The top line for the Philadelphia Flyers have had a rough go of things so far this season. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have been sporadic at best. James van Riemsdyk was held off of the scoresheet until the game against Chicago.
Alain Vigneault made his frustrations clear after the game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
To an extent, they have figured things out. JVR and Giroux have at least one point in each of the last two games. Voracek has three points, and they all came against Columbus Saturday night.
While it remains to be seen if they can maintain this pace, history has shown that van Riemsdyk is no stranger to scoring in droves. Dating all the way back to his rookie year with the Flyers, there are stretches where he puts up a point per game or more. Let’s take a look at a few instances.
2009/2010
van Riemsdyk started off his NHL career with a bang. He posted 19 points (6g, 13a) in his first 20 games. Those 19 points came in 14 games during that 20 game stretch. Following those first 20 games, JVR was held off of the scoresheet for 7 games, and had 1 goal in the following 17 games.
From January 3rd to the 28th, he posted 11 points (5g, 6a) in 12 games. He ended the season by posting 4 points (3g, 1a) in the final 29 contests.
2012/2013
Another hot start for JVR. Through the course of the first 18 games of the season, van Riemsdyk posted 15 points (11g, 4a). An impressive start to the season, but the ending not so much. Games 77 to 82 of the season resulted in two goals for the then-Toronto Maple Leaf.
2013/2014
Once again, van Riemsdyk started the season off on the right foot. Tallying 13 points (7g, 6a) in the first 12 games, but only to remain point-less over the following 5 games. From November 27th to December 7th, JVR posted 9 points (4g, 5a) in 6 games. Following those 9 games, JVR posted 2 points (1g, 1a) in the following 9 games.
From January 10th to March 1st, 17 games, JVR potted 11 goals and added 10 helpers for 21 points. He followed that up with 9 points (4g, 5a) in the last 20 games of the season.
2014/2015
From November 29th to January 9th, van Riemsdyk was as hot as anyone in the league at the time. Over those 20 games, JVR tallied 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. The last 40 games of the season, however, tell a different story.
van Riemsdyk had streaks of 5, 7, 3, and 4 games where he was held off the scoresheet. He posted 16 points (8g, 8a) in those 40 games. Out of those 40 games, he didn’t post a point in 27 of them.
2016/2017
The 2016/17 season was a season of effective spurts of play for van Riemsdyk. JVR put up 6 points (4g, 2a) in two games in middle November. From December 29th to January 21st, he posted 14 points (3g, 11a) in 10 games. During that stretch, he had three multi-point games in a row.
To cap the season off, he potted 6 goals and added one helper during the last 7 games.
2017/2018
This season may have been one of the streakiest seasons for James van Riemsdyk. He tallied 9 points in the first 9 games of the year, 5 of them being goals. He had a stretch in November where he posted 8 points (6g, 2a) in 7 games, but followed that up with only 3 goals in the next 10 games.
In the middle of March, JVR posted 11 points (8g, 3a) in 6 games, but ended the season only posting 2 goals in the last 7 games.
2018/2019
Last season was a season similar to 2016/17. van Riemsdyk had a stretch of 5 games in December where he posted 6 points (2g, 4a). He also had a stretch of games in January where he put up 9 points (7g, 2a) in 6 games. Towards the end of the season in March, he put up 7 points (6g, 1a) in 5 games.
Scoring obviously comes in waves with James van Riemsdyk. When he’s hot, he’s hot. When he’s cold, he’s cold. With 5 points in his last 2 games, JVR could be in the midst of a scoring streak, and fans should strap in and enjoy the ride.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
