The Philadelphia Flyers ended their disappointing road trip through Western Canada with a record of 1-2-0, after salvaging two points by winning in Vancouver on Sunday night. It’s time to take a look inside the numbers after a rough week.
4:
The number of Flyers players who are at -20 or worse. Shayne Gostisbehere is at -22, but the Flyers first line of Captain Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn are all -20 (and that’s -20 each).
11:
Road wins by the Flyers in the 2016-17 season. Their road record is 11-15-3. Out of 58 possible road points, the Flyers have 25. Not nearly good enough. Good teams at least play .500 on the road.
25:
The Flyers have a -25 goal differential on the season. That’s good (or bad actually) for 14th in the Eastern Conference. The defense has struggled all season, but the offense is certainly not helping.
.850:
Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth’s save percentage on their road trip. Coach Dave Hakstol surprisingly gave Neuvirth all three starts even after struggling in game two of the trip against the Oilers. Passable save percentage by NHL standards is .900. Neuvirth fell well short of that mark.
87:
Projected points by the Flyers for the season. That will put them on the outside of the playoff picture. It also puts the Flyers behind the Maple Leafs, Panthers and Islanders in the fight for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
The common theme is defense..or in the Flyers case, a lack there of. Goaltending has been inconsistent all season and the Flyers top players have simply not performed to where they need to be. The first line cannot simply be a combined -60. Their defensive play has improved recently, but they need to string a winning streak together to get themselves back into the playoff picture.
Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports.
