The Flyers wanted a regulation win on Monday and didn’t get it.
The Flyers NEEDED a win on Monday of any kind. They got that.
How many times has this team kept itself afloat this season, only barely? How many times have they fought back from the brink, seemingly out of games, only to piece together a comeback to earn a point or two?
And yet… they’re still not where they want to be. Not even after beating the Bruins for the first time this season, 3-2 in overtime.
Despite all the cries from the fan base, and even some writers around the team, to pack it in and sell off the team, preparing for next season (which is only six months away at this point), Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher has chosen to be as patient as he can and let this team dictate what he does before the trade deadline that is now just six days away.
Considering how the team has played in its last two contests, a hard-fought shootout loss to the New York Islanders and the gutsy overtime win over Boston, coming from behind after trailing 2-0 in the first game and 2-1 in the second entering the third period, it’s becoming apparent that the team doesn’t want to just fold up the tent just yet.
The Flyers (18-14-5, 41 points) are now three points behind Boston (19-10-6, 44 points) for the final playoff spot in the East Division. They have two games remaining this week against the Bruins, both at the Wells Fargo Center, tonight and Saturday afternoon.
Both teams have another game between. On Thursday, the Flyers are back in New York to play the Islanders and the Bruins are down in D.C. to face the first place Capitals, but by week’s end, the Flyers could find themselves back in front of the Bruins in the standings.
And yes, the Bruins have two games in hand, March 20 in Buffalo and the final game of the season, May 11 down in Washington again, so the Flyers are going to need some help along the way, too.
The playoffs are still a long shot and the Flyers put themselves in this position with a disastrous month of March. But, the fact that the team is still talking playoffs at this point is, at the very least, pretty remarkable.
And all things considered, it’s actually mind-blowing to think that Flyers have played .500 hockey (10-10-2) since having to face the Bruins at Lake Tahoe minus six players due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The way we’ve been talking about the Flyers, one would think they have been one of the worst teams in the NHL. And in some instances, they’ve deserved our wrath:
No doubt, this team is flawed. Certainly this isn’t the “right mix” of players, as Fletcher pointed out in his press conference a couple weeks ago.
And yet, here they are, 19 games to go and somehow still relevant.
The easy trope would be to say, “well, it’s hockey, you’re never out of the race until the final week of the season.” But that’s misguided.
Yes, teams are often eliminated in the final week or so of the season, but many times its a foregone conclusion that it’s going to happen. Right now the New Jersey Devils are 12 points out of a playoff spot. If that’s still the case May 1, they will technically still be in the race with the season ending May 11. But we know now, nearly a full month earlier – and even longer than that – that the Devil are not a 2021 playoff team.
Not to mention, it’s also hard to overcome even the smallest of point deficits. The Flyers being three points out would be the same as the Phillies being one-and-a-half games out of a Wild Card spot with 19 games to play. The difference is, every major league baseball game has the same value – one win, and one loss. In the NHL, the loser point for games that end in overtime and/or shootouts changes the value of games on a nightly basis – and without warning.
Making up these three points is not going to be easy. But, it was just three days ago that the deficit was five points.
And if there’s one thing you can credit the Flyers with, despite all their shortcomings, it’s that they don’t quit. They keep coming. They won’t stop until they’re told they can’t go anymore.
It will either benefit them greatly and they will complete this run back into the playoffs, or it will come up just short, and no one will feel sorry for the Flyers missing the playoffs, nor will they care that the team tried.
“There’s no quitting in this team,” said Sean Couturier. “Guys want to win… We seem to be trailing a lot in games but find a way to come back and get some big points. Obviously we’d rather play with the lead a little more, but at the end of the day, especially this time of year, we have to get the results that we need.”
Two players have basically been willing the Flyers in these comeback efforts:
It sounds like a broken record with these guys, but the fact is, their play has been on a different level than the rest of the team.
These two will be the frontrunners for the Bobby Clarke trophy as the Flyers MVP and it isn’t even close. James van Riemsdyk has tailed off considerably. Joel Farabee was having a bit of a breakout year with his scoring capabilities but his defensive zone play and his decision-making with the puck have been less than desirable the past couple weeks.
Giroux was involved with plays that ended two long goalless droughts for the Flyers two Travises.
The first was picking up the primary assist on Travis Konecny’s goal, which admittedly was some puck luck for the Flyers, but luck that was earned by a good shift by Giroux’s line:
This snapped a 12-game goalless drought for Konecny, but TK has been playing better of late. He also had a real strong game against the Islanders, a game that he finished with a pair of assists, and did pick up a total of nine assists in those 12 game she wasn’t scoring, for what it’s worth.
But, back to the captain…
In overtime, Giroux was caught as the only Flyer back during a 2-on-1 breakaway and played it just as any defenseman should and maybe better than most, denying both the pass with his body positioning, and the shot with his stickwork.
It was such an integral play that coach Alain Vigneault mentioned it without even being asked about it during his post game presser:
“I love the fact that G played that 2-on-1 like a defenseman. He played it extremely well. We were able to take that opportunity away and we came back two shifts later and we were able to score… G for me has been one of our more consistent players throughout the year. He really, in my estimation, has led this group with the right example. He’s working hard and preparing himself hard. We need more guys to follow his lead because he’s competing and playing the right way on both ends of the rink and he’s coming up big for us at big times and he had another strong game tonight.”
And then there’s Couturier, who is a danger to score every time he’s on the ice. He’s been the Flyers most consistent point producer this season. He’s registered at least one point in 20 of the 25 games he’s completed. He’s amassed 28 points, which is more than a point per game.
His advanced metrics are also very strong. According to Hockey-reference.com, his CorsiFor percentage is an excellent 58.1%.
And so it was no surprise when he scored this game-tying goal:
Since March 2, when things started to go to hell for the Flyers, Couturier has six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 18 games while Giroux has 10 goals and 6 assists for 16 points. They both lead the team.
And it was Giroux’s defensive play that allowed for the other Travis to score the game-winner:
Sanheim had a similar chance earlier in the overtime, set up by a beautiful play by Giroux, but Dan Vladar stopped him on a similar move. Only this time, Sanheim elevated the puck to beat the Boston third string goalie who frankly, played a hell of a game.
It was Sanheim’s first goal since a shootout loss to Boston in January, snapping a 30-game drought, but it couldn’t come at a better time for the Flyers.
They got a little good fortune go their way, first Patrice Bergeron shooting the puck right into Sanheim’s body and then falling down on his skates allowing Sanheim to get the breakaway – two highly uncharacteristic plays by one of the game’s best defensive forwards, but you know what, you create your own luck sometimes by playing well, and the Flyers played well enough for the second straight game to put off any potential eulogies for this season – at least for one more night.
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