The Philadelphia Flyers dropped their final game of the 2023 calendar year on the road to the Calgary Flames, 4-3. After a nine-game streak of dominance for Philadelphia, they find themselves with a 1-2-2 record in their last five games. Still holding a playoff spot and third place in the Metropolitan Division, they’ve built themselves a nice lead before they have to panic too much. What were some takeaways from the loss?
Flyers Relying Too Heavily on Goaltending
Over the Flyers’ last three games, they have not helped out their goaltenders all that much. Since they exited their holiday break on Dec. 28, their netminders have only allowed six goals. In those games, they hold an underwhelming 1-1-1 record. The Flyers have not returned the favor for their excellent play, and it’s not something they can rely on moving forward, either.
Considering the quality of saves that Sam Ersson had to make in this one, the Flyers were lucky to even be in this game in the first place. Unfortunately, this has started to become a theme.
It’s not an issue for a team that is built on the success of their defense and goaltending to fall back on that once in a while, but when it’s happening every game, it becomes a genuine concern. Ersson bailed his team out of certain doom countless times during this game and was arguably their best player for the full 60 minutes. The final score looks a bit better than what actually occurred, as the Flyers scored twice with their net empty to make their loss look just a bit prettier on the scoreboard. Other than those two goals, the offensive support was essentially non-existent.
To make matters worse, the Flyers aren’t even doing that great of a job at limiting the chances their opponents get. Both Ersson and Carter Hart have stood on their heads since hockey resumed action following the league’s holiday break, but their win-loss record doesn’t indicate that. The two can’t be at their best every game — some mediocre or poor starts have to be in order at some point or another. Unfortunately, the Flyers haven’t proven that they can make up for that. Until they do, their upside will be capped.
Flyers Could Use a New First Line
It’s been an ongoing issue at this point, but the first line should be revamped as soon as possible. Their unit with Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, and Owen Tippett has not generated enough, and they will need to change it if they want the offense to be productive. If they keep putting out the same unit, consistent production shouldn’t be expected. The Flyers need all the offense they can get, so changing the slumping line might be for the best.
The Flyers need to be able to rely on a line to consistently generate chances and get them on the board. Recently, neither has happened. Tippett doesn’t seem to be a match for players like Couturier and Konecny, as he is very streaky and relies on rush chances to score rather than sustained offensive pressure.
The defense for the top line hasn’t been much of a problem, as they aren’t allowing pucks to go in their own net at an alarming rate — that’s where the issue lies. While it might be good for a top line of a team that struggles defensively to play well in their zone, that’s the least of the Flyers’ concerns. Their goaltending has been fantastic recently, while the defense has kept them in many games throughout the season, as well. The problem has been the offense, with just three goals at 5-on-5 in Philadelphia’s last three games.
Related: Flyers Don’t Need Carter Hart to Be Franchise Goalie
Sure, depth lines can contribute, but they don’t get enough ice time to be able to do that. In the NHL, your top line has to be productive offensively to win hockey games. The Flyers haven’t gotten enough, and have lost four out of their last five games partially as a result of that. A shakeup might be necessary to spark this.
Farabee, Brink Should Play More
Forwards Joel Farabee and Bobby Brink didn’t have their best games of the season, but it might be time to give them increased ice time to try and spark the offense. They each had points in this game, proving to be some of the Flyers’ more productive players despite being limited to just the third line. All season, they have been glowing with chemistry — a chance to do some damage could be worth the time of day.
Whether it be actually changing up the lines or distributing the ice time among forwards more equally, it could be worthwhile to have Farabee and Brink get on the ice more. Both of them have been positive sparks for the Flyers’ offense for a while. The youngsters could flourish even further if they get the green light from the coaching staff to play more minutes and appear in pivotal 5-on-5 situations.
Zamula Should Be a Lineup Regular
Defenseman Egor Zamula seems to be finding a groove offensively, scoring his second goal in his last three games during the dying minutes of the game. He’s been a routine sub-out for veteran defender Marc Staal, but perhaps Zamula should have his spot safe for now. He has elevated his game recently — there’s no need to take that away.
Despite some poor performances this season, head coach John Tortorella has been adamant about playing Zamula a decent amount. Now that the 23-year-old defender has started to find his groove in the offensive zone in particular, it makes the trust the coach has in his players all the more meaningful.
Until Zamula has a couple of off nights or suffers an injury, there’s no real reason to take him out of the lineup. Based on the trust he has from the coaching staff and his continued progression, that seems unlikely. A restricted free agent (RFA) this offseason, he is playing his way into a one-way deal.
The loss is disheartening, but the Flyers control their own destiny. In their first game of 2024, they will take on the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 2 – a surging team that has picked up the slack since the Flyers last played them on Oct. 19 and will be looking for some revenge. It should serve as a nice test for the Orange and Black to get back on track as they go against a Stanley Cup contender.
