Rebuilding flyers are put to the test | Pro Hockey News

PHILADELPHIA, Pa – Well, it’s that time of year. No, not tax season, but the annual freefall of the Philadelphia Flyers. This usually happens in the second half of the hockey season. Well, Team Rebuild is still in rebuilding mode. All you had to do was look at this season’s rankings.

It wasn’t long ago that Philadelphia was staring up at the Carolina Hurricanes as they battled for first place in the Metropolitan Division. A 2-6-2 record in their last 10 games turned things around quickly. These days, Philly is not only nine points out of a playoff position and looking more and more like an NHL Draft Lottery team. If the draft were today, they would pick ninth overall. Suddenly Gavin McKenna doesn’t seem like such a pipe dream.

At least the Flyers won’t get any help from the pipeline until the Frozen Four tournament is over. Porter Martone and Jeff Luchanko will not be a factor this season. The fastest goalie Yegor Zavragin will be in the AHL next season. Oliver Bonk needs at least a full season of games before he is considered a call-up to the big club. Denver Barkey has been a bright spot since being called up from Lehigh Valley during Tyson Foerster’s absence

The goaltending has let the team down as of late. Even Dan Vladar has struggled at times despite his strong start. The blue line has been its usual inconsistent self. Strangely enough, Emil Andrae is second in plus/minus with +11. Only Noah Cates was better with +15. The Flyers have 9 players listed as winning 50% or more in face-off wins. The Flyers have 8 players with 10 or more goals.

The Olympic break can’t come soon enough for a struggling franchise desperate to get into the playoffs. Rebuilding doesn’t mean giving up on the playoffs. Unfortunately, making the play-offs is slowly disappearing this season.

Brian Jennings covers the Philadelphia Flyers for prohockeynews.com and can be found on Twitter at @Flyersfan22.

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