Don't look now but Rich Tocchet and the Flyers have rediscovered their winning ways.
There is no point in trying to figure this out.
There is no point in trying to put a name on it, trying to decide whether it is enough to call the Philadelphia Flyers the surprise team of the NHL season’s first two months. There is such a thing as paralysis by analysis, and there is such a thing as getting results from playing the best you can—which the Flyers are doing.
Or, as that noted philosopher Rick Tocchet puts it, “We’re, like, surfing right now. We’re riding a wave. I’d like to think we’ve got a lot of wave left.”
Coach Paul Holmgren, who spent the preseason worrying about offense, found himself, in the first week of December, coaching a club third in goals scored (110) behind the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames.
The Flyers, who missed the playoffs last season, opened the final month of 1990 second in the Patrick Division and third in the overall standings.
This after losing their top two goalies, Ron Hextall and Ken Wregget, to injury. So what happens next? Pete Peeters, who went 1-13-5 last season, challenges for the NHL lead in save percentage.
Peeters has never seemed more comfortable in his stance. His lateral movement, an eternal source of criticism, has been extremely good. Working with Aeroflex executive Jeff Russell, Peeters helped design the lightweight pads he began wearing this season, and the improvement has been unmistakable. In a 12-game stretch that began Nov. 8, Peeters went 7-2-1 with two no-decisions; and in 686 minutes played, he allowed just 20 goals—compiling a 1.75 goals-against average and a. 937 save percentage.
You want more? They lose roughly half their power play with the injuries to Tim Kerr (knee) and Jiri Latal (shoulder) plus the continued back trouble of Mark Howe. So naturally, the power play opens December third in the league overall and tops in the league on the road.
More still? Defenseman Kerry Huffman walks out, Jeff Chychrun breaks his wrist, Howe is iffy from one period to the next. Naturally, the goals-against is third in the conference.
Of course. It makes sense.
“I felt, going into the season, if we could play well defensively we would be competitive in our division,” Holmgren said. “When you’re in a division like ours, the idea is to get to the playoffs. I don’t worry about where we are in the league, I worry about where we are in the division.”
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