How about those Flyers? After winning three of their first four games, Philadelphia's setting itself up in a good position heading into a tougher stretch.
Of the many surprising developments we’ve seen at the start of the NHL regular season, the most shocking, in a positive respect, is the performance of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Sure, the sample size for them is only four games, but this is a franchise many (this writer included) pegged as one of the worst in the league this year. On paper, the Flyers are a dog’s breakfast of not-quite-elite veterans and not-quite-star youngsters.
In the highly competitive Metropolitan Division, they’ve stunned people by winning their first three games before dropping their first game Wednesday to the Florida Panthers.
We’re still extremely skeptical if the Flyers will win more games than they lose this season, but maybe there is more to this team than the sum of their parts.
Certainly, some of Philadelphia’s highest-paid players are doing their part to begin the year. Winger Travis Konecny leads the offense with four goals and six points in four games, while center Kevin Hayes has a half-dozen assists and winger James van Riemsdyk has three assists and five points.
On the back end, the Flyers are getting offense from Ivan Provorov (four assists) and Tony DeAngelo (four assists, five points). Starting goalie Carter Hart has a terrific .943 save percentage as well.
Getting boosts in all three key areas has made new coach John Tortorella’s life far easier, but the really tough part is yet to come.
To wit, in the Flyers’ next 13 games, not one of their opponents could be considered a pushover. After that, they get one game against Montreal, then an additional 10 games that include nine games against teams with very real playoff aspirations.
By the time Philly gets to their Dec. 11 game against Arizona, they may very well be buried in the Metro standings, and then the dreck of the lame-duck rest of the season will set it. If that’s how the season unfolds for them, it’s difficult to see ownership giving GM Chuck Fletcher another kick at the can in the 2023-24 campaign.
It’s not all bad news for the Flyers. Konecny and Provorov are still just 25 years old, and Hart is only 24. Defenseman Travis Sanheim, who just signed an eight-year, $50-million contract extension, is just 26. Center Morgan Frost, who has a pair of goals and three points this season, is 23. There’s talent in the system. And Philadelphia has got out to this hot start without the services of winger Cam Atkinson, who has yet to play a game this year.
You have to give Tortorella and the players credit for being focused and ready to start games and then have the spine to close them out.
But this is the key issue for the Flyers: after winning 75 percent of their first four games, Philly is currently fourth in the Metro, and all the teams below them in the division standings are only two points behind them.
Yes, Philadelphia has one game in hand on three Metro teams, and the qualifier that we’re still very early in the season has to be mentioned here. But this already-tight positioning in the Metro is a harbinger of what’s to come for the Flyers – and for any bubble team in the division.
Not only does Philadelphia have to be a better team than they were last year – an improvement that isn’t so hard, considering how brutal they were in 2021-22 – the Flyers have to be better than four other teams in the division. That’s what makes people so skeptical about Philly’s playoff chances. It’s not just about them – it’s about the bigger picture, and where they stand league-wise.
Flyers fans no doubt are a happy bunch at this point in the season. Let them enjoy it. The rest of the year may be a buzzkill for them.