READING, PA – “Ladies and gentleman, the Flyers are going to win, THE STANLEY CUP! THE FLYERS WIN THE STANLEY CUP! THE FLYERS WIN THE STANLEY CUP!”
The late, great Flyers announcer Gene Hart shouted those very words back in 1974, after the Philadelphia Flyers won their first ever Stanley Cup title. A year later, the Flyers did it again to win their second straight championship. Since then, Flyers fans have waited and waited to hear those words again. Well, keep waiting, Flyers fans, because it’s going to be at least one more season before you hear those words coming out of anyone’s mouth.
The Flyers have not officially clinched a playoff spot, but they are still in a good position to make it. Only six games remain on the Flyers schedule. Half of those games are against teams out of the playoff hunt, but Florida is one point away from making it. Still, with two more wins the Flyers will clinch a spot in the postseason.
While it might be too early to count them out of the title hunt, the old saying goes “just make the playoffs and let the chips fall where they may.” That sounds great in theory, but unless the Flyers correct some things between now and playoff time, the team will be wondering when their next tee time is, not when their next playoff series begins.
For the optimists, here are some reasons why the Flyers could win the Cup this year…
The offense: Very few teams have the kind of depth on offense that the Flyers have. Six players have scored at least 23 goals. If they would have had a healthy Daniel Briere the entire season, and if rookie sensation Claude Giroux had played for the Flyers since the start of the season, it is realistic to think that the Flyers could have had as many as eight players with 20 or more goals. There are also two other players who have scored at least seven goals, so the Flyers could have had at least 10 players with at least 10 goals on the season. Now that’s balanced scoring!
Special Teams: The Flyers are ranked sixth and seventh on the power play and on the penalty kill respectively. Having solid special teams are mandatory if a team is going to win the Cup. The Flyers have the best of both worlds.
Goaltending: OK, stop laughing, because in this case it is true. If the Flyers can have the Martin Biron of last season’s playoff run during the Montreal and Washington series, they just might represent the Eastern Conference in June.
Biron is tied for 12th in the league in save percentage (.915) and 27th in goals against average (2.75). Not bad for someone who’s had his share of struggles this season. Sorry Antero Niittymaki fans, it’s Biron or bust despite having similar numbers (.912, 2.76), and that is not necessarily a bad thing.
However, that’s a lot to hope for. In reality, there are more convincing reasons why they won’t win.
Defense: While the Flyers’ defense isn’t exactly terrible, they are in the middle of the pack allowing 2.83 goals per game, 15th overall. What hurts the Flyers’ cause is they are 26th in the league in shots allowed per game (32.6).
Part of that equation is that the Flyers are their own worst enemy. They take way too many penalties. They are number one in penalty minutes, and are second overall in major penalties. It is a huge reason why the Flyers get out-shot on almost a nightly basis. The wear and tear on the core players is wearing on the team and it is coming at the worst time of the season.
Goaltending: Ok, stop applauding. I knew you were thinking it, so I had to say it. The deal here is, if the Flyers get the Martin Biron that plays like he does on certain nights where he gets pulled, or plays like he did during the during the Penguins series in the conference finals, the Flyers will be checking tee times by the end of April.
So, will the Flyers win the Stanley Cup? Probably not, but as I keep getting reminded, anything can happen. The Flyers can score with any team in the league, the question, can they outscore the Devils, Penguins, Capitals, or Bruins must less against the better teams in the West should they make the finals.
In two more weeks, the “real” season begins. All of our bold predictions won’t mean much as it all gets settle on the ice, not in an article. Let the fun begin.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
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