The Philadelphia Flyers are only down one game in their series with the Washington Capitals, but the team needs to stop a long downward trend
The Philadelphia Flyers are ahead of schedule. Think back to November, and the Flyers looked closer to being in the hunt for the number one overall pick than a playoff spot.
Things changed. Ghost entered the lineup, and changed the feel of the team. Sean Couturier took another step in his development. Jakub Voracek’s and Claude Giroux’s scoring ticked back up. Brayden Schenn got red hot. It all culminated with a furious 6-week playoff push. That train has run out of steam.
The reality is that it’s been 2 weeks since the Philadelphia Flyers won a competitive game. It was exciting for Flyers fans to secure a playoff spot on the final weekend of the season, but that was hugely boosted by playing shorthanded and indifferent lineups from the Penguins and the Islanders.
Take away those games, and this what you have from the last handful of games:
- A 6-2 thumping from the Penguins.
- A 3-0 thumping from the Red Wings.
- A 4-3 home loss to the worst team in the NHL.
- And now last night’s limp 2-0 loss.
It’s not from a lack of trying. If anything, players like Simmonds, Schenn, Voracek, and Ghost are trying too hard to make something happen.
This may be as far as this team can go. Just making their playoff push may have been their crowning and final achievement. The other way to look at is that the Flyers have nothing to lose at this point, so why not take some chances?
First of all, Couturier is out and there is no one who can step into his shoes. Since his shoes can’t be filled, don’t try. Go a different direction. Bring Scott Laughton back into the lineup. He was very effective in two appearances against the Caps this year. He was even better when teaming up with Nick Cousins and Matt Read. Let’s put that group back together.
Going up some lines, let’s put Brayden Schenn back with Claude Giroux. Schenn is the Philadelphia Flyers’ leading scorer since January 1, but he’s not a possession player who creates his own offense very well. He’s better off the puck with others creating for him, and then he’s Johnny-on-the-spot for a scoring chance. So let’s go back to Schenn-Giroux-Simmonds, who also had some very effective stretches in the recent past.
That leaves the second line to be led by Jakub Voracek. Voracek is having something of a nightmare season, but he can still drive possession. Put him with the shifty and skilled Sam Gagner, the Flyers’ best player last night, and the responsible Raffl.
This would give the Flyers a totally new look. It has some risks, but 3 of the Flyers’ 4 lines in this setup have played together before. The Flyers face an uphill climb against the Caps and have been sinking for 2 weeks. They should go down swinging at the very least.