Philadelphia Flyers Midseason Overview
By Santagata JJ
Philadelphia Flyers 2016-17 Midseason Overview (Top Offensive Players Producing, Weak Defense/Goaltending Disappoint)
Let’s play a little devil’s advocate here, Philadelphia Flyers rank second in goals for(77), as well second in the goals against (80). Can this team continue their scoring ways to make up for their lackluster defense and inability to keep the puck out of the net?
It’s a very interesting story. On one hand, Philadelphia has been exceeding many fans expectations early on. Then again, the offense has begun to dry up of late and the lack of goal scoring could become a concern if the Flyers can’t find the back of the net with a little more consistency.
Top Performers Producing
Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek – these players all share a common trend on this team. Each plays a pivotal leadership role on this team, all play major power play minutes, and all have 22 points on the season.
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Something the Philadelphia Flyers did not have last year was Voracek’s typical production (55 points last season). His numbers dipped with an embarrassingly low shot percentage (that led to an 11-goal campaign), but this year, Voracek has been producing and finding his way on the scoresheet each night. So far, he’s tallied 14 assists, 8 goals and has a team lead 84 shots on net.
Wayne Simmonds has been a consistent 50 point producer for years. Through 25 games, he has 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists). Simmonds is on pace to have one of the best campaigns of his career (on pace for 75 plus points, that’s if he plays all 81 games this season).
Lastly, Claude Giroux is getting back to the Giroux many hockey fans know. He is already on pace to surpass his 22 goals over 78 games in 2015-16 (on track for roughly 73 points total). If the Flyers hope to continue their early goal production, these three players will need to be a consistent presence on the scoresheet night in and night out.
Weak Defense & Subpar Goaltending
It’s inevitable, you cannot deny the fact that the Flyers defense is extremely weak along with their goaltending being at best mediocre. The Flyers blue line does not have one player that gives them that edge when facing top performers on opposing teams. Shayne Gostisbehere has started off very slow and has not looked like the Ghost many fell in love with less than a year ago.
But Ghost was never a great all-around defenseman – nor was he expected to be. His game has always been offensively driven so it will take some time for him to make a complete transition to the NHL level. Mark Streit and Michael Del Zotto are at best a number 5, maybe number 6 defensemen on many teams in the league. Well, on the Flyers roster, they are number 2, number 3 – and that just doesn’t work.
There is no need to even discuss Radko Gudas or Andrew McDonald, I will just leave it at that.
Steve Mason and Michael Neuvirth splitting time has also not worked out. It’s a common trend among a lot of NHL teams trying to play two goalies equally, when realistically it does not work. Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins (Rutherford just said that the two goalies are not working), Tampa Bay Lightning, the list goes on and on.
Mason has seen the majority of time in the crease this year. So far this season Mason is 7-8, with a 2.91 goals against average (GAA), and .899 save percentage (SV%). Michael Neuvirth is 4-2, posting a 3.54 GAA, and a .859 SV%. Nothing spectacular nor anything a team should feel confident in.
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There is no denying the fact that the Flyers seem to be playing better hockey this year. But with an average of 3.20 goals against per game, it is going to be difficult to outscore opponents on a consistent enough basis to pile up enough wins. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Philly continues to light the lamp, so it will be very interesting to see where this team stands come February. Until then, let’s see how this Philadelphia Flyers team holds up.