Flyers playing well, but there are no playoff guarantees in rugged East
After a four-day holiday break, the Flyers are to resume practicing Tuesday morning in Voorhees, preparing for a challenging three-game trip that will have stops in St. Louis, San Jose and Anaheim.
After a four-day holiday break, the Flyers are to resume practicing Tuesday morning in Voorhees, preparing for a challenging three-game trip that will have stops in St. Louis, San Jose and Anaheim.
"Points," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said, "are at a premium."
"I always say that every game is important. It doesn't matter who you play, you've got to win those games" said Jake Voracek, whose 35 points lead the Flyers and place him tied for sixth in the NHL. "If you get 95 points, it should get you into the playoffs."
The Flyers (20-12-4) are on an 11-2-1 run and on pace for 100 points. But even if they reach that number, there are no playoff guarantees because Eastern Conference teams have been rolling.
The Flyers hold the last Eastern Conference wild-card spot; they are seven points ahead of Carolina and Tampa Bay, but they have played three more games than the Hurricanes and one more than the Lightning.
After the three-game road trip, the Flyers will play 23 of their remaining 43 games against teams from the powerful Metropolitan Division, which will probably have five of the eight Eastern Conference playoff qualifiers this season.
"They're four-point games," captain Claude Giroux said.
The Flyers need to get their power-play going. The power play, among the NHL's elite for most of the season, is 0 for 15 in the last six games.
There is a chance winger Matt Read, center Sean Couturier, and defenseman Mark Streit will make the road trip and be available in St. Louis on Wednesday.
Read, if ready, would be among the many options to replace the injured Michael Raffl on the top line, alongside Giroux and Voracek. (Travis Konecny, who is trying to end a 21-game goal-less streak, is another interesting option.)
Coach Dave Hakstol could move Brayden Schenn from second-line center to top-line left wing. But the Flyers have flourished with Schenn in the middle - compiling an 11-2-1 record - so Hakstol might be leery to move him out of the center spot.
If Schenn stays as the second-line center, Couturier, the team's best defensive forward, figures to be the third-line center.
Streit will bolster a defense that has produced more points (89) than any other in the NHL. He is tied with Shayne Gostisbehere for the most points (16) among Flyers defensemen.
Thee Flyers are tied for sixth in the NHL in goals scored (2.94 per game), 24th in goals allowed (2.92 per game), sixth on the power play (22 percent success rate), 13th on the penalty kill (82.1 percent) and 12th in faceoffs (50.4 percent). They are sixth in shots per game (31.3) and tied for seventh in the fewest shots allowed (28.9) per game.
Breakaways
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Flyers' season: They are second in the NHL with four shootouts wins. . . . Radko Gudas (plus-3), Michael Raffl (plus-3), Andrew MacDonald (plus-2), and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (plus-2) are the Flyers' only "plus" players. . . . Rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov is plus-8 over the last 14 games. . . . Former Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock is in his final season with the Blues.
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