Will the consistent Philadelphia Flyers please stand up???? As Slim Shady states, “Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?” Well, the real Flyers have to stand up. Week after week for the past few weeks the orange and black win one, then lose five, win two then lose one. There’s just no consistency here as of late.
The once power outage on the Flyers power play (5-37) hopefully has turned the corner. They have capitalized on 3 of their last six chances with the man advantage. Moreover, thank God for Travis Konecny. He’s electrifying, as he potted two goals against the New York Rangers. Let’s hope he keeps it up during these last few weeks of the regular season.
In other good news Alex Lyon is on fire. He made 11 saves on twelve shots in relief of Petr Mrazek on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings. Lyon was pretty solid once again on Thursday night against the New York Rangers in the Flyers 4-3 victory, while back stopping 33 big saves. Without further delay, here our answers to your questions.
Tyler Adams- When is Elliot back?
Tyler thanks for your continued support. It’s a great time to be a die-hard Flyers like yourself. Actually, Elliott skated last week, and was able to face some shots. He is on target to return before the regular season ends, per General Manager Ron Hextall.
Tyler Adams- With rumours of Neuvy being ready to join the lineup which goalie is going to get the boot first?
Tyler with the smoking hot question for threeeeeeeeeeeeee. I personally believe Lyon would be the odd man out. Neuvirth when healthy is a solid goaltender, especially in the playoffs. Think back to two years ago against the Washington Capitals. Neuvirth was lights out in his three starts against them. To me Lyon has done what the Flyers have asked of him, and sort of has saved the wheels from falling off the bus completely for the Flyers, with being a solid backup goaltender.
#FlyersMail how can this team be so unmotivated the first two periods vs a struggling Red Wings squad when they are up to their eye balls in a playoff spot battle?
— Robert DeSandre (@carigi12) March 21, 2018
Rob I appreciate your support. You’re a blue-collar, die-hard Flyers fan. It shows in this post. It’s unbelievable that they could be unmotivated against the Red Wings, but that’s exactly what happened. Here’s a tid bit from Sean Couturier following the loss against the Red Wings:
“Maybe we thought it was going to be an easy game. We didn’t play the right way. We didn’t play hard. We wasted 40 minutes. We came back and got a big point, but we can’t be wasting time at this time of the year.”
At this stage in the season this is unacceptable. Yes, the orange and black weren’t supposed to contend for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division this year, but yet here they are. This type of effort will not let you win a playoff game, let alone make the playoffs at all. The Red Wings are playing their playoffs right now, and the Flyers should have known better than to play down to any opponent at this stage in the season.
#Flyersmail With the extra picks Hextall is once again getting do you see this as a potential let us move up higher in the 1st round for a more impactful prospect or a let us go Soviet and overwhelm with sheer numbers thing?
— Barry (@TheRealCrowhuck) March 21, 2018
Barry you’re the man. Your support speaks volumes. Thanks for all you do at your job, and I’m proud to know a great Flyers fan. Your question is not far off from what Hextall is thinking. He was seen scouting a potential top 5-7th pick in this years draft, in London Knights Forward Evan Bouchard two weeks ago in Ottawa. Read into that how you would like, but honestly I wouldn’t throw it by Hextall. If the player and the price is right he may very well do it. The most honest answer is only Hextall knows.
Nathan Erie- Is the streakiness this season a direct result of immaturity of this team or is leadership at fault (coach and captains)…Or is it the defense or goalie…? I hear a lot of blame in every direction!
Nathan you’re an inspirational Flyers fan. Honestly, I think it’s a little bit of everything asides from Claude Giroux. Giroux has really developed into a vocal leader on and off the ice this season from what I’ve seen in my time of being around the team.
The defense is young, and has been leaky at times. Goaltending has been pretty solid, but up and down at times. For instance, Petr Mrazek was lights out in his first three starts while donning a Flyers sweater. Since then he’s been very streaky. Much like Steve Mason with either being hot or cold. Now the defense has also been the blame for the streaky Mrazek, as well.
Head Coach Dave Hakstol deserves some blame as well for the streakiness. He knows the weaknesses of the team, and at times Hakstol doesn’t make the right personnel choices during the game. Hakstol is reluctant to play rookies at times, while some vets make mistake after mistake. This may cause some young players to over think things, which in turn can lead to more mistakes.
Hey Jamey, any word on why Morin is out so long?
— Tom Mount (@mount_mount2) March 22, 2018
Tom you’re an awesome Flyers. Passionate with the orange and black running through your veins. Samuel Morin will be out at least another week with a lower body injury. It was supposed to be a two-three week injury. The details of his injury is disclosed, and the only thing I know is that he was on crutches at one point. Morin has been training at the Flyers Skate Zone in prior weeks to stay fresh. Lets pray for a full recovery.
Lyon has looked ok, but obviously needs help . Does Hexy have anything up his sleeve to fix the goalie situation?
— Thirsty (@Thirstygolfer) March 22, 2018
Rob you’re awesome. You have been an enormous supporter of the Flyers organization long before I was thought of. Lyon has done everything the Flyers have asked of him. He has proven that he is a solid backup at this time. However, what Hextall has is an ace up his sleeve with Carter Hart. Elliott is a stopgap goaltender until Hart is ready. Barring injury or a really bad training camp which I don’t foresee, Hart in my opinion will be the starter for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms next season. I wouldn’t do anything at this time with bringing in any outside the organization to assist with goaltending until Hart is ready. The orange and black have Anthony Stolarz, John Muse, Dustin Tokarski, and Lyon in the system to help if need be. Simply put, there’s no need to panic until Hart is ready.
Brian Geese- A lot of people seem to think that Alex Lyon won’t be a good goalie in the NHL! I kind of think he might! What about you?
Brian your continued support means a lot. you’re an awesome Flyers fan. I think Alex Lyon sure as heck has a future in the NHL. He has done everything and then some with this call up to the Flyers. I’m not saying Lyon would be a full-time starter. What I am saying I don’t see any reason to believe that he can’t be a solid backup. I’d be very happy if Lyon was the backup next season to Elliott.
Brian Geese- Would you agree that Matt Read has brought some energy to the offense since he’s been playing? What are the team’s future plans for Matt Read.
Brian you have really solid observations of Matt Read. I for one am shocked at how well he has been since returning the big club. Read has seemed to stabilize a once horrid penalty kill. Moreover, Read potted a goal against the Red Wings to boot in his lone shot on net. Read will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, in which the Flyers will not resign him. The orange and black are loaded to the gills will NHL ready forwards, thus parting with Read would make sense.
If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our Facebook page or on Twitter using the #Flyersmail. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag, and Let’s go Flyers. Without your support we wouldn’t be here today.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
