Flyers Quarter Season Grades
By Bryan
Flyers Quarter Season Grades: Defense
Unsurprisingly, the defense has been a mixed bag. Featuring the longest list of potential blue-liners on the Flyers in almost a decade, it was going to be a crapshoot for awhile. Kimmo Timonen has looked his age most of the season, ramping up his backchecking penalties and nullifying the lion’s share of Flyers’ powerplays, but with only one minor penalty in his last nine, he seems to have settled in. Mark Streit hasn’t acquitted himself as an able defensive stalwart and looks to end up with his lowest PPG (0.33) since his rookie year, a shortfall that would label any offensive defenseman a bust. Andrej Meszaros seems to have played himself right off the roster with his timid play, bad passing, poor coverage, and 18 penalty minutes in nine games; if the Flyers had an amnesty buyout left, you’d better believe Meszaros would be shown the door.
On the other hand, Luke Schenn was scratched early, but since the Flyers’ 0-7 defeat at the hands of the Capitals, he’s been a +4 in six games while piling up 26 hits and 6 blocked shots. Eric Gustafsson is looking smarter and faster in each game. Brayden Coburn and Nicklas Grossmann are the rockstars, however, combining for 19 hits, 25 blocked shots, 3 assists, and a +11 in the last six games alone. In a collective sense, the defense seems tougher, more comfortable, and more assured, not leaving the goalie hanging out to dry like they did with Ilya Bryzgalov. It’s hard to argue with results like that.