Philadelphia Flyers: Jakub Voracek getting hot at the right time
The Flyers are getting the production they need from Jakub Voracek during this first round series.
During a time in which a large majority of the Flyers top players aren’t scoring, there is one who has been able to get the job done on a consistent basis. And it’s a player that has seen his fair share of criticism during the season.
After his three-point night on Wednesday, Jakub Voracek is now the team leader in goals and points thus far during the playoffs. He has a point in four of the five games against the Canadiens. And he’s grabbed points in three straight games.
So Voracek is doing his part on the ice. Adding in the exhibition and round robin games, he has a point in five out of the seven total games the Flyers have played. But he has been at his best during the series against Montreal.
He has by far the best expected goals percentage (60.53%) on the team. That’s almost eight percent above his typical line mate in Sean Couturier (54.36%). Voracek is among the best at play-driving (54.10 FF%), his line mate in Couturier just above him in that stat. And he’s among the top five in Corsi percentage (48.28%).
He’s doing all the little things on the ice. His two goals and assist on the power play on Wednesday have helped a struggling unit, even if both of his shots ended up deflecting in off of other players. The Flyers ended up going 3/7 on the unit. While not strong numbers, it was far improved from what they had been posting.
And Voracek has played a role in every power play goal that they’ve scored while in Toronto. The one knock on him could be that most of his scoring has come on the man advantage. But is that such a bad thing when the unit has struggled to produce in the playoffs?
Especially when they aren’t getting scoring from other players near the top of the lineup. Now some of those players are contributing in other ways. Couturier is tied for second on the team in points and is clearly the best defensive player on the ice.
Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny are doing everything they can to score as well. But the lack of confidence is clearly there for both of them. So for now, Voracek is carrying the ship. Sure it’ll need to change for the Flyers to make a deep run. But if a player like Voracek can get hot and spark the rest of them, then so be it.
With another chance to eliminate the Canadiens on Friday, you can bet there will be a lot of eyes on Voracek. He will certainly have a part in the game no matter what he does.