After going on a five-game winning streak from Jan. 10 through Jan. 18, the Philadelphia Flyers now find themselves in hot water with a four-game losing streak and a tough schedule ahead. Held scoreless by the Detroit Red Wings and their former backup goaltender, Alex Lyon, by a score of 3-0, it was a disappointing result. What were some takeaways, and what does this mean for the Orange and Black moving forward?
Flyers Are Completely Lost
After a great long stretch, the Flyers have seemingly lost all their mojo. While they played fine in this match and were arguably better than the Red Wings, their ability to both finish on chances and help out goaltender Sam Ersson was non-existent. Unfortunately, they won’t win too many games like this, and it’s a bit worrying considering how tight the playoff race is in the Eastern Conference. In a flash, the Flyers went from looking unstoppable to the exact opposite.
Again, there were some positives with this game. The Flyers ironically doubled the Red Wings in terms of overall expected goals, but their effort still wasn’t enough regardless of what the advanced stats say. They had some great looks go awry, which is something that can easily flip on a night-to-night basis, but it’s been something they’ve struggled with in every game of their skid.
The Flyers certainly aren’t “done” and there’s plenty of season left to go, but their lack of goal support in this one coupled with allowing 21 goals in their last four contests is a bit of an issue. A complete turnaround is needed, but they still have one match left until their All-Star Break. By the time they come back, it’s not guaranteed their problems vanish, either. They just don’t have the same killer instinct that they’ve had through most of the season.
There’s Still Time, But Deadline Looms
The good news for the Flyers is that they still have plenty of time to string some wins together, and they aren’t even in a spot currently where they’ll have to be chasing at all — they are 25-18-6 and are third place in the Metropolitan Division with a five-point cushion. The bad news is that head coach John Tortorella has remained transparent and all but explicitly stated that they will likely be sellers at the deadline, making it hard to form a late push at the end of the season to drive them into the postseason. If it comes down to that, their odds of qualifying for the playoffs are slim to none.
Being so tight in the playoff race but still above the line is always good to have, but these games aren’t all that important in the grand scheme of things. No matter what they do from this point forward, every win will count by the time the remaining contests on the schedule reach single digits. The Flyers are still at a point in the season where they don’t have to be devastated by losses if they are set on making the postseason, but that doesn’t make them sting any less.
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With the trade deadline being on March 8, they will have 18 games left after that point with eight of their first nine matchups being against the top six teams in the Eastern Conference. After that, the schedule does get a lot easier with several non-playoff teams on it, but that first stretch will essentially determine if this incredible run they’re on is truly meant to be. Really, these next 15 matchups are the calm before the storm. Worry not, the Orange and Black have time to figure out how to turn the ship around before the real challenge starts.
Flyers Really Missing Tippett
If there’s ever a time when the Flyers need Owen Tippett back, it’s now. Not getting the goals and just not playing with the same energy as they were when he was in the lineup, he needs to come back soon for their sake. Even though they have a 3-1-0 record without Sean Couturier, for whatever reason the former has been immensely valuable. He’ll miss their next game with his placement on injured reserve recently, and it might be another ugly one based on how they’ve done without him in their last three.
Tippett is by no means the best player on the Flyers, but they win more often when he’s playing well. That wasn’t exemplified better than with his hot streak during their winning streak right before he suffered his injury. His loss hurts that much more because of how well he was playing, but he unfortunately cooled off due to something out of his control.
The Flyers lack enough scorers as is, making Tippett more valuable than some of his advanced metrics might suggest. An offensive wizard, he doesn’t have to be good defensively to make an impact. At this current time, the Flyers have too many two-way players that don’t have what it takes to replace his scoring upside. As long as he is hurt, they’ll have a tough time winning.
Next up, the Flyers will have to take on the Boston Bruins on the afternoon of Jan. 27 for the last contest before their much-needed break. Tied with the Vancouver Canucks for the best record in the NHL with 69 points in 48 games, Philadelphia’s chances don’t look too great. A win might go a long way, but it will be a daunting task. Just maybe, it could get them back where they need to be.