The Philadelphia Flyers have a week of important games ahead of them late in February. After the Flyers lost in overtime last week to the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as an abysmal loss to the New Jersey Devils in the MetLife Stadium Series game this past weekend, they now have to contend with both the Devils and the New York Islanders as both teams are closing in on the Flyers’ playoff spot. The Flyers were recently very close to eclipsing the New York Rangers for the number one spot in the Metropolitan Division after they passed the Carolina Hurricanes for the number two spot, but losing a few games has put them six points behind the Hurricanes and twelve points behind the Rangers. The three games this week will allow the Flyers to tie the Hurricanes should they rally from their two-game losing streak to beat the Chicago Blackhawks, the Rangers, and their old rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The first order of business needed to snap the losing streak is to beat the Blackhawks for a much needed two points. The Blackhawks are again having a terrible season. They have gone 15-38-3 placing them last in the league once again. They are coming off a loss on Monday to the Hurricanes, but they did recently receive their young super star, Connor Bedard, back from IR (injury reserve) due to his jaw injury. On paper, everything should go the Flyers’ way because they appear to be the much better team from their standings alone. Factor in that the Flyers’ road record this season so far is 15-8-5 while the Blackhawks’ home record this season is 11-14-2, then the odds really shift into the Flyers’ favor.
There are a few players the Flyers need to watch in order to come out with a successful road victory. Connor Bedard is obviously one of those players as he has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in the three games since returning from IR. The Blackhawks’ assist leader, Philipp Kurashev, has 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in his last five games and their goal leader, Jason Dickinson 2 points (2 goals) in his last five games. He boosts a record of 17 points in the 27 home games this season along with a +14 rating. The last player on the list is Bedard’s linemate, Nick Foligno. In his last five games, Foligno has six points (3 goals, 3 assists). Unless the Flyers have Nic Deslaurieres in their lineup, they should avoid getting into a fight with Foligno. Foligno has proven to be very protective of Bedard and will likely be extra vigilant since Bedard has just come back from injury.
The second stop on catching up to the Hurricanes and putting some further distance between the Devils and Islanders is the Rangers. Before the Flyers play the Rangers on Saturday, the Rangers could inadvertently help the Flyers by beating the Devils on Thursday. Hopefully things, in that regard, unfold in the Flyers’ favor before Saturday. The Flyers and the Rangers have only faced each other one time this season and the Flyers recorded the loss. Without a doubt, winning against the Rangers is going to be an uphill battle. Going into Thursday’s game against the Devils, the Rangers are riding an eight-game win streak. Should the Devils lose, it will be up to the Flyers to take the steam out of the Rangers’ engine by snapping their win streak and claiming two points in the standings.
Currently, the Rangers have an impressive 17-9-3 road record so far this season while the Flyers struggle a bit more at home this season with their record being 14-12-2. The goalie tandem of Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick will be challenging for the Flyers to solve regardless of who gets the start. Flyers will have to be extra vigilant against the Rangers’ leader in both goals and points, Artemi Panarin. In his last five games, Panarin has 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists), which has raised his point total to 75 for the season so far, but he is far from the only one the Flyers will have to be cautious against. Old hats such as Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad are always dangerous regardless of what their points streak is currently like. Adam Fox is the other player on the watchlist for the Flyers as he has 9 points (1 goals, 8 assists) in his last five games. Fox quarterbacks the 1st powerplay unit for the Rangers that has Kreider, Panarin and Zibanejad on it.
The final piece needed, that would also be endlessly gratifying to Flyers fans, is to beat the Pittsburg Penguins for the third time this season. As of right now, the Penguins are 7th in the Metro and nine points behind the Flyers in the standings. Out of their last five games, they have only won one of the five. Like the Blackhawks, on paper the Flyers are the better team, but anything can happen in a Flyers-Penguins game. Those games always feel like a playoff game from how hard both teams play against each other.
The Penguins’ current point leaders are Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson. Crosby is always dangerous regardless of how the rest of the team is doing. He has 55 points (31 goals, 24 assists) so far this season with three points (3 goals) in his last five games. Karlsson has proven to be an effective piece for the Penguins in his 1st season with the team as they attempt to get back on a winning track with new management. In his last five games, he has 3 points (3 assists). Both longtime Penguins, Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel have four points each in their last five. Guentzel’s name has been appearing more frequently in trade discussions and mocks as the trade deadline for the NHL looms closer.
Neither of the three teams the Flyers face this week have as strong of a penalty kill. The Flyers have used their PK units to their advantage continuously this season to great success by scoring 13 shorthanded goals and sit 2nd (86.4%) in the NHL for PK. Neither powerplay nor penalty kill are much to be feared from the Blackhawks. The Flyers can take full advantage of either special team opportunity awarded to them during the course of their game. The Flyers will have to be careful should the Rangers receive a powerplay during their game. Their powerplay is currently ranked 5th in the league (26.0%) and their powerplay was a big reason why they managed to come back to win from a deficit against the Islanders in the MetLife Stadium Series this past weekend. Their penalty kill has proven to be the most effective out of the teams the Flyers play this week as it ranks 7th (82.3%) in the league. The Penguins powerplay (30th) is one rank above the Flyers (31st) and their penalty kill ranks 8th (82.1%) in the league.
Beyond the other teams, the Flyers need to get a few things right on the ice in order to be successful. Since being named Captain, Sean Couturier has gone without a point. The Flyers are going to need some points from their new captain in order to get back on track while still having major contributions from their lead point scorer (in both goals and assists) and new alternate captain, Travis Konecny. Konecny has tallied 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) and one Gordie Howe hat trick in his last five games. Konecny is having another great season under Head Coach John Tortorella and General Manager Danny Briere.
Looking down the lineup, the Flyers are also going to need Joel Farabee to contribute more steadily again. Farabee is 2nd in points for the Flyers this season and had a monstrous 15-point month in January, but he has recently only tallied 1 point (1 assist) in his last five games. Farabee is having the best year of his career so far. He has been moved around the lineup and helped boost whichever players are around him. If Farabee can tally some more points this week, he’ll be a major reason why the Flyers close the gap between themselves and Hurricanes.
All in all, the Flyers need to win tonight against the Blackhawks to get started. The game on Saturday against the Rangers will be difficult, but not insurmountable. The Flyers have previously defeated the Winnipeg Jets, the Vancouver Canucks, the Florida Panthers, the Vegas Golden Knights, and others that are riding high in the standings across the league. The Rangers are no different than any of the others. In order for this to happen though, the Flyers need contributions from Couturier and Farabee. Having both of those players on track for points will greatly help the team, especially when the two share the line with Konecny.
Stats courtesy of Statmuse.
Photos courtesy of the NHL and the Philadelphia Flyers.
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