Philadelphia Flyers Standings: Vs. Metropolitan Division
Philadelphia Flyers Standings: Vs. Metropolitan Division
It is no secret that the 2014-2015 regular season was a disappointing one for the men in orange and black. The Philadelphia Flyers finished with a less than impressive record of 33-31-18, which was only good enough for 6th place in the Metropolitan Division. Although we are all aware of how little the Flyers succeeded against the NHL as a whole, this morning we will take a look out how they performed against the teams in their own division.
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The New York Rangers had an overall impressive regular season, finishing in first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 53-22-7 record. The team’s 113 points was good enough to be considered the best team in the Eastern Conference heading into the postseason. Unfortunately for the Flyers, they could not do much against the rival blue-shirts this season. In four games played, Philadelphia could only manage one victory, and failed to bring any of the games to overtime. The inability to put the puck in net is what killed the Flyers chances of beating the Rangers. The orange and black were only able to score six goals, which is half of what New York had.
Alexander Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals were the second best team in the division this season. Washington finished the year with an impressive 45-26-11 record giving them 101 points. Unlike their performance against the Rangers, the Flyers played very well this season against the Capitals. In the four games played, Philadelphia managed to walk away victorious in three of them.
Feb 8, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Jakub Voracek (93) skates with the puck as Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen (2) defends in the third period at Verizon Center. The Flyers won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Islanders had themselves an uncharacteristically good regular season in 2014-2015. Like the Capitals, they finished with 101 points this season. Their 47-28-7 record was good enough for third place in the division. The Flyers put forth their best effort in every game against the Islanders; but only managed to walk away with one win. All four of these contests were straight-up battles, and two of them went past regulation time.
Although the Flyers could not get it done against most teams in the NHL, they were able to accomplish one thing that made the season not a complete failure. In four games against their hated rival, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia was able to beat them every time. Philadelphia outscored Pittsburgh 16-7 and reigned victorious in the battle of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the Penguins still finished with a better record and managed to make the postseason.
Watching the Flyers take on the Columbus Blue Jackets this season was quite entertaining. There are so many ex Flyers on Columbus, and so many ex Blue Jackets on the Flyers. Although the Blue Jackets may have failed to meet expectations this season, they always came ready to win when they played Philadelphia. In five games against Columbus, the Flyers only managed to leave the ice victorious once. Not only was it difficult to watch Scott Hartnell wear a jersey that did not involve the colors orange and black, it was even more difficult watching him beat his former team.
Apr 8, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Scott Hartnell (43) celebrates with the bench after scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The only two teams that finished with worse records than the Flyers in the Metropolitan Division were the New Jersey Devils and the Carolina Hurricanes. Sadly the Flyers could not even accomplish success against the bottom-feeders of their own division. Philadelphia only managed one victory against both teams this season. The only thing that really needs to be said about this is that this kind of performance is just plain bad!
The Philadelphia Flyers finished with a 12-13-5 record against teams in the Metropolitan Division. The inability to be successful in their own division played a big role in Philadelphia’s poor season. Hopefully things will play out a little differently for the orange and black next season.