Quick Hits: February 19, 2020
1) The Flyers originally had a noon practice scheduled for today, but head coach Alain Vigneault decided to cancel it ahead of the team's 2 p.m. ET flight to Columbus. The Flyers and the Blue Jackets will conclude their pivotal home-and-home set on Thursday at Nationwide Arena.
Both teams will be watching with interest tonight as the New York Islanders visit the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center in Denver (10:00 p.m. ET). The Islanders trail the Flyers by a single point and are tied in points with the Blue Jackets, but currently have two games in hand on the Flyers and three on Columbus (who are 0-3-3 in their last six games and have at least temporarily slipped below the playoff cutoff line).
The Carolina Hurricanes, also tied in points with the Islanders and Blue Jackets, are idle tonight and Thursday. The Canes currently have one game in hand on the Flyers and two on Columbus but it will be two on the Flyers and three on the Blue Jackets by the time Carolina begins a weekend back-to-back set at home against the Rangers on Friday and on the road in Toronto on Saturday.
2) The Flyers, who last had 72 points through 60 games in the 2011-12 season, have done themselves a big favor by collecting regulation wins in six of their last nine games. Entering February, the Flyers were at a tiebreaker disadvantage relative to most every team they're battling in the tightly packed race for third place in the Metro (automatic playoff position) and the two wildcard spots in the East. Here's where things stand in terms of the tiebreaker, assuming points are equal once the number of games played even out.
* vs. Islanders: Flyers currently hold a 24-22 edge in regulation wins.
* vs. Hurricanes: Teams are tied 24-24 in RW; Canes hold 29-28 ROW advantage.
* vs. Blue Jackets: Flyers have a 24-23 RW advantage.
* vs. Toronto: Flyers have a 24-23 RW advantage.
* vs. Florida: Panthers have a 26-24 RW advantage.
Points-wise, the Flyers have a three-point edge and a game in hand on Toronto. The Flyers have a five-point edge on Florida with the Panthers having a game in hand. One of these two teams will likely qualify automatically for the playoffs based on finishing third in the top-heavy Atlantic Division, with the other having an uphill climb to beat out a Metro team for a wildcard spot.
In terms of remaining head-to-head games, the Flyers and Blue Jackets will conclude their season series tomorrow night. The Flyers are currently 3-0-0 this season against Columbus. Philly has one game apiece remaining with the Islanders (0-2-1) and Hurricanes (2-0-1). They are already finished with Toronto (2-0-1) and Florida (2-1-0).
The Flyers' remaining games against Carolina (March 5) and the Islanders (March 24) are both home games. However, the Carolina game is the second half of a road-home back-to-back set that starts in Washington one night earlier, while the Hurricanes will have a rare March four-night break heading into Philly. It will be the third time this season that the Flyers are the team at a fatigue factor disadvantage where they will return home from a road game to play a team that's waiting for them.
Philly is 1-0-1 in such games this season. The loss came in the much-lamented game where the Flyers ran out of gas with a 3-0 lead against the Islanders over the latter stages of the third period. While that was an unacceptable result, regardless of fatigue factor, it should noted that it was the game where the Flyers were at their most extreme fatigue factor disadvantage of the entire season. The Flyers were playing for the third time in four nights, and the seventh time in 12 nights. The Islanders' meanwhile, were in the midst of one of the lightest portions of their first half schedule, playing just twice in the date span between Nov. 10 to 18.
3) I am not sure what to make of the Jeff Carter trade rumors that are out there. I just can't see it being either an affordable or wise move for the Flyers to make. First of all, without some significant cap creativity, the Flyers can't afford Carter. Secondly, he has two seasons of term left on the contract that he originally signed with the Flyers way back in 2011 (yes, he's still on that deal) and is not the same caliber of player anymore that he was before he suffered a skate cut to an ankle tendon in 2017.
The more cap that LA would retain in a Carter trade -- up the maximum allowable 50 percent of his $5.27 million cap hit -- the more it would elevate the price tag in terms of what assets must go the other way. If LA were to not retain salary, the more cap space the Flyers would need to shed on their current NHL roster. Right now, with Shayne Gostisbehere dealing with a prolonged rehab of a knee injury and being in the midst of a second straight overall down season, the Flyers would be selling low if he's dealt.
If that all were to come to fruition, Carter does offer the flexibility of being comfortable either at center or at right wing. Even so, that's a might expensive insurance policy on the potential of Nolan Patrick not returning this season and for buying time for further development of Morgan Frost. Carter has said that he wants to stay in LA, but does not have a no-trade clause in his contract to limit or block potential deals.
