More Doom and Gloom

Apparently I didn't get out all the doom and gloom yesterday. Evidently the Flyers locker room is about to fall apart, and the players hate each other and are tuning out Laviolette. I wonder if the Flyers will win another game this season.

Contrary to popular belief, a 4 game winning streak is not the end of the world, no matter how ugly one of the losses was. The Flyers look tired and are not matching their opponents' desperation. Their power play is struggling, and players are making uncharacteristic foolish plays trying to do too much. Such is life.

There are two things to keep an eye on;

1) Is any of this a precursor to struggles in the playoffs?

2) Can the Flyers maintain their top seed.

As to 1), it would be silly to think a few bad games presupposes doom in the playoffs for a team that is still number 1 in the Conference. Way too early for that kind of conclusion.

Point 2 is more important, because the standings are so tight. A 2-week bobble can cost them multiple playoff spots. A #7 seed last year didn't cost them in the end, but no one wants to do that again. The Flyers will have to turn it around pretty quickly or months of hard work will be wasted.

AND about that struggling power play, one suggestion; get Matt Carle off the PP. Despite regular PP minutes, he has 2 PP points all season, putting him 12th on the team in that category. More importantly, he just doesn't have that skill set. Carle's biggest offensive asset is his skating and joining the rush. In the "half-court" setup of the PP, that skill is largely useless. What's left is his mediocre passing, and his very poor shot. Pronger, Timonen and Meszaros are all very good PP defensemen, and a guy like Mike Richards can move from his low-outside position to be another point man, which would get another forward in the PP mix. Seems an obvious improvement to me.