So I've been saying it for over a month, but this is not a good hockey team. Apparently it took many fans and media this long to come to this conclusion, but now panic and hand-wringing abounds.
The Flyers' "rivalry" week against top eastern teams has been a decisive failure. The Flyers enjoyed first period leads of 2-1 and 4-1 respectively against the Rangers and Penguins, but then were outscored 7-0 in the remainders of those games. Against the Bruins, the Flyers never got off the mark and took a meek 3-0 loss.
Many things are going wrong. The players appear to have given up on Laviolette. Bryzgalov has not been sharp. Couturier's confidence is extremely low. Overall frustration grows. While I will look at some of these issues in more detail in upcoming posts, suffice it to say things are looking quite bleak.
If there's any question as to how this season will progress, consider these cold hard numbers.
--The last few years, it has taken approximately 1.12 points per game to earn a playoff spot in the east. In this shortened 48 game season, that equals 53/54 points.
--The Flyers currently have 23 points in 26 games. This equals .88 points per game, which puts the Flyers 12th out 15 teams in the East.
--To reach 53 points, the Flyers must earn 30 points in their final 22 games, or 1.36 points per game. This is equivalent to Pittsburgh's current record, 3rd best in the East.
Does anyone think this team is capable of performing as the third best team in the east the remainder of the season? I didn't think so. This team is not making the playoffs.
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