The Philadelphia Flyers hadn’t had a good, thorough beatdown in quite a while, but that’s exactly what happened in their first game since the March 8 trade deadline ended. The Tampa Bay Lightning crushed them to the tune of four goals in the first 11 minutes of the game, winning 7-0. What were some takeaways?
Flyers Needed a Wake-Up Call
It’s not that the Flyers haven’t been playing well recently, but they haven’t been playing well enough to show they are truly a playoff team. The issue with this game was not that they played any worse than they normally do. Really, it didn’t seem out of place. And that’s a problem. Other teams weren’t taking advantage of grade-A chances, while Tampa Bay created and finished on them the whole night.
Despite the Flyers and Lightning scoring the same number of points in the same number of games this season, one team is clearly ahead of the other. And it isn’t very close, either. Tampa Bay has so much star power that, on a normal night, they will consistently victimize the Flyers.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, their schedule doesn’t get any easier. After their next game, they will go up against seven straight playoff teams from the Eastern Conference in two weeks. This is their wake-up call. This level of competition will be the norm for them over the next stretch. It will be a grueling one if they don’t elevate their game. Currently, it won’t be good enough to keep them in the playoff hunt. Very likely, they will at least be out of a spot. It is vital that they don’t fall too far out.
Ersson Has to Be Elite Every Single Game
Sam Ersson had his worst effort of the season in this one, not even lasting 20 percent of the game, but that is excusable. The only way the Flyers have been winning their games for a while is if he is at his absolute best. Philadelphia’s success hinges on how he plays.
After he allowed two goals early, it was apparent that the Flyers’ chances of winning were pretty much zero. And, considering that the Flyers didn’t score for the rest of the game, that is now apparent. Allowing four goals for him didn’t matter. If he’s anything short of elite, the Flyers likely aren’t winning.
Unless the Flyers’ offense can figure it out and the defense can be better, this is Ersson’s reality. He has to be the best player on the ice. Aside from the Flyers’ third line of Noah Cates, Ryan Poehling, and Garnet Hathaway, essentially nobody has been impressive for them recently. When your third line is by far your best line, and that has been the case for about a month, there’s a problem — especially if you want to make the playoffs. For now, Ersson will need to continue his dominance.
Sandstrom Should Start More
Unfortunately, the stats weren’t backed up by a two-goal third period from the Lightning on backup goaltender Felix Sandstrom, but he was pretty sharp in this game until the end. While that could be credited to the Flyers taking a bit of a step up, he had a few good saves in there.
Sandstrom is a capable backup goaltender, and he showed that in his win over the Ottawa Senators, his first and only start of the 2023-24 season for the Orange and Black. It wouldn’t hurt to get him in more.
While Ersson gives the Flyers the best chance to win nightly, he can’t start every one of the Flyers’ remaining 17 games. Eventually, his play will begin to regress. As the Flyers take on their upcoming seven-team gauntlet, he cannot be in for every game. The Flyers should look to Sandstrom to better understand what they have in him and also take some pressure off their starter.
What is the Flyers’ Path to the Playoffs?
At this point, the Flyers’ playoff chances are looking somewhat dicey. Their schedule is difficult overall, and that doesn’t help their case. So, what are the teams in their vicinity doing?
Ultimately, only the Flyers, Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, and Washington Capitals will make the playoffs this season. The standings are tight so that it could be any of them right now.
It seems the weakest threat is the Capitals, who not only lost Anthony Mantha, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Joel Edmundson at the trade deadline but also have the fewest points of the five, at 69 in 62 games. With the Flyers sitting at 74 in 65 contests, though, Washington can actually move ahead of them with three consecutive victories.
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Still, their schedule is the toughest in the NHL, so they have a hill to climb, too. Their schedule might prevent them from getting in, so that’s at least some good news for the Flyers.
The Flyers hold third place in the Metropolitan Division, but that might change as the Islanders can move ahead of the Flyers with five points in their next three games, sitting at 70 points in 62 contests. The Lightning, who hold the tie-breaker over Philadelphia, will need to do exactly as the Flyers do to finish ahead of them.
The Red Wings could be a team the Flyers should look to finish ahead of. Their schedule the rest of the way is fairly easy, but they are sitting on 72 points in 64 games, riding a five-game losing streak, all of which were in regulation. Their star center, Dylan Larkin, should be out of their lineup for the next few games, so that might be a chance for the Flyers to pull ahead.
Overall, things aren’t looking the best for the Flyers. They could be chasing two teams by the time the hardest part of their schedule is over. If they survive, however, their road to a playoff spot comes with a slate mostly free of playoff teams. The Capitals and Islanders appear once, so those will be big games. If the Flyers are still in a playoff spot by the end of March, their chances will be good. If they are chasing, it’s not a good position. But a comeback won’t be impossible.
Before that tough schedule, however, they have the 16-win San Jose Sharks on their hands. The Flyers lost to this team when they were 0-10-1 earlier in the season, handing them their first win. Now, the Orange and Black need a win more than ever. They’ll return home to Wells Fargo Center to try and do that.
