Flyers Struggle…but Have a Break
The Philadelphia Flyers started off the season HOT. Their first three games were wins. After the third game, I was very confident that this team was going to be a force. However, after their past two games, it is very clear that a lot of things need to be fixed. I am by no means saying that this team is no longer a force haha, it is only 5 games into the season. I am saying though that they are not perfect (no team is), and need to play consistently.
In the first two games, new goaltender Ray Emery only let up a total of two goals. In the last three games, he let up a total of twelve. That cannot happen. It is not all his fault though. The defense has been playing sloppy at times and they have been allowing shooting lanes to develop. I did notice though, thanks to a friend, that Emery gives up a lot of big rebounds right in front of the net. He needs to freeze the puck or deflect them to the side. Numerous goals were scored on him due because after he blocks a shot, the puck bounces in front of the net. Opposing players crashing the net have been taking advantage of that.
The offense is probably the most consistent part of the team. Partially because they have tremendous talent in all of the lines. However, a lot of it comes down to the chemistry. The offensive lines play so well together which is a huge advantage when on the ice. While goals are nice though, everybody does play defense. The scorers need to help get back and fill the holes in the defense. Players like Richards are the most versatile in the game, more of forwards need to play defense like Richards. Another thing that needs to get fixed as a team, is turning the puck over in their own zone. Turnovers and bad passes are team killers. It is an absolute sin to turnover the puck in front of your own net, and I’ve seen it happen in the past couple of games.
They don’t have a game until Friday which will have given them almost a full week off. Hopefully they fixed some of the issues and come out like they did in the first two games.
