GDHQNHL15_2pg-Philadelphia Flyers 2

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Coburn did not have his best year in 2013-14, scoring only 17 points and finishing with a -6 rating. He has to step up to help the Flyers perform better, especially in the post-season. The Flyers traded away Andrej Meszaros, but that didn’t break too many fans’ hearts. They are hoping Michael Del Zotto can rediscover the production he had early in his career, although that may be something of a stretch. Philadelphia committed a lot of money to Andrew MacDonald during the offseason. Some might look at his offensive numbers (28 points) and his awful minus-22 rating last year with the Flyers and Islanders and wonder why the team did it. But MacDonald is an excellent shot blocker, and that helps a lot. Luke Schenn and Nicklas Grossman have experience, but neither has top-tier talent. That’s the problem throughout the entire defensive lineup. The Flyers lack the talent there to compete against the more potent offensive teams, especially Pittsburgh, which can be found in their Metropolitan backyard. The additions of Del Zotto and Nick Schultz don’t exactly make this unit better, and if the Flyers want to have postseason success, they need to upgrade this area throughout the season. Goaltending Okay, so Steve Mason didn’t replicate his remarkable rookie season in Columbus, when he registered 10 shutouts and posted a 2.29 goalsagainst average. But he was pretty steady in Philadelphia, especially playing in net behind a below-par defense. Mason’s .917 save percentage was solid, he allowed 2.50 goals in his 61 games, and he shut out four opponents. Mason finished seventh in the Vezina voting and had an allaround strong year. The question, of course, is can he duplicate it. He was not very good in Columbus after his debut, and with the Flyers’ defense not so sturdy, he can’t afford to become a liability. That goes double since his backup, Ray Emery, is mercurial. He was just 9-12-2 last year, with a 2.96 GAA. That doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence on a team that needs someone reliable between the posts. Emery could be great this year; it has happened before. But he didn’t deliver last season. Power Play The Flyers’ success rate on the power play dropped nearly two percentage points from 2012-13, and that’s not enough to boost a team into Cup contention. Swapping Hartnell for Umberger is a wash in this area, based on their 2013-14 production, but the team needs more people to produce when it has an advantage. Simmonds was a beast on the power play last year, but it’s unreasonable to expect him to deliver like that again, especially since his 15 goals were four more than his previous career high and nine better than his 2012-13 performance. Giroux is steady in this area, as is Voracek. Expect Lecavalier to produce on the advantage, and Streit and Schenn will chip in, but this area has to improve across the board, if Philadelphia is going to move forward. Even though they were eighth in the league, they were still behind division mates Pittsburgh and Washington. Penalty Kill The Flyers’ penalty kill was ranked seventh in the NHL last year, which is kind of surprising, given that the team’s defense was so vulnerable. But having Mason solid in goal was a big reason for the team’s success in that area. Perhaps the biggest reason for the success is that the Flyers just don’t let other teams get shots on goal when they are on the power play. When you subtract blocked shots and shots that go wide or high, the Flyers allowed the fewest enemy power play shots in the league. That’s huge. Claude Giroux Len Redkoles/NHL/Getty Images As for the personnel, Couturier is a particularly strong penalty killer. So are Schenn, Read and Grossman. Although Timonen won’t be there, it’s unlikely the Flyers will slip too far. Under Craig Berube, they have a good system and execute it well on a nightly basis. Prediction The Flyers will again be a team that finishes in the top four among their Metropolitan brethren, but it’s unrealistic to consider this group good enough to win the division or contend for the Stanley Cup. The defense isn’t good enough, and while there is good scoring depth, there aren’t enough big producers. Scoreboard 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 PLAYOFF FINISH Conf QF DNQ Conf SF Conf SF Stanley Cup Finals REGULAR SEASON 42-30-10 23-22-3 47-26-9 47-23-12 41-35-6 POINT TOTAL 94 49 103 106 88 SHOOTOUT RECORD 3-8 1-2 4-7 3-7 4-3 GOALS SCORED 236 133 264 259 236 GOALS ALLOWED 235 141 232 223 225 POWER-PLAY % 19.73 21.64 19.70 16.61 21.38 PENALTY KILL % 84.81 85.87 81.82 82.75 82.93


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