The Philadelphia Flyers are stuck under a grey cloud but there is a silver lining.
It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t in the best of positions. Until their 3-2 OT win on Monday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, the team has been struggling. Prior to the win, the team was averaging 1.7 goals per game- an NHL worst- and struggling to capitalize on leads. The team also had an awful power play percentage of 13.3 percent. Only two teams were lower. It doesn’t help that their main scorers aren’t doing much to help. Jakub Voracek, Michael Raffl and Sean Couturier only have one goal a piece. Claude Giroux barely crossed double digits when it comes to points, only having 13 so far this season. It would seem as if there was no hope.
Then came the Flyers special teams.
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Monday’s victory over Carolina showed what the Flyers special teams can really do. They’ve gone 3-0 when their opponents are outscored by the Flyers special teams. These important special teams were also a positive boost during all three power plays Monday night. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Flyers center Brayden Schenn knows where the team draws its strength. “When it comes to our power play, we take a lot of pride in it and being good at it. Obviously we have a lot of meetings, and we try to find ways to get better.”
There is a lot of signs to point to how strong the Flyers special teams are getting. The team has 13 penalty kills in their last four games. The team wasn’t as good at killing penalties as they have become and in fact, they used to be at the bottom of the NHL in the same category. They’ve risen up to being 18th, not bad for an organization that is relying on its special teams to make the game. The Flyers’ goalies haven’t been strongly tested either. Michal Neuvirth was in net Monday against the Hurricanes and only had to stop 4 attempts in five power plays.
Puck Prose
Another name that is coming up when it comes to the Flyers special teams is Shayne Gostisbehere. The rookie defensemen has been making big waves for the Flyers since being called up from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was the deciding goal on Monday’s game, scoring the goal during a power play. Gostisbehere has been bringing new energy to the team and has received points in his last five games. With the way that he is performing, he’s joining a very strong group of players that are starting to find what works best for the Flyers.
With the the strength of their penalty kills, the Flyers have at least one asset to use during the rest of their season.