Olde City Sports Network

We are a little more than halfway through the 2021-2022 season and let’s be real here, the Flyers are bad. That’s the gist of it. They already had a 10-game winless drought (11/18-12/14.) And they’ve lost all but 3 games since my last article which I wrote about how good they were doing under Mike Yeo after they won 3 games in a row (sorry, Philadelphia…) The boys in orange have officially hit rock bottom. They just lost their 13th game in a row (a franchise record for games without a win) with, in my opinion, no end in sight. They are sitting last in the Metropolitan Division, with 34 points (13-22-8) and a sickening -42 goal differential!! Let’s just jump right into the problem in Philly.

It’s Definitely NOT Carter Hart

The Flyers’ starting goaltender is 7-14-5. BUT he has a GAA of 2.87 and a .912 SV%. Not too bad considering the team record as of now. For example, in the Flyers loss against The Dallas Stars on Monday, Hart posted an incredible .943 SV% so it’s absolutely gut-wrenching that they lost that game. But, because the Flyers only scored one goal, they lost. Which brings me to my next topic…

NO GOAL SUPPORT!

During the Flyers’ 13-game losing streak, they’ve been outscored 26-51, with 3 being the most goals in a game only 4 times. They scored 2 goals 5 times, and only 1 goal 4 times. Also, we don’t see a lot of secondary scoring either. 16 of the 26 goals were scored by a Top-6 forward (assuming we categorize Oskar Lindblom as a Bottom-6.) Typically, scoring is seen from everywhere when a team is playoff worthy. And we just aren’t seeing it in Philly right now.

Coach Leadership

I said it once, I’ll say it over and over again until my tongue falls out. The team is playing under a coach that they know, without a doubt, will not be here next year. If I had to make only one observation, I’d tell you that the team just looks mighty uncomfortable on the ice playing for interim coach, Mike Yeo. Maybe Flyers hiring John Torchetti as assistant coach will put another option out there for next year, because otherwise, I just don’t see the point.

The Injury Bug

In today’s press conference with Chuck Fletcher and Dave Scott (Comcast Spectator CEO,) Fletcher addressed that Ryan Ellis and Sean Couturier could miss the remainder if the season. Ellis missed all but 4 games this season. No surprise there, but still rather disappointing considering he was supposed to be a key player this season. Ellis and Couturier, along with Kevin Hayes, Derick Brassard, Joel Farabee, Wade Allison, Nate Thompson, Patrick Brown, Sam Morin, Ryan Fitzgerald, and Tanner Laczinski on the injured reserve list. It is a HUGE problem to have most of these names on the IR list.

With all these problems haunting the Philadelphia Flyers as of late, there is a bit of good news. With Tuesday’s game against the Islanders, Keith Yandle’s 965th consecutive game secured sole position of Iron Man, beating Doug Jarvis’s record of 964. So, congratulations Yandle… maybe try some defense now?

I say to you, Mike Yeo: try experimenting. The season is over for us, so no use trying to make the playoffs unless you strongly think this team can win 35 out of the 39 remaining games. But don’t experiment too much because we don’t need anyone else getting hurt.

#moveMacEwantothesecondline

-Jessica Hess- Flyers Alley/ Olde City Sports Network

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