The Philadelphia Flyers have been winning hockey games this season with a defense-first mindset. Heading into Wednesday night's game against the Florida Panthers, they were fourth in goals allowed with 59, and have covered up their offensive woes, where they are just 31st in scoring with 56 goals.
Their defensive play should give fans hope that maybe this season will stay interesting when the playoff race heats up following Thanksgiving. But there are three games coming up on their schedule that will be terrifying for both the team and their fans.
Why? Because the three teams listed below are all high-octane opponents. While the Flyers have shown they can stifle such teams defensively, all three of them also look like they're among the best in hockey, or at least trending that way.
Nov. 28 at New York Islanders
Yep, the New York Islanders are for real. It only took a general manager change and a different mindset to show the NHL universe that this team could put up scoring chances at will. With 70 goals on the year on Wednesday, a mark that ranked 11th in the league, the Isles haven't disappointed.
They have one of the NHL's best goal-scorers in Bo Horvat, who has found the net 14 times this season. Rookie Matthew Schaefer's solid play has kept up, and goaltender Ilya Sorokin is once again looking like the netminder Isles fans expect him to be, with two shutouts already this season.
If the Flyers want to contend with the Isles on Nov. 28, they need to turn this one into a defensive struggle. They can't have a bad night, because if they do, the Isles will be a tough team to score at least four goals on and defeat.
Dec. 7 vs. Colorado Avalanche
Right now, just about everyone is scared of the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs look unstoppable right now, clocking in at first in the league in goals scored with 88, and goals allowed, with 48, prior to Wednesday night's outing. As with the Islanders' matchup, the Flyers need to make this one a defensive game, but the question is, how?
How do you stop Nathan MacKinnon, who looks like the clear front-runner to win the Hart Trophy with 37 points, 17 goals, and a plus-23 in his first 22 games? And how do you get anything past Scott Wedgewood, who has a 0.918 save percentage, a 2.09 GAA, and a shutout?
Unless the Flyers, somehow, started getting consistent when they have the puck, the Avalanche will be nearly impossible to beat. Not just for the Flyers, but all 31 teams not named the Colorado Avalanche will have a tough time dealing with them.
Dec. 14 at Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes have cooled off lately, but everyone knows what kind of damage they can do when they're on. The Flyers actually play the Hurricanes at home on Dec. 13, but the Dec. 14 game is the one everyone should be worried about.
It's the second half of a home-and-home, and the Hurricanes will already be tough to deal with when the two teams meet in Philadelphia. The Flyers will need to give every bit of their effort to win that one, so how much will they have left when they travel to Raleigh the following evening and play in front of the Hurricanes' home crowd?
As with the other two teams on this list, the Hurricanes can put up some goals, and as of Wednesday, they were fourth in scoring, having found the back of the net 77 times. The Hurricanes are also solid in the net, ranking 12th in the league with 64 goals allowed. For this one, the Flyers would need to find a way to stop the high-octane attack while scoring just enough to sneak away with the win. But against a team like Carolina, that's easier said than done.
The good news is that the Flyers have shown they can keep pace with the best teams. But when they face high-scoring units that have playoff-caliber potential, their defense must bring forth the extra effort. Facing the Islanders, Avalanche, and Hurricanes will provide a true test for this hockey team.