Last season, the Flyers success could be contributed to the balanced scoring up and down the lineup from the first line on down to the fourth line. Nineteen players had 10 or more goals for the Flyers, seven had 20 or more. No other team in the NHL could boast such a claim.
In training camp, Stevens decided to experiment with a line of Simon Gagne, Daniel Briere, and Richards. The line worked well as Briere was moved to right wing, with Richards taking the center position. However, the effect was felt up and down the lineup.
In the off-season, General Manager Paul Holmgren moved some lower level forwards in order to provide the team with defensive depth. Gone are forwards Ryan Potulny, Jim Dowd, Sami Kapanen, Patrick Thoreson, Stefan Ruzicka, and Kyle Greentree. In are defenseman Ossi Vaananen, Steve Eminger, Danny Syvret, and Patrik Hersley.
While a player like Potulny is not a household name, he still was a solid center. Moving Richards up a line and moving a center to right wing made little sense, especially due to the fact that the overall depth of the Flyers was made thinner by off-season moves. The other reason why the move was a bad decision is because the right wing position is easily the strongest in the organization.
Claude Giroux is easily the team’s top prospect, but due to the move, Giroux was sent to the Flyers AHL farm team, the Philadelphia Phantoms. Andreas Nodl and Downie are more than capable at the NHL level, along with the offensive presence of Joffrey Lupol, Mike Knuble, and Steve Downie.
The good news for Stevens was the line did provide the Flyers with offense, especially with the return of Gagne who is off to one of the best starts of his career. The bad news is the line was the only line that scored consistently. In the Flyers first four games of the season, they team scored a total of 10 goals, and did not score more than three goals a game. The line accounted for 7 of the 10 goals and did not win a game.
Since then, Stevens moved Richards off of the first line, reuniting Gagne with Knuble and Briere.
The impact is what the Flyers had hoped for. The Flyers were able to get at least one point in their next six games, and the Flyers have scored 4 goals or more in five games, and has not scored less than 3 goals a game since.
The balanced scoring is back on track as 10 Flyers have scored at least one goal. Gagne has 8 goals, but Jeff Carter is having the best start of his career with 9 goals. The balanced scoring has resulted in the Flyers leading the NHL with 3.91 goals per game.
While the offense is back on track, the defense is still a work in progress, but that is a story for another day. In the mean time, the Flyers are officially back on track. What a difference a move makes, huh?
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.