Flyers Rising Up
Earlier this year I wrote a piece which posed the question 'What's Going On With Philly?' and this was one thing everyone in the city of brotherly love was pondering! To begin this season, the Philadelphia Flyers seemed to be in free fall with only one win from a possible nine games and sat 15th overall in the Eastern Conference- only the Buffalo Sabres seemed to be having a worse time. But since sacking head coach Peter Laviolette in October, new coach Craig Berube has reignited the competitive flames of Philly and currently they have surged up the table to now lie 8th overall in the East with a noteworthy 16 wins to their name and now an outside chance of a play-off appearance- now who would have predicted that?
But what has been the kick starter in this dramatic come back? Well the answer points to one man who initially was label as the key problem... Claude Giroux! Earlier this year the Flyers captain seemed to be going through an almighty crisis and not helped by an off season injury 'playing golf' he frankly couldn't have hit the net if he had bribed the opposing goalie to step aside and his low score of seven points from the first 15 games (all assists) read like a horror story- was this to be another EA Cover Curse?
Well since then it appears that the G-Man has gotten his groove back and he once again sits firmly onto of the Flyers point scoring list with 30 points but only 9 of those have been goals mind! Matt Read has been the teams top scorer with 10 goals and Jacob Voracek has impressed this season with 17 points and he has been one of their bright lights since arriving from Columbus in 2012!
Adding the experience of Mark Streit and Vincent Lecavalier has had a mixed effect because in the absence of veteran Flyer Chris Pronger, Streit along with Kimmo Timmonen has helped bring stability to the back line which was one leaking goals like crazy and their goals against tally currently sits 103- which is less than even the Capitals or the Blackhawks! Picked up from free agency after his release from Tampa Bay, Lecavalier has failed to become the goal machine that the Flyers were desperately needing and his 14 points so far aren't quite the stuff of a man on a $22 Million dollar contract! But in time he could become a key part of this franchise!
It would seem that with a bit of luck we will see the orange and white of Philadelphia in the play-offs again this year after absence previous, what a difference a year makes (a firing a coach does) and I will be paying close attention to this team because I really do hope the glory days of broad street do return soon! As commentator Al Michaels famously said at the end of the Miracle on Ice "Do You Believe in Miracles.... YES!!"
But what has been the kick starter in this dramatic come back? Well the answer points to one man who initially was label as the key problem... Claude Giroux! Earlier this year the Flyers captain seemed to be going through an almighty crisis and not helped by an off season injury 'playing golf' he frankly couldn't have hit the net if he had bribed the opposing goalie to step aside and his low score of seven points from the first 15 games (all assists) read like a horror story- was this to be another EA Cover Curse?
Well since then it appears that the G-Man has gotten his groove back and he once again sits firmly onto of the Flyers point scoring list with 30 points but only 9 of those have been goals mind! Matt Read has been the teams top scorer with 10 goals and Jacob Voracek has impressed this season with 17 points and he has been one of their bright lights since arriving from Columbus in 2012!
Adding the experience of Mark Streit and Vincent Lecavalier has had a mixed effect because in the absence of veteran Flyer Chris Pronger, Streit along with Kimmo Timmonen has helped bring stability to the back line which was one leaking goals like crazy and their goals against tally currently sits 103- which is less than even the Capitals or the Blackhawks! Picked up from free agency after his release from Tampa Bay, Lecavalier has failed to become the goal machine that the Flyers were desperately needing and his 14 points so far aren't quite the stuff of a man on a $22 Million dollar contract! But in time he could become a key part of this franchise!
It would seem that with a bit of luck we will see the orange and white of Philadelphia in the play-offs again this year after absence previous, what a difference a year makes (a firing a coach does) and I will be paying close attention to this team because I really do hope the glory days of broad street do return soon! As commentator Al Michaels famously said at the end of the Miracle on Ice "Do You Believe in Miracles.... YES!!"
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