Luke Schenn and Steve Ott battle for a loose puck in a 4-1 Philadelphia Flyers victory over the St. Louis Blues. Image c/o Amy Irvin of 38Photography.
The Philadelphia Flyers may not have gained much ground in the standings, but they have certainly gained some respect league-wide as they went 4-0-0 this week and beat three of the best teams in the National Hockey League in the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Chicago Blackhawks, and the St. Louis Blues. The Flyers are not a lock to make the playoffs yet, but if they continue to play the way they have over the past eight days, they have as good a shot as any to really make some noise in the annual spring tournament. This team has definitely stepped up their play at the right time.
Claude Giroux is playing like a man possessed. During this five-game win streak, the captain has added eight assists and nine points to his total which sits at 74, good enough for fourth overall in the entire league. Wayne Simmonds has scored five goals and has eight points in these last five games, Scott Hartnell has netted four goals and has six points, while both Jake Voracek and Brayden Schenn have four points apiece across that same span. The team is playing well and getting scoring from their top players.
They will need to continue that trend this week as the Orange and Black have games against the Los Angeles Kings, the New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. You can get tickets to all Philadelphia Flyers games through Tiqiq.com.
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Los Angeles Kings on 03.24.2014 at 7:00 PM in Philadelphia
The Los Angeles Kings hold the third spot in the Pacific Division with 86 points on the year. They are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and are one of the best teams in the NHL in their own end as they have allowed a league leading 149 goals on the season. The first time these clubs met this season in Los Angeles, the Flyers won by a score of 2-0. Steve Mason notched a well-earned shutout while Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux tallied for Philadelphia. The Flyers won the game despite being badly outshot 35-13.
Scoring has been an issue for the Kings for much of the season, but they still have a lot of weapons at their disposal. Los Angeles is led by Anze Kopitar with 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists). The Kings have three ex-Flyers on their roster in Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, and Justin Williams and they have all contributed regularly this season. Carter leads the Kings in goals with 24 and has 45 points (21 assists), while Richards has 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists), and Williams has 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) on the year. Defenseman Drew Doughty has 35 points (eight goals, 27 assists) to round out the Kings’ top scorers.
While the Kings play a very good defensive system under head coach Darryl Sutter, they also have two good goaltenders in Jonathan Quick and Martin Jones. Quick is 23-15-2 in 41 games this year, while posting a 2.01 goals against average, a .917 save percentage, and five shutouts. Jones, a 24-year old rookie, is 10-5-0 with a 1.90 goals against average, .932 save percentage, and three shutouts.
In order to top the Kings and sweep the season series, the Flyers must get pucks in the net and that will be a tough task if they are outshot as severely as they were last time. That being said, if the Flyers play like they did against the Blues, they should head to New York with another two points in the standings.
New York Rangers on 03.26.2014 at 8:00 PM in New York
The New York Rangers are in third place in the Metropolitan Division with 82 points, which puts them just one point behind the Flyers, though the Rangers have played two more games. The Rangers have won three in a row and are 6-3-1 in their last 10. The Flyers lead the season series 2-1, with both of their victories coming on Wells Fargo Center ice. The Rangers’ lone victory came in Madison Square Garden where the teams will meet on Wednesday.
New York’s leading scorer is Martin St. Louis as he has 64 points (29 goals, 35 assists), though since coming over in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis has just three points in 10 games for the Blue Shirts. Derek Stepan. He has 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists). Mats Zuccarello led the team for much of the season before being sidelined with a hand injury that he suffered in Sochi during the Olympics. Zuccarello has 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 67 games. Brad Richards has 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists), Derrick Brassard has 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists), while Chris Kreider has 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 65 games. Rick Nash has 23 and has 35 points (12 assists) in 55 games and Carl Hagelin has 30 points (17 goals, 13 assists).
Henrik Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the world. Lundqivst is 28-22-4, with a 2.42 goals against average, a .919 save percentage, and five shutouts on the year. His backup, Cam Talbot, is 11-6-0, with a 1.76 goals against average, a .937 save percentage, and two shutouts to his credit.
The Rangers are a hard working team and after the St. Louis acquisition are certainly more balanced up front. That said, they don’t score a ton of goals and are not the best defensive team in the league as they have scored 190 goals and given up 175. If the Flyers can beat Lundqivst and keep a lid on St. Louis, Richards, Stepan, and Nash, they have a good shot at winning this game and putting some distance between themselves and the Rangers.
Toronto Maple Leafs on 03.28.2014 at 7:00 PM in Philadelphia
The Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in a tight wild card race right now as they have 80 points and one of the two Eastern Conference wild card spots. They are 4-6-0 and have lost four straight. The Leafs have also beaten the Flyers in both games the teams have played against each other this season by scores of 3-1 in regulation in the season opener and 4-3 in overtime earlier this month. Toronto allows a lot of shots on goal and give up a ton of goals against, but somehow, they find ways to win games.
In terms of scoring, the Leafs have two very good lines and Phil Kessel leads the charge. Kessel is currently third in the NHL with 75 points (35 goals, 40 assists). Former Flyer James van Riemsdyk has 56 points (27 goals, 29 assists) while Nazem Kadri has 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists). Mason Raymond (19 goals, 24 assists) and Tyler Bozak (16 goals, 27 assists) each have 43 points, though Bozak has reached that number in 48 games to Raymond’s 72, and another former Flyer Joffrey Lupul has 42 points (20 goals, 22 assists). Beyond that group of six, the leafs are fairly easy to defend.
In net, Jonathan bernier has received the majority of the starts and he is 25-16-7, with a 2.61 goals against average, a .925 save percentage, and one shutout. James Reimer has a 11-12-1 record, with a 3.32 goals against average, a .910 save percentage, and one shutout as well.
Bernier was the reason the Leafs won the first game between these teams and he can be a difference maker. If the Flyers can effectively check Toronto’s top two lines and take advantage of Toronto’s porous defense, they should be able to get the win.
