5 Things we learned from Philadelphia Flyers’ homestand

The Philadelphia Flyers have gone 1-3-0 on their recent homestand, and in that time, they went from near the top of the division to near the bottom. To be fair, it is early and the season and it is common to see wild swings in the standings like that.

Despite the poor showing in the record, there are some things we can learn from this recent experience. If the team can build on these lessons, they will be able to grow a lot this year.

Signs of life from Morgan Frost

Wait… wait… We’ve had a Morgan Frost sighting! He’s in the building. He was wearing skates and was seen on the ice!

All kidding aside, the fact that Frost had been a healthy scratch – not a benching, according to head coach John Tortorella – has been a massive point of discussion for a while. Some feel that he deserves a shot to play while others think it is time to cut ties. Still, with Frost in, that means someone has to sit; who is that going to be?

Frost played 17:02 against the Carolina Hurricanes and registered three shots on goal. He fed a few shot assists to some of his linemates, including one that was a great blast by Travis Konecny that got stopped by Frederik Andersen. Against the Buffalo Sabres, he played 16:41 and had… nothing.

Maybe it’s the rust from sitting out so long, or maybe it’s something else. If he is trying to show he belongs, these two games haven’t shown a lot. We’re not expecting him to score every night, but he has a reputation for being streaky. The Flyers can’t afford to have him be the bad kind of streaky. He’s also been dreadful in the faceoff circle, winning just 34 percent of his faceoffs. Speaking of dreadful…

Flyers are still playing well

The funny thing is, this team hasn’t had a hard time scoring this season without the power play. Last year, this was one of their biggest struggles. So far, they are 11th in the league in scoring. They’ve scored 32 goals so far and are only eight away from the Detroit Red Wings, who sit atop the league.

Travis Sanheim – through his first 10 games last season – had one assist. Right now, he’s already managed to rack up 10 points. Konecny has picked up from where he left off last year with eight goals in 10 games. That’s tied for third in the league, and just one goal away from the NHL lead. Cam Atkinson isn’t far behind with six of his own.

In fact, despite going 1-3-0 on this homestand, the Flyers were only outscored 25-20. The Flyers fell to Carolina because of a late goal. They went toe-to-toe with Buffalo until a third period collapse that ensued following Carter Hart’s injury.

Overall, Philadelphia has played well, and they are working their tails off. The shots aren’t going in, but the Flyers aren’t afraid to shoot. At some point they will find their way into the back of the net. Have patience.

Flyers bail on fourth line for now, remain patient with other players

The fourth line of Nicolas Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway, and Ryan Poehling has been a lot of fun to watch. They have done their job well in shutting down opposing teams without putting the Flyers down too much offensively. Perhaps most importantly, they are physical without being reckless.

Poehling has taken a backseat while the Flyers try to figure out what to do with Frost. However, he has been a nice surprise this season. While he hasn’t registered a point yet, he has generally played well.

And despite everything that has happened, Coach Tortorella is still very patient with this team. He is not blaming any players for nights when things go wrong. Instead, he keeps rallying to their side. He is proud of the fact that they are giving everything they have night in and night out. If Tortorella saw a player who wasn’t giving their best, that would be a different story.

Instead, he seems pleased with these results. So far, this team is outperforming the public’s expectations of them, and there is growth here. We may not see it all at once, but if you look hard enough, you will find it. We’ll see where this team is after the next 10 games.

Flyers without Hart again

Hart came out early against the Buffalo Sabres. How long is yet to be determined. He has played quite well so far this year, but much of that can be attributed to the stronger defense in front of him. Regardless, he has found his groove again.

With him out, the Flyers will now turn to their backups. So far, Sam Ersson has struggled in net. Felix Sandstrom had been sent to the AHL for conditioning. In addition, Cal Petersen has been playing poorly for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Petersen appears to have been called up to give Sandstrom time to condition himself without having to go through the waiver process.

This is a golden opportunity for Ersson, Petersen, and/or Sandstrom to show what they have. There have been lots of rumors all offseason about the future of Hart in Philadelphia. Are the Flyers committed to him, or are they prepared to move on?

Any of the three backups can use this opportunity to help the Flyers figure this out. If all three stumble, they may need to hang onto Hart. If someone rises to the occasion, it could make their decision much easier.