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It’s no secret that Flyers’ winger Joffrey Lupul is worth his weight in stunning imagry. In fact one particular image (left) is what earned him the nickname Saint Lupul for the Flyers organization. It came in a game 7 overtime winner against the Washington Capitals last season lifting the underdog orange and black further along in their incredible playoff run. Philadelphia though, ever the city to turn on a player when the chips are down, seems to want Lupul to move on to another team. Tonight against the Isles, Lupul showed everyone what he is capable of by scoring two clutch goals to keep the Flyers ahead of the pack in the Eastern race for home ice advantage.
Lupul has been mentioned in virtually every possible trade scenario coming from Flyers fans both at the trade deadline and this upcoming offseason. Many feel that his raise of nearly $2.00m is unwarranted. While he may not be the most consistent scorer in the NHL he is just as consistent as any other 50 point forward out there. He brings constant 20 goal seasons which isn’t all that bad for a former first round selection of the Anaheim Ducks. He now has 23 goals on the season and is 5th on the Flyers in scoring, but many feel that what he brings to the table is redundancy. In this league though there exists a fine line between redundancy and depth, and while he may not be taking the league by storm he does offer his own brand of excitement.
Tonight when the Flyers were down 2-0 going into the 3rd he suddenly sparked down the right side toward Islander goaltender Yann Danis. His shot fluttered on Danis’ off side and into the twine. The next to tally was Scott Hartnell from Jeff Carter, but leave it to Joffrey Lupul to come zooming in the same way he did on his original goal. This time he was faster and beat the defense so instead of an awkward shot he carried it in front of Danis. One beautiful move later and the Flyers had their first lead of the game. Danny Briere and Mike Richards would eventually carry the game in a shootout, but it was because of the efforts of Joffrey Lupul that this kind of comeback was even possible. It goes without saying that he earned the first star of the game nod.
The reason the Flyers depth is so scary is because should Richards, Carter, Briere, and Gagne all be cold guys like Hartnell, Knuble, Giroux, and Lupul are bound to be onto something. Almost every night someone is going to step up. That’s what offensive depth does for a team, and the Flyers are certainly happy to have it after traveling to the brink of 5th place in the east. Lupul nearly singlehandedly kept the Flyers above the surging Pens and Canes. Both Pittsburgh and Carolina would get wins tonight, but the Flyers have 2 games in hand on their state rivals and 3 in hand on the team Cam Ward has led right into the thick of it down the stretch.
And while Lupul has not produced the 0.8 points per game he did before getting absolutely crushed by his own teammate Derian Hatcher last season, he has been just as important to his team. Lupul will not get a goal every other game, but sometimes when they matter the puck seems to float so naturally off his stick. It’s not to insinuate that by some stretch of the imagination Lupul has the timely abilities of one Mike Richards, but all that this means is that sometimes it’s important to take a second look at what certain guys bring to an organization.
Lupul’s future with the Flyers still remains a mystery, but his teammates love him even if the fans teeter between love and hate. He is just another one of the guys in the Philadelphia locker room putting on his hard hat and going to work for his team every game night. Sometimes he is invisible and other times he will shock and awe everyone. That’s how it goes in this league, but chalk up another night when Saint Lupul emerges from the dark pit that some unfortunately call inconsistency. Consistency is for the Wayne Gretzky’s of this world. It is guys like Lupul that make us believe a guy rejected by the Ducks and the Oilers can find a home in Philadelphia where he is well liked by his teammates, his organization, and even his fans when he seems to find his stride.
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