April 1995. That was the last time the Flyers held a 9-game win streak.
Philadelphia has been arguably the hottest team the past two weeks across the league. 9-1-0 in there last 10, with a brutal schedule (12 games in 20 days) and against some formidable opponents such as Chicago, Nashville, Edmonton, and Dallas.
You can’t help but get excited about this team and how they are managing to win game after game, especially fairly early on in the season compared to when they got hot last year (March).
I can’t help but question, however, why exactly the Flyers are doing what they are to produce points in the standings. Overall, their offensive/defensive gameplay has not changed at all from the months of October and November. The powerplay was and continues to remain the source for offensive success. So, could the consistency in net from Steve Mason and rookie netminder Anthony Stolarz really be the sole factor for this group to win games? If this is the case, what does this mean for Michael Nuevirth who is expected to return from injury in the next week? And if we are relying on goaltending and the dominant special teams, can we expect this team to continue winning throughout the remainder of the regular season?
Consistency. That has been the recipe for Steve Mason. Immediately following the injury to Michael Nuevrith back on November 12th against the Minnesota Wild, Steve Mason has been the hottest goaltender in the league. He has played the most games league wide since (14), and has tallied a record of 10-3 with a 92.3 save percentage. We saw a similar streak from Mason last season when Nuevirth was also sidelined with an injury. It seems to be a common theme for Steve who is in a contract year facing an expansion draft this offseason. When the net is his, night in and night out, he gets comfortable between the pipes. The leadership mentality sets in knowing that he is the only one for the job, and the job needs to be done. And with the kind of schedule the Flyers have had of late – the rhythm was there for the taking.
The implications of Mason’s latest success not only have effected team play, confidence, and overall position in the standings, but it is also going to affect the position of goaltender for Philadelphia moving forward. I explained early on in the season that Michael Nuevirth is not the number one guy for this team. Steve Mason may not be either (at least looking further down the road), but he is clearly our best option for the time being. Thus – when Nuevirth returns to the locker room within the next 10 days, he will be watching many games from the bench. Some people have expressed a desire to trade Nuevirth while his value is still somewhat decent and then just bring up Anthony Stolarz as the permanent backup. While this idea could work – I just don’t see the purpose behind it. Right now, we need to lock down one goalie contract, and leave one open for the (possible) taking for The Las Vegas Golden Knights in the upcoming expansion draft. Locking up both Mason and Nuevirth is out of the question – and I really would like to see Stolarz inked up before the trade deadline. If the right offer is there for Hextall, sure take it. But I wouldn’t be desperate to get rid of Nuevirth.
Regardless of the goaltending situation, we know that the Flyers have a top tier powerplay which is heavily contributing to their success. The penalty kill is also improving, especially during this win streak. But to look at these points separately is not really explaining why the consistent success has been coming from this club these past two weeks. The answer actually lies in the penalties themselves.
The Flyers are close to double the opposition in powerplay opportunities during this win streak. Just take a look at some of these numbers:
Before win streak…
PP 25.7% with 74 opportunities in 22GP
PK 80.9% with 68 times shorthanded in 22GP
During win streak…
PP 21.4% with 42 opportunities in 9GP
PK 84% with 25 times shorthanded in 9GP
During the win streak the Flyers have had 17 more opportunities then the opposition with the man advantage. That equates to just over 6% of the time spent on the ice during this 9-game win streak. That may not seem significant, but it is. Because all of these numbers support Philadelphia puck possession, and you know what happens when your team is in control of the puck? Unless you're Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets, the other team can’t score. The refs may be helping a Philadelphia team after all people, this is huge!
At the end of the day, I really think that the goaltending is the largest factor in this win streak. But you can’t deny the fact that the Flyers have been given a huge break in the PP/PK differential over the past 9 games.
And with that, here are 10 key points to get the Flyers their 10th (Or as I’m referring to it as their ‘Brayden Schenn-th’) straight win Wednesday night in Colorado.
Goaltending needs to stay as sharp as ever against the likes of Matt Duchene and Nate McKinnon.
If we can’t get any love from the refs in Colorado, be smart and draw as many penalties as possible – the man advantage will work for us.
The top line of Raffl, Giroux, and Voreck needs to get off to a better start then they did in Detroit.
A defensive wall in the neutral zone is preferred.
With Mark Striet, one of our better puck moving defensemen, out with an upper body injury for a couple weeks, Michael Del Zotto will need to step up to get back to where we saw his game early last season.
To branch off of #5, Gostisbehere will have to compensate on offense for the points Mark Streit was bringing from the blue line.
Wayne Simmonds is going to need to continue to keep getting those greasy goals in front of the net from rebounds/deflections. Aka – keep eating those Lucky Charms, Wayne.
Dave Hakstol needs to be smart about his defensive pairings. We know he can be somewhat of a mad scientist with these pairings, but now with Streit out and a likely Nick Schultz back in – he is going to have to be ‘smart’ rather than ‘experimental’.
Health! It’s not always something we can control but each and every skater on this squad at the moment needs to do their best to avoid injury – the team can’t afford anymore, especially with how the rest of the division is playing.
Continue the momentum. Even though I mentioned early the grueling schedule the Flyers have had to deal with – some teams react better to momentum when they are playing close games. Now with a 3 day gap since their last match, and still on the road – the squad needs to keep doing what they have been these past two weeks and remember they are still on a streak!
Puck drops tonight at 10pm against the Avalanche for #FlyersAfterDark