Philadelphia Flyers are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders

The Philadelphia Flyers are surging and it’s time to start taking them seriously as a threat to win the Stanley Cup.

It’s time to believe the Philadelphia Flyers are legit Stanley Cup contenders. Here’s why it’s time to start believing in this hockey team. The Flyers are currently 9-1-0 in their last 10 games and are without a doubt the hottest team in the NHL and have passed multiple “make or break’ tests throughout the last two months.

Remember the stretch after the Western road trip where the Flyers went 3-1 against teams like the Capitals, Lightning, Bruins, and Blues? Or what about the three-game stretch that included a home and home against the Pittsburgh Penguins where they proceeded to gain three out of a potential four points, capped off with a home win versus Cup contenders in the Colorado Avalanche?

Still need more proof that this team is legit? OK sure, how about beating the division-leading Washington Capitals for the second time in a month on February 8th by a score of 7-2 and then once again on March 4th by a score of 5-2, giving them a season record of 3-0-1 against the vaunted Ovechkin lead Caps.

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But wait, there’s more. Since that 7-2 romp of the Caps, the Flyers are 12-2 and have scored three goals or more in every single game played. During this season-defining stretch, the Flyers have taken both games of three different sets of home and homes with sweeps over playoff bubble teams like the Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the New York Rangers, scoring four or more goals in every game.

As if you needed any more proof that this team is for real, let’s talk about their dominant play on home ice. At 25-5-4 the Flyers have the best home-ice record in the NHL and have not been 20 games over .500 at home since the 1986-87 season.

That season was the third year out of an outstanding stretch of play at home having gone 94-19-7 from 1984-85 to 1986-87. Two out of three of those years the Flyers ended up playing for the Stanley Cup.

With only four home losses coming since Thanksgiving, having gone 18-4 in that span, the Flyers have only given up over three goals in a game just three times at Wells Fargo Center. It’s also worth noting that since that wretched Western Conference road trip the Flyers have gone 19-5-1 with 12 of those wins having come at home, going 12-3.

What about road play you ask? Well although the team had been shaky on the road for most of the season I believe there had been certain factors that played into such poor play away from home.

You have the Western Canadian road trip which was right after coming home from Europe, then you have the road trip where Oskar Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, and finally, we have the vaunted Western road trip where the Flyers went 1-4 before coming back to the eastern time zone and losing to the Hurricanes in overtime.

Since their last road trip, the Flyers have gone 7-2-1 and have scored 3 or more goals in all 10 of those games. It’s worth noting that from here on out and including the playoffs the Flyers will only have to travel outside of the eastern time zone once when they travel to Dallas and Nashville.

This is significant because they hold a 13-6-2 away record while playing in the eastern time zone and won’t have to travel outside of it again until The Stanley Cup Finals, if they make it that far of course.

If you’re still not convinced then let’s talk about the vaunted Metro division which was viewed by many before the season to be the toughest in hockey as it’s proven all year to be.

Well, guess what? The Flyers have gone 16-4-4 and as mentioned have gone 3-0-1 against the Caps, 3-0 against the Rangers, 3-0-1 against the Hurricanes, and 4-0 against the Blue Jackets, who are all playoff-caliber teams. For reference in how far this team has come, just last season they went 10-16-2 and did not record a victory over the Caps, Blue Jackets, or Hurricanes.

What’s helped turn this team into legit Stanley Cup contenders? Obviously, the hiring of potential GM of the year candidate Chuck Fletcher and his decision to hire one of the best coaches in all of hockey in Alain Vigneault certainly helped.

But when I think about this team the first word that comes to mind is depth. From top to bottom, the depth is there. Fletcher went out and acquired even more during the trade deadline to solidify this roster.

This team’s ability to be able to roll four lines on offense, with all four possessing the ability to control play in the offensive zone and put pucks to the back of the net makes them extremely dynamic offensively. With players like Scott Laughton, Tyler Pitlick, Michael Raffl, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and newly acquired Derek Grant, the Flyers have two legitimate bottom six lines to go along with two elite scoring lines which makes this team incredibly dangerous now and come playoffs.

Defensively, this team doesn’t get enough credit. The offensive numbers have been gaudy and there have only been three shutouts all season long. But just last year the Flyers were sitting 10th worst in the NHL, giving up 32.5 shots per game. This season, they’re giving up a league-low 28.6 per game.

It’s also worth noting that this team has given up only 166 high danger scoring chances, with the league average being 198. That’s pretty significant as it shows the entire team has bought into Vigneault’s responsible defensive style system.

Lastly but certainly not least is the goaltending. The tandem of phenom goaltender Carter Hart and veteran Brian Elliott has been solid for most of the season with the two really rounding into from of late as Hart has been getting the bulk of the home starts while Elliott has taken on most of the road starts. Of the 166 previously mentioned high danger scoring chances against, only 27 have gotten passed Flyer goaltending.

Combined, Carter Hart and Brian Elliot have contributed for 10.2 goaltending point shares. According to Hockey Reference, goaltending point shares are the estimated number of points contributed by a player due to his play in goal. Which means to say without the play of Elliott and Hart the Flyers could very well be on the playoff bubble with only 79 points instead of battling for first with 89.

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I haven’t even brought up special teams play in which the Flyers have vastly improved from last season’s ranks. Or how the Flyers have persevered through numerous counts of adversity this season, one of which being a key teammate being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. This team is for real and they’re ready to win, this is no fluke ladies and gentleman. The Flyers are in fact legitimate Stanley Cup contenders!

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