Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn becoming leaders
By Dan King
A week ago, after the Flyers’ forced overtime and squeaked out a point against the Ducks, I wrote that the secondary scoring would spark the team into this coming home stretch.
In the three games since that Ducks game and the Ducks game itself, the Flyers don’t have a regulation loss and thus have at least a point in all four games. The main reason for the somewhat successful stretch for the Orange and Black has been undoubtedly the discovery of secondary scoring, outside of Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.
The likes of Wayne Simmonds, Michael Raffl, RJ Umberger, Scott Laughton, Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier all have at least one point over that time.
Two youthful Flyers have particularly jumped out and led the way through the point scoring stretch. Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn are both adding a goal-scoring touch to the hustle that they both already supply.
Couturier’s leadership
There is no doubt that Sean Couturier is the best defensive forward on this Flyers team and that is why he so frequently gets paired up against the opposing team’s top offensive threat. However, it’s Couturier’s offensive production that has been most important to not only his success of late, but the team’s success moving forward.
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In last night’s game against New Jersey, Couturier was the catalyst to spark a struggling Matt Read. Couturier led Read to a goal and an assist on his way to a number one star. The success of that line sparked the Flyers to double-up the Devils in shots 36-18. If Couturier can keep Read and himself going offensively, this Flyers offense could jump to the offensive production that Philly fans grew accustomed to from about 2010-13.
Couturier has at least one point in every Flyers game since the San Jose game on Dec. 2; over that stretch of time the Flyers only regulation loss came in the San Jose game. Not to mention, he continues to be a lockdown defensive player, with an overall plus/minus of plus-2 over that stretch.
Schenn: filling any role
I’ll admit, I’m a little biased here, because Schenn has developed into my favorite player since the Flyers parted ways with Scott Hartnell this summer. However, there is no denying that he has been superb in adding a scoring touch in any place he has found himself in the lineup.
The 23-year-old has been phenomenal and has had no problem filling a variety of different roles. He has been particularly good when reunited with Wayne Simmonds. Schenn had the lone two goals against Columbus, including the late deflection through the wickets of Sergei Bobrovsky, scrounging up a point for the Flyers.
Schenn has done a good job replacing Hartnell on the power play, and although he may not have the pin point precision of Hartnell from the circle, he has scored his share of goals and is a much better passer than Hartnell was, adding a new dimension to the already prolific power play.
On the first line with Voracek and Giroux, Schenn was successful, and when the Flyers were in need of secondary scoring and Craig Berube moved him down to the second line, he has thrived there as well.
He combines the scoring mentality of a winger and the grittiness and heart of a classic center, which adds depth to to both positions on the Flyers’ roster. For proof of that, look no further than his performance against New Jersey last season on Jan. 7, when he had his stomach cut by the skate of Dainius Zubrus and proceeded to score the game winning goal in overtime.
Schenn is winning well over half of his faceoffs on the season; his twenty points leads all Flyers, not named Giroux or Voracek; he is one of only ten Flyers with a positive plus/minus; and he has only taken a mere two minor penalties on the season, keeping the league’s worst penalty kill unit off the ice as much as he can.