The annual Black Friday game has arrived and the Flyers are set to host the Hurricanes in their second matchup of the season. The Flyers have handed the Hurricanes one of only three regulation losses so far, but with both teams on losing skids, the stakes should be high going into this one.
After back-to-back losses in Florida (following losses to the Lightning and Bruins), the Flyers are in need of a surge offensively and more importantly, a win. They haven’t put up more than three goals since their 5-3 victory against the Oilers on October 27. During this 13-game stretch, they’ve been shut out three times — one more time than the entirety of the 2020-21 season.
You know how it goes, when the top guys on the roster aren’t performing, there’s a small chance of a winning record during that time. Sticking with the poor scoring over the course of the past 13 games, Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny, Cam Atkinson, and Joel Farabee have combined for a mere 11 goals.
Stats since Oct. 28
Giroux — 3 goals, 7 assists (10 points)
Couturier — 3 goals, 3 assists (6 points)
Konecny — 2 goals, 3 assists (5 points)
Atkinson — 1 goal, 2 assists (3 points)
Farabee — 2 goals, 0 assists (2 points)
Minus a few games spread throughout this season, it’s been a while since goaltending hasn’t been the biggest concern for the Flyers. While Carter Hart and Martin Jones have been quite the duo, they cannot be expected to hold teams to one or two goals every single game. It’s always a positive when your goalie can steal a game once in a while, but it’s unrealistic to have that expectation going into every game. There needs to be a balance between the performance in net and those in front.
Bunny’s back
It looks like there will be another change to the bottom-six of the lineup, as the Flyers recalled Connor Bunnaman. He will most likely draw in for Max Willman, who was loaned to the Phantoms earlier in the day.
Right the path
The Metropolitan Division isn’t going to get any easier. Minus the Islanders, every team currently holds a winning record. While the Flyers are struggling toward the bottom, it’s important they get off on the right foot against the Hurricanes and break this losing streak. This is the first of four consecutive divisional games (Hurricanes, Devils, Islanders and Rangers) and the schedule is only going to get harder as we close out 2021.
Current Metropolitan standings
Hurricanes 14-3-1 (29 points)
Capitals 12-3-5 (29 points)
Rangers 12-4-3 (27 points)
Penguins 9-6-4 (22 points)
Blue Jackets 11-6-0 (22 points)
Flyers 8-6-4 (20 points)
Devils 8-5-4 (20 points)
Islanders 5-9-2 (12 points)
Photo Credit: Alex McIntrye