In terms of what the Flyers could afford in adding bottom six forward depth without a lot of cap creativity, they are basically on a budget to add someone more along the lines of Nick Cousins than Carter. The ex-Flyer, a potential UFA this summer in lieu of a qualifying offer, in on a $1 million cap hit. He would be a more proven fourth-line option than second-year pro Connor Bunnaman, and has experience at all three forward positions. A player like Cousins, however, really doesn't move the needle very much in terms of being a significant upgrade for the stretch drive and playoff push.
It is unclear right now if Eric Staal, who has a partial no-trade (10 team no-trade list) in Minnesota is available. If he were to be available, the Flyers would have competition for his services. He's still pretty productive at age 35, brings a lower cap hit ($3.5 million) than Carter and only has one season left on his contract beyond this year. It was Chuck Fletcher who originally brought Staal to the Wild as a reclamation project in 2016 after the former 100-point scorer seemed to near the end of the line. Instead, Staal bounced back a year later for the third 40-goal season of his NHL career and has remained productive in the two seasons that have followed.
Personally, if Staal were available and the cap could be figured out, I'd rather see the Flyers go in that direction for a season-plus than a reunion with Carter.
4) When James van Riemsdyk had his career-best 36-goal season in his final campaign in Toronto (2017-18) before returning to the Flyers as an unrestricted free agent, he actually spent much of the season on the third line at 5-on-5 in addition to power play netfront duties.
The arrangement worked. The line with JVR and his longtime center Tyler Bozak received a lot of favorable matchups because opponents had to first and foremost worry about contending with the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Nazem Kadri.
Of late with the Flyers, van Riemsdyk has gotten hot under similar a similar arrangement on the third line. Although he did not get on the scoresheet in Tuesday's game against Columbus, JVR has four goals and eight points over his last six games (dating back to when he was moved to the third line first with Morgan Frost and then with Scott Laughton at center).
Flyers opponents have to focus their strategy around dealing with Sean Couturier's line (featuring Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek on the wings, and Kevin Hayes' line (with Travis Konecny and Joel Farabee). That means, especially on home ice, that the third line can find itself in some advantageous matchups. JVR has been taking full advantage of late.
There is no shame in not playing in the "top six" of the forward rotation. The key for every coach and team is to deploy players in a way for which they are most likely to succeed. JVR's scoring streak has forced opponents to start spreading their resources a little thinner to make sure his line doesn't run roughshod. As a result, it gets the Couturier and Hayes lines into slightly less difficult matchups with a bit more frequency over the course of games.
This is why depth is so critical in today's NHL. Even if the Flyers aren't at the level of the elite contenders just yet, Philly has a pretty deep forward corps. Deep enough to have largely withstood the season-long absence of Nolan Patrick (who might have cleaned up from the bump of the matchups benefit behind Hayes and Couturier) and even the loss of Oskar Lindblom (for whom there is currently no direct replacement for the completeness of his game).
5) Although he was a healthy scratch for two games last week and then was returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, I was encouraged by what Morgan Frost showed in the two return NHL games he dressed and the two since gong back to the AHL.
Frost had his feet moving in both recent games with the Flyers. He worked hard to get the puck when he didn't have it. Because his feet were moving, he also had more frequent and somewhat lengthier puck touches. He also went 9-for-10 on faceoffs in his first game.
The 20-year-old rookie was unlucky to come away without any points from the two games with Philly. In the first game, he was part of a puck battle sequence where there were two touches between him and a James van Riemsdyk goal (hence, no assist). The same thing happened in the second game, where Frost and Tyler Pitlick were both involved and Pitlick ended up getting the secondary assist. Frost also sprung Phil Myers on a breakaway that wasn't finished but created a late-game power play for the Flyers.
In terms of scoring chances of his own, Frost hit the crossbar late in the Flyers' road win in Washington. It would have been a meaningless goal for the game outcome, but a nice thing for Frost to get his first NHL goal since his second game of his initial callup. In his second game, Frost had a power play deflection as part of a double-netfront setup. The puck narrowly missed going into the net.
Frost had a tough first shift in his second game with the Flyers -- with an attacking turnover in the neutral zone "no-pass" area and then losing a battle in the defensive zone on the same shift -- but bounced back quickly from it. He also had one puck miscue on a power play in his first game, skating himself into trouble up high in the offensive zone and having the puck poked right past him. Fortunately, no harm resulted from either play.
When asked why Frost was removed from the lineup as a healthy scratch in Brooklyn, Alain Vigneault cited the turnovers in the Florida game. I thought that was a bit harsh, because the rest of his night had gone pretty well. All that Vigneault had to say was that Joel Farabee (by then recovered from losing 10 pounds to a severe bout with the flu) needed to get back in the lineup, he felt comfortable moving Scott Laughton back to center for the time being and he didn't want to immediately break up the fourth line trio of Michael Raffl, Bunnaman and Nicolas Aube-Kubel (who had been outstanding in each of the two previous games).
