Flyers: Same Team, Same Tactics, Same Results

This has not been a good week for the Philadelphia Flyers. Last week things appeared to be on the up-and-up, with an exciting OT win versus Boston and a rare win against nemesis New York Rangers. Indeed, sometimes things change very quickly. Or maybe they don’t change fast enough.

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The Flyers entered this season with a roster that was largely the same as last season. Sam Gagner and Evgeni Medvedev were added, and Radko Gudas was finally able to join the team, but those aren’t terribly significant changes. The Flyers changed coaches to NHL newcomer Dave Hakstol, but he kept the same assistants as last season, and his systems for this season are not major changes from Craig Berube last season.

Ugly losses this week to the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils will give fans déjà vu to last season. The Flyers penalty kill sagged, and the offense looked flat. In some ways it was even worse, as Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek and Steve Mason were not able to lift the team up with heroic individual performances.

Judging by Corsi statistics, the Flyers had shown moderate improvement since last season until this week. This table shows their Corsi performance in “close” situations (score within 1 goal in 1st or 2nd period, or tied in 3rd period).

The losses this week undoes all their progress. A few bad games is not conclusive evidence that the Flyers are necessarily a worse team than last season, but it is a reminder not to expect too much too quickly. This is especially true when personnel and tactical decisions remain the same.

As Dave Hakstol had zero NHL experience, it made sense for him to retain the NHL assistants with lots of NHL experience. While this is good for Dave Hakstol’s transition into the NHL, it anchors the team to the old Craig Berube regime. It probably isn’t surprising then, when the Flyers run similar lines, similar special teams systems, and ultimately produce the same results.

For better or for worse, this team is still tethered to Craig Berube’s regime. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

This team really needs a shakeup. They were sleepwalking through losses this week, getting outhustled and showing few ideas on offense. Part of this can be attributed to natural ebbs and flows in the season, but that doesn’t excuse lifeless play. The problem for Hakstol is that he has relatively few options to exercise to give the team a jolt.

Hakstol did shake up the defensive pairs, and then the forward lines, looking for a spark this week. Thus far it hasn’t worked, but I’d like to see him continue pushing in that direction. I might try separating Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek for an extended period of time. I also might try giving new blood more opportunities. Evgeni Medvedev, Radko Gudas and Sam Gagner have all shown they have something to offer, but haven’t been entrusted with much responsibility.

It’s not time to push the panic button, but Dave Hakstol must being making tougher decisions.

Medvedev has consistently been a top performer in terms of Corsi and on-ice goals for, but he is 6th among Flyers defensemen in average ice time per game. Sam Gagner is among the team’s leading scorers and has consistently shown speed and skill on the attack, but only Bellemare is getting fewer even-strength minutes per game. Radko Gudas has definitely been making things happen, leading the team in hits despite being scratched for 3 games, and sporting the highest rate of team shots for while on the ice.

Next: Lets Give Luke Schenn A Chance

It’s not time to push the panic button, but Dave Hakstol must being making tougher decisions. There are reasons Hakstol has not thrust any of these 3 players into key roles, but some risks must be taken. This week was certainly a low point, so things can only go up from here. The Flyers don’t want to repeat last season, but the end of the day, the only way to produce different results is to use different personnel and different tactics.