Faceoff Factor

A ‘finally’ in Philly

Mike Wilson | National Hockey League

Feb 26, 02:18 AM | Hype this story!

Nearly three weeks ago, the Philadelphia Flyers sat on top of the Atlantic Division and second in the Eastern Conference. They went into the Wachovia Center for two consecutive games. The first game, against Atlanta, resulted in a 3-2 win for the Flyers. However, it was their last win for a long time.

It was the second game, which welcomed the Capitals, which kicked off a landslide losing streak. The worst damage was done in their next three games as they dropped consecutive games to divisional teams, the Rangers, the Penguins, and the Islanders.

Other crushing losses came to Southeast Division teams (including the last-place Tampa Bay Lightning and the 13th place Florida Panthers), back-to-back losses to the Montreal Canadiens, a one point loss to Ottawa, and a loss to the Western Conference San Jose Sharks.

Philadelphia almost snapped the streak during the first game against Montreal. With Montreal up 1-0, the Flyers got an opportunity with a two man advantage. However, they failed to capitalize due to the superb play of Carey Price in goal for Montreal. Late in the game, the Flyers thought they knotted the game but the goal was taken away for goaltender interference.

A sigh of relief came to the Flyers’ organization last night as they defeated the Sabres in a shootout in HSBC Arena in Buffalo, salvaging the eight spot. It started out looking like another loss as Philadelphia found themselves down 3-0 with 7:15 left in regulation, when a three-goal comeback, started by R.J. Umberger, took the two teams to overtime and, eventually, a shootout. It was Daniel Briere who pushed the game winner past Ryan Miller.

Two important things came out Philadelphia’s ten-game losing streak.

First, it tied the longest losing streak in franchise history.

Second, it allowed for yet another shake-up in the rankings. When the Flyers fell, teams like the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, and New York Rangers slid into the playoff picture. The Rangers even managed to climb to the six spot. As for the Sabres and Islanders, they aren’t going away anytime soon either.

Philadelphia, though holding the tiebreaker for the eight spot, is tied with Buffalo with 69 points. The Islanders follow with 67.
The rest of the Atlantic Division has flown past Philadelphia over their ten game slump. New Jersey now occupies the top spot in the conference with 79 points, Pittsburgh is one of four teams battling for that top spot and currently sits fourth in the conference with 77 points, and the New York Rangers, with 72 points, have put themselves in a good position at the sixth spot to draw the Southeast Division champion.

So the big question is whether or not the Flyers can regain a hefty point total among the tough teams in the Atlantic before season’s end. The bad news is that their competition has as much to lose as they do to gain and wins won’t come easy this late in the season. Maybe some of their trades can help them out?

They traded away part of what little defense they had left in Alexandre Picard and a draft pick to Tampa Bay for Vaclav Prospal, who accumulated 57 points with the Lightning.

Nonetheless, of Philadelphia’s 19 remaining games, 12 will come against Atlantic Division teams (four against the Islanders, three a piece against the Rangers and Penguins, and two against New Jersey) and, certainly, there will still be no love lost in this division during the last games of the season.

The remaining six games won’t be against welcomed opponents either. Teams like Toronto-who is trying to make a last effort toward the playoffs, Boston-who is trying to hold on to their playoff spot, and Buffalo-who is currently tied with Philadelphia for the eight spot, will all square off against the Flyers between now and the end of the season.

While the other teams in the Atlantic Division would be happy to see a Flyer-less playoff picture, the Broad Street Bullies from Philadelphia won’t go down without a fight.