Top 5 NHL teams benefitting the most from the break

3. Philadelphia Flyers

You might be surprised to see the Philadelphia Flyers on this list. And understandably so. After all, why in the world would a team who has just won nine of their last 10 games and has been one of the best teams in the NHL since the start of February want a break?

While that’s true, the Flyers are going to be fine even with a break taking them off the rails during an impressive run. Also, though they’ve been playing remarkably well as of late, they still have quite a few injuries.

James van Riemsdyk broke his hand during their win against the Washington Capitals on March 4. He’s been an important part of their team, as he’s posted 19 goals and 40 points in 66 games as a top-nine forward. JVR ranks fifth among Flyers forwards in 5v5 points per hour and third in 5v5 goals per hour (min. 400 minutes).

Nate Thompson recently got injured as well, but he’d likely be able to return as well. In a small sample size, Thompson has given their bottom-six a bit of a boost and he’s a very capable penalty killer as well.

The wild card, though, is Nolan Patrick. Now, Patrick hasn’t played at all this season thanks to migraines. However, he recently started skating with the team again and the Flyers remain optimistic he could play this season. The Flyers already have outstanding forward depth. Adding Patrick into the mix would make them even better.