Tag: Kevin Hayes

The final day before the start of the 2020-21 season is here, and that means roster decisions are due. The Flyers have officially announced their roster for opening night of the 2020-21 season.

What Alain Vigneault has brought in that time has been refreshing. For the better part of a decade, the Flyers lacked a coach that seemed to challenge a steady core group of players, that didn’t demand the same excellence the fans did, that was satisfied with a participation award in the playoffs, but never advancing. That’s not Vigneault’s style.

The final tuneup for the Flyers before the official start of the regular season came on Sunday night when two rosters skated in a 60-minute scrimmage followed by a shootout at Wells Fargo Center.

One of the subjects that was discussed a lot during the playoff run over the summer was the lack of success for the Flyers power play. That was an area of focus during training camp on Friday, as the team returned to the ice after an off day on Thursday.

The transition to playing left wing will be a work in progress for Sam Morin, who is trying his best to learn on the fly. He continues to watch film of Matt Martin, and took some advice from Danny Briere during practice as well as talking to other teammates about the position as well.

As camp opens, the Flyers will face some questions that could make or break their success in the upcoming season. While they are widely regarded as a team that should make the playoffs and have a successful run, there are a lot of “ifs” that the Flyers are dealing with. Here are five of the questions the Flyers are facing as they hit the ice for the first time this year as a group.

On Saturday, the Flyers released their roster and schedule for training camp ahead of the 2020-21 season, set to begin in just 11 days.

As 2020 draws to a close, here are some of the topics discussed in the State of the Flyers, a short playing year with a lot of progress made.

Though the circumstances are very different, the NHL has been here before when it comes to shortened seasons, and not too far in the past either. The NHL saw the 2012-13 season shortened to 48 games after a lockout. Sean Couturier remembers that season well, and how a slow start can turn things sour quickly.

Take the emotion of playoff hockey and bottle it up into a 56-game schedule where you play the same seven teams all season and it’s a recipe for rivalry. The 2020-21 season schedule will be the strangest we’ve seen so far, but it has a chance to restore some divisional rivalries for the Flyers.

For Kevin Hayes, a newcomer to the Flyers last season, this was the reason he had signed in Philadelphia. He wanted a chance to win and saw the potential the Flyers really offered as a key part of their success, and he believes that last season’s playoff run is only scratching the surface.

While this season holds some different circumstances, the importance of getting off to a hot start remains the same. With only 56 games on the schedule and every one within the division, there is little room for off nights and none for lengthy losing streaks for the Flyers.

Alain Vigneault addressed the media on Monday for the first time since the Flyers lost Game 7 to the Islanders nine days ago. His comments focused on a bright future ahead. “I believe that we’re on the right track as far as moving forward to win a Stanley Cup,” Vigneault said.

This is what is so hard about this Flyers loss. It’s not that it’s the end of the season. This happens for 15 other teams in the playoffs without a reward. Only one team comes away with the Stanley Cup. What’s so hard is having to once again hear “there’s always next year,”… and not knowing when next year really is.

It all comes down to this. Game 7 to decide who goes to the Eastern Conference Final and who goes home. If it’s anything like the other games in this series, you can expect a close, hard-fought battle to the finish where only one thing is certain: this game will end with handshakes at center ice.

In a wild, back-and-forth tilt, both teams showed the qualities and identity that they have established. This series has been as hard-fought as they come. Neither team quits. Ever. And it showed in Game 6 as both sides assumed control at different points and as the game drug on into the night.

Ivan Provorov scored the goal that forced a deciding Game 7 at 15:03 of the second overtime, giving the Flyers a 5-4 double-overtime win over the Islanders in Game 6. 

The Flyers have a chance to force this series to the brink with a win in Game 6, and it could require them to do so without one of their top players in the process.

Just like in Game 2, when the Flyers let another 3-1 lead in the third period get away, they had the answer in overtime. It took over 12 minutes, but the Flyers remain alive in the series with a deflection goal by Scott Laughton. 5 takeaways from Game 5.

The Flyers are not dead yet. A point shot by Ivan Provorov was deflected by Scott Laughton and beat Semyon Varlamov to give the Flyers a 4-3 overtime win in Game 5 that keeps their season alive. 

There is a chance this could be the last game of the 2019-20 season for the Flyers. There is a chance their time in the Toronto bubble will end. But it is also in the control of the Flyers to try to make a push and at least inch their way back into the series with a win in Game 5 and forcing a Game 6.

The Flyers are in a must-win position in Game 4, as they get right back at it on Sunday night. A win evens the series and sets the Flyers up for a best-of-three to decide the winner of the series. A loss puts their backs against the wall with three games for the Islanders to finish off the series.

The Flyers need more from these players, especially if they are to see this playoff run go any further. They need their top scorers. They need their best performers. They need the guys who get the most ice time to really earn it. They need their leadership group to step up on the ice. 5 takeaways from Flyers-Islanders Game 3.

The Flyers found a way to finish the job in Game 2 and even the series, but now they face another tough task in Game 3. With questions about who will start in goal, what lineup changes are made and the overall approach to the game, the Flyers need to come out ready to play, because it was clear once again that the Islanders look for any sign of life and momentum and run with it.

The Flyers had the first period everyone wanted to see, then let the lead they took in the opening period get away, only to erase it all with an overtime goal that evened the series. 5 takeaways from Game 2 of Flyers-Islanders.

After letting a 3-0 lead slip away, Phil Myers fired a shot past Thomas Greiss to finish off a 4-3 Flyers win in overtime, evening the series with the Islanders at one game apiece.

The Flyers have to play from behind in a series for the first time, trying to find a way to even things up in Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon.

The Islanders showed they are a team that has a lot – the talent behind the bench, the depth up front, the defensive structure and the goaltender to get the job done. The Flyers did not show what they wanted to show. They did not show they have another level. They showed their flaws. 5 takeaways from Game 1.

The Flyers move on to face the seven-seed New York Islanders, a team that plays a similar style with much more depth and much more physicality. This series is sure to be a battle from start to finish. Game 1 is set for 7 p.m.