With the 2019-20 NHL season on hold we are going to take a look at where each NHL team stands at this moment with a series of posts examining their season. Have they met expectations? Exceeded expectations? Who has been the surprise? All of that and more. Today we look at the Philadelphia Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 41-21-7 (69 games), second in the Metropolitan Division, fourth in the Eastern Conference
Leading Scorer: Travis Konecny - 61 points (24 goals and 37 assists)
In-Season Roster Moves:
• Traded Jean-Francois Berube to the New York Rangers for future considerations
• Acquired Nathan Noel from the Chicago Blackhawks for T.J. Brennan
• Traded a 2020 fourth-round pick and Kyle Criscuolo to the Anaheim Ducks for Derek Grant
• Acquired Nate Thompson from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2021 fifth-round pick
Season Overview:
The Flyers made some significant changes coming into the 2019-20 season. They brought in a new coaching staff with plenty of experience. Alain Vigneault, Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo have found a way to get the most out of the team in the first season. They may have peaked a little early, but we don’t know for sure because the season was paused in mid-March.
They also added a key free agent in Kevin Hayes. The opinions on the signing varied at the time, but he’s worked out relatively well in his first year in Philadelphia.
The first month of the Flyers’ season was a rollercoaster. They opened the campaign with a win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Prague and followed that up with another victory over the New Jersey Devils. Then, they dropped their next four games before winning three in a row. They closed out October with back-to-back losses.
That feels like a lifetime ago though.
In the weeks leading up to the pause, they turned into one of the dominant teams in the league. In February, the Flyers started making up ground on the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, who were sitting in first and second place in the Metro.
Just how good were they in Feb? Well, they rattled off 10 wins in 13 games. They also won nine games in a row between Feb. 18 and Mar. 7. They dropped their final game before the pause (a 2-0 loss to Boston), but they managed to jump three points ahead of the Pens and one point behind the Caps.
The usual suspects played a key roll in that turnaround. Claude Giroux had 18 points in the final 15 games. Jakub Voracek accumulated 10 points in the last six games, while Sean Couturier had 16 points in 18 contests. After failing to pick up a point in his last three games, Konecny had 17 points in 12 games. As you can see, the contributions were coming from all over the roster.
Let’s not forget about Carter Hart, who won seven of his last eight games. He allowed two goals or fewer in seven of those games. How would he have looked in the playoffs? We won’t know for sure until they happen, but he was well on his way to finishing the season in dominant fashion.
It seems plainly obvious that the Flyers are on the verge of becoming one of the dominant teams in the conference for years to come.
Highlight of the Season:
The top moment of the Flyers’ season happened in January, when they played the Boston Bruins. Philadelphia was down 5-2 in the second period, but they battled back to force overtime/a shootout.
Do you remember what happened in the shootout?
Konecny scored the go-ahead goal and Brad Marchand totally whiffed on his shootout attempt.
A classic.
MORE FLYERS:
• Biggest surprises, disappointments
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Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.