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Philadelphia Flyers: Key storylines from the season

By Ariel Melendez

PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 17: Fans hold up signs in support of Oskar Lindblom #23 of the Philadelphia Flyers who was recently diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, during a stoppage in play in the first period against the Anaheim Ducks on December 17, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 17: Fans hold up signs in support of Oskar Lindblom #23 of the Philadelphia Flyers who was recently diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, during a stoppage in play in the first period against the Anaheim Ducks on December 17, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /
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With the regular season officially over, let’s take a look back at some of the storylines from the Flyers season.

By all accounts, the Flyers had a successful season. They were surging up the standings and threatening to take over first place in the Metro. Just one point behind the Capitals is where they’ll finish the regular season.

The league made the obvious decision to forgo the rest of the regular season. While some exhibition games may take place, the season officially ended on March 12th.

With that, the Flyers finish with a 41-21-7 record. And with 13 games remaining and 89 points, there were a possible 26 points the team could add. So with the streak they were on, it’s very possible they could’ve reached close to and even over 100 points.

It’s their third best finish in the last five seasons. Their best was a 98 point finish in 2017-18. It’s extremely possible they would’ve had their best finish if this season was played all the way through.

This season did give us a few different storylines to take a look at.

Rookies Emerge

The Flyers had a lot of rookies play in the NHL this season. Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Connor Bunnaman, Carsen Twarynski, David Kase, and German Rubtsov all made their NHL debuts.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Philippe Myers, Mark Friedman and Mikhail Vorobyev played in the NHL as rookies as well. Samuel Morin did play one game before his injury. Myers had already begun to make his mark before this season.

Aube-Kubel finally found a role for himself and got on the scoresheet as well. He was a part of a large group that scored their first NHL goals. Six rookies scored their first goal this season.

Rubtsov and Morin were the only ones not to register a point in their limited time. But overall, the Flyers rookies did shine for the most part. They accounted for 67 points combined, Farabee leading the way with 21.

Hart’s Home Dominance

Carter Hart was one of the best goaltenders when it came to playing on home ice. His 20-3-2 home record was the best among all goaltenders. He also topped the league in home save percentage.

Hart was third behind Anton Khudobin and
Elvis Merzlikins in goals against average. Home ice advantage won’t be a factor in the playoffs, but Hart’s dominance helped the Flyers surge up the standings.

Since January 8th, the Flyers were 19-6-1 and tied with the Bruins for the best record in the NHL during that span. 12 of those wins came at the Wells Fargo Center. Hart was in net for nine of those victories.

He is 11-3-0 in his last 14 games. He has allowed two goals or less in 11 of those games. So the Flyers have been able to count on Hart when they’ve needed him most.

#OskarStrong

We cannot talk about storylines from the season without bringing up Oskar Lindblom. Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in December.

It visibly took a toll on the Flyers as they were swept on a West Coast road trip from December 11th-15th. They also went 1-4-1 from December 28th-January 7th.

It wasn’t only the Flyers who rallied around Lindblom, though. The entire NHL showed their support throughout the season. Various teams around the league shared pictures in their Oskar Strong shirts.

Lindblom received a standing ovation when he visited to watch his first game in January. He has come to see the team on multiple occasions throughout his treatment.

And it’s clear the players and coaches get a boost from seeing Lindblom in the locker room.

He did receive his last treatments at Penn a few weeks ago. This time off has allowed him to begin some light cardio work to keep in shape.

But the way the Flyers, and the league as a whole, rallied around Lindblom is the biggest storyline to come out of the entire season.

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