliance every game, whether it be on defense or scoring goals. Read is proving last season was no fluke for him.

But Defense Isn't Supposed to Score?

With this Flyers team searching everywhere for goals on offense it has been the defense chipping in and collecting points. Coburn, Timmonen, Foster, Gervais and Schenn have all scored a goal this season. This is critical for the Flyers to have any success this season. While it is a sign that the forwards are struggling, it is a positive overall. Once the forwards can finally begin to click, this team can turn into a lethal one given the goaltending and defensive responsibility remains the same.

Weekend Predictions

2/9: Flyers-4 Hurricanes-1


From the Box,
Alex