Thoughts on recent games, bad refs, and poor injury luck

Some assorted Philadelphia Flyers thoughts after a tough week that saw them drop several winnable games.

Let’s start with last week’s bad loss to the winless Coyotes and the back-to-back road games.  After being shut out by the Hawks, the Philadelphia Flyers lost Gudas with an upper body injury (concussion) from a bad hit. A great performance by Michal Neuvirth made it possible for the Flyers to pick up two huge points in St. Louis.

Must Read: Is Robert Hagg becoming the new Andrew MacDonald?

The Flyers then dragged their tails home for some much-needed rest. They then faced the soon-to-be traded Matt Duchesne’s Colorado Avalanche. This was a see-saw affair that shouldn’t have been as close.  With multiple mental mistakes and bad luck, an exhausted Flyer team, even with the Ghost’s reappearance couldn’t pull it out and settled for a single point in the overtime loss.

Philadelphia Flyers

It’s bad enough battling a string of tough teams, but using an inexperienced blue line because of injuries only makes things worse.  Unfortunate timing for the injuries, coupled with bad non-calls (like the head shot on Giroux in Avs game) have been a recurring theme .  Through the first 15 games of the season, the Flyers haven’t gotten many breaks.

But bad teams don’t usually find a way to win the next one after a heartbreaking loss. The Flyers don’t appear to be a bad team. This team has played better than its record and is facing all the (usual) adversities that come with a season all at once. This should build great character and be a learning tool for the youth, especially the blue-line.

Unfortunately, the culmination of all these factors could easily leave the team out of the playoff picture, perhaps even by just a point. Few teams can withstand bad refereeing, bad coaching decisions, and bad injury timing.  I do believe they are a better team by far this year than last, but their record says differently.

The next several weeks will give us some indication of the path the Flyers are on.  If the team is not in a playoff position by Thanksgiving, but just a few points back and in the mix, I won’t start worrying. I would think maybe some of that “what comes around, goes around” stuff might come into play.

Next: More on Robert Hagg and how we evaluate rookies

Most teams are just a mishap away from missing the playoffs and the Flyers are no different.  Just look at Anaheim and you’ll see a team that is very much in the thick of things and surviving without their top two centers.  That is depth that few teams have and would bring the Flyers to their knees if they ever found themselves in the same situation.  In other words, things could always be a little worse.