Early on, the Flyers basically struggled to find a consistent offensive and defensive attack, and I think a lot of their inconsitency had to do with the youth of this team. The Flyers currently have 7 rookies on their roster and while the rooks are certainly promising, they were also at times inconsistent in the early going. I think the Flyers as a team were also struggled early due to the fact that they had a lot of new free agent acquisitions to accommodate, as well as a new goal tender. Bryzgalov spent a lot of the first two months getting used to his new team and he still is trying to gain confidence with every game. The entire makeup of the team was changed and as a result the Flyers needed some time to adjust. Lastly the Flyers clearly sorely missed and still are missing the leadership of their captain Chris Pronger.
But after a big win Thursday night again the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers are now currently in the midst of a 4 game winning streak. Attribute it to the improved play of goaltender Ilyz Bryzgalov, or the surge of the offense from guys like Claude Giroux, but it’s obvious the Flyers have clearly found their stride. With 37 points the Flyers are now in first place in the Atlantic division and the Eastern conference. Everything seems to be clicking right now for the Flyers and they seem to be getting stronger with every game.
Just look at the end of Thursday night’s game. The Flyers were able to hold off the Penguins and survive an absolute barrage of last minute shots. The defense was able to get key clears, and offensive guys like Jaromir Jagr were able to produce good, long possessions to kill some clock. And after being “lost in the woods” in the early going, the Bryz is 9-1-1 in his last 11 games and is showing definite signs of improvement. The time off Laviolette gave him is clearly paying off, and Bryzgalov and the rest of the team are hitting on all cylinders right now.
The Flyers will have to continue their success without their leader Chris Pronger. Paul Holmgren reported some unfortunate news today on the captain.
“While Chris’s knee is improving, he has struggled with other issues that are concussion-like symptoms. Chris will see Dr. Joe Maroon and Dr. Mickey Collins on Wednesday, December 14th in Pittsburgh for further evaluation. Chris will be out indefinitely. I feel bad for Chris. He’s a very experienced hockey player that still wants to play the game at the highest level. I know this last year for him has been very frustrating, with the injuries he had last year and to have to deal with what he’s dealt with this year. He’s frustrated.”
Holmgren also stated that Brayden Schenn is out with a mild concussion. But with Pronger, I think there is definitely something weird going on. At first they called it a virus, now they are calling it concussion-like symptoms. This is definitely not a good sign for Prongs as he continues to try and rebound to full health. But the Flyers will have to fight onward without their leader as they get set to host the Tampa Bay Lightning and try to put together a 5 game winning streak.
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