Let me just be honest here, the Flyers have been absolutely horrible since a week before Thanksgiving. They'd lost eight of their last nine games coming into tonight, head coach John Stevens was fired, and today, Ray Emery was put on injured reserve with an abdominal tear that could put him out of action for almost eight weeks. Plus, you throw in the embarrassment of losing to the Washington Capitals 8-2 when they didn't have Alex Ovechkin available, and this team had just about hit rock bottom.
Luckily, they were playing another team near the bottom tonight in the New York Islanders. In front of an anxious crowd, the Flyers managed to pull off an impressive looking 6-2 win, giving new head coach Peter Laviolette his first win behind the bench for Philadelphia. For the first time since before this horrid stretch began, the Flyers actually looked like a complete team tonight. Three players, Claude Giroux, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, each scored twice and four players had two assists. It was the kind of game that Flyers fans haven't seen in a while, and to be honest, it was a very, very welcome change to the bad hockey that we've been watching for a while now.
I know I haven't written up many Flyers recaps of late, but it's difficult when the team is struggling like this. There's only so much I can say each night. I mean, I could just write "the Flyers lost again, they had problems in every facet of the game, and things need to be fixed," but honestly, that would get boring for me to write, and I know it would be boring for anyone to read, so I'm not going to do it. If a game comes up like the one tonight, then I'll certainly write at least something about it. I mean, I can't ignore a game when everything goes right, especially following a stretch like the Flyers have been on.
Like I already said, tonight was the best game the Flyers have played since they last beat the Islanders for their only other win in their last ten games. It hasn't been pretty, but at least the team showed signs of life tonight. The offense looked back on point as they peppered former teammate Martin Biron with 37 shots and scored on three of their five power play chances. This looked like the team that started out so hot to start the year, and this is the team that can still make a comeback in the Atlantic Division and make the playoffs, regardless of this last stretch of games.
It seems like the Flyers go through a stretch like this every season, and now appears to be that time. I'm hoping that it is, since they still have a chance to work out the kinks and make a run for the playoffs. The season is only a third of the way over, so I'm not too worried. I just want to see this type of play each and every night. Without Ray Emery in net every night though, things are going to get interesting. Brian Boucher has at least been competent, despite his win-loss record, and he's going to get a lot more time in goal now. Johan Backlund was recalled from Adirondack (it still feels weird to type that), and he'll be spelling Boucher whenever needed. I hope it won't be much, and Boucher is up to the challenge, but we won't really know for a couple of weeks, at least. As for tonight, it was nice to see a win again, and I'm hopeful that the Flyers can turn this into a couple of wins in a row now. If they don't, it could end up being a long, long season, and no one wants that.
Just be greatful that the Flyers are still in the hunt. It could be worse...we could just have the Sixers around. Writing about them each night is equal to torture, even with Iverson. I'll write about their games again, but it certainly won't be every night.
ESPN.com: Emery to have surgery on torn muscle
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