All of this was justifiable and true, without making it sound like Frost hadn't quite pulled his weight in the two previous big game. From a lineup standpoint, it made sense for that game. It even made sense for the next game in Florida, although the Flyers would have better off sending Frost back to the Phantoms a day earlier (with a game upcoming last Friday) rather than having him in the pressbox a second game. If all they wanted was an extra body at forward, the team might as well have recalled someone else as a 13th forward for the Sunrise game.
Since returning the Phantoms, Frost rattled off back-to-back strong overall games even apart from posting two goals and an assist in the two games. With Frost, so many pieces of the puzzle in his game start to snap in place when he plays with pace. He did that over the weekend, too. At the NHL level, having a linemate such as Pitlick to forecheck plus a linemate like James van Riemsdyk (who can accept Frost's passes) creates a good dynamic for Frost.
At the AHL level, Andy Andreoff has been a good linemate for Frost for the same reason that he clicked at the NHL level with Pitlick; the difference being that Andreoff isn't as good of a player at the NHL pace as Pitlick. The Phantoms have tried a lot of different options for the finisher element to Frost's playmaking but that's only worked sporadically this season. Some of it is the pacing issue. When Frost is up on his skates, he creates a lot more chances. The station-to-station approach of slowing down to study his options worked in the OHL because Frost was so much more skilled and creative than most junior-level defenders.
The Phantoms return to action tonight, visiting the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. On Friday, the Phantoms are on the road to play the Rochester Americans and then remain in New York State on Saturday to play the Syracuse Crunch.
6) The Phantoms, who have had waves of injuries throughout the season that utterly decimated the forward corps, are finally getting healthy again. They appear to have dodged a bullet with German Rubtsov returning to the lineup over the weekend rather than having another prolonged absence. Carsen Twarynski's knee injury has apparently healed. As a result, the now-healthy Pascal Laberge, has been returned to the ECHL's Reading Royals. Laberge, who went down on Jan. 17 with an upper-body injury, has scored seven AHL goals this season.
7) On Thursday night, there was a special Flyers vs. Columbus watch party at the IceWorks Complex in Aston, PA. The night will feature the Flyers Alumni and the Flyers Warriors, with a couple of special announcements to be made during the evening. The event starts at 6:30 p.m.
8) Speaking of the Flyers Alumni, the Flyers Alumni Team is playing the Reading Royals at Santander Arena on March 28 at 4 p.m. ET. Confirmed Flyers Alumni include Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, Jesse Boulerice, Nick Schultz, Riley Cote, Todd Fedoruk, Jim and Joe Watson, Adam Hall, Brad Marsh, John Druce, and Rob Zepp in goal. Others include Flyers/Hershey alumni Mark Freer and Mitch Lamoureux.
Tickets start at $14. For information,
click here.
9) With a couple of invite RSVPs outstanding, the confirmed lineup of featured attendees at "Friday Night Fights 2020: Fighting for Annalise" on March 13 at 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia is as follows: Dave "the Hammer" Schultz, Glen Cochrane, Dave Brown, Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Marty McSorley, Joey Kocur and Kelly Chase.
Proceeds benefit Dave Schultz's granddaughter, Annalise Schultz, who is battling a rare and aggressive form of pediatric brain cancer. For ticket information,
click here.
10) The annual Flyers Wives Fight for Lives Carnival is this Sunday. The list of attending Flyers Alumni is as follows: Bob Clarke Bill Barber, Dave Brown, Riley Cote, Doug Crossman, Bob Kelly,
Brad Marsh, Brian Propp, Dave Schultz, Jim Watson and Joe Watson. All will be available for photographs and autographs on behalf of Flyers Charities.
11) The most recent edition "Therien's Take" by Chris Therien on the Flyers' official website features Bundy talking from a penalty killer's perspective. What types of power play structures did he find the easiest and the hardest to defend against in the NHL? For more,
click here.
12) Another Flyers Alum defenseman, Nick Schultz, is coaching the Flyers Pee Wee Team during the currently ongoing Quebec International Pee-Wee tournament. Nick and son Jake are co-writing a daily blog diary from the tourney for the Flyers' official website. Check it out each day. So far,
Part 1 (Feb. 16) and
Part 2 (Feb. 18)>Part 2 (Feb 18) have been published.
13) Last but certainly not least, happy retirement wishes go out to longtime Wells Fargo Center employee Frank Kelly, who is well-known and extremely well-liked by all he served operating the pressbox elevator. Frank is the type of friendly person whom you see during your daily activities who makes everyone's day a little bit brighter.
For years and years, Frank kept up the same running joke with everyone who would ask him about his day as they stepped onto the elevator. With a grin, he'd always respond, "Oh, up and down."
Every elevator ride ended with the same cheerful "Comin' out!" to let people on the other side know that passengers were unloading. Every thank you received an unfailingly polite "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am".
Be well, Frank, and I hope your each and every day is filled with far more ups than downs.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»