Previous entries in the series
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
When we last left off, the Flyers with games in hand, sat at the first eastern wild card spot, ready to begin the winter months’ stretch of schedule. Though the season had started with disappointment, and injuries, the Flyers had recovered from both of these fates looking to establish themselves as true contenders. Here we go:
December
Wanna hear some good news? How about an 8 game winning streak to wrap up the month.
After a hot and cold start, we went on an absolute tear, demolishing competition and scoring 46 goals in the process! The highlight, for sure, was the 7-1 home thrashing of the Islanders. With Carter Hart getting a rest, backup goaltender Felix Sandstrom got the win, stopping 26 of 27 shots. Tomas Hertl scored twice, once on the power-play and once on even strength, and both Torey Krug and Alex DeBrincat had three assists each. We really dunked on them hard.
Unfortunately yet, as we saw in the real life 2019-20 NHL season, the Metro division has been weird and that has, virtually, gone against the Flyers as we remain in a wild card spot due to how close this stupid division is.
Though, despite this, we’re ten points clear of the next place Bruins, and only two points separated from both Carolina and Washington. I’m confident that we can continue our streak, and possibly overtake both of those clubs in the process.
In terms of scoring, Claude Giroux continues to lead the way, followed closely by both Dylan Larkin (!) and Torey Krug.
Newly featured here will be advanced stats! As expected, Sean Couturier leads the Corsi-for race with a 68.24 CF%. Most of our team, predicated on our play style, are Corsi positive, except for the weird exception of Kevin Hayes at 48.04%.
January
The winning streak would last one more game before the Jets would set us back. However, despite that, the month went pretty well.
11 wins and 4 losses means that we’ve managed to jump both the Hurricanes and Capitals into second place in the division. This was highlighted by a 9-3 home win against the Caps. Sean Couturier had a five point night, scoring FOUR goals! The Flyers as a team scored SIX in the first period on Ilya Samsonov before chasing him out of the game.
The Blue Jackets still remain in first place, but only one point ahead. With a game back, I expect we can take that spot fairly easily if Columbus lose a few in a row.
The usual suspects yet again lead the points race, with Giroux looking like he could have a career year in line with 2017-18. The player that surprised me the most, scoring wise, is Sean Couturier considering he’s quite a way behind a few players who I would’ve predicted him to beat. Nevertheless, he hasn’t been poor at all so that’s completely fine.
Corsi wise, there isn’t much of a difference there. Those top three forwards, who make up the first line, have all dominated competition thus far. Couturier actually leads the LEAGUE in Corsi-for! (We’ll ignore the guy who’s only played one game)
But, yeah, that’ll do it, and I’m quite pleased with how this episode has gone. We look set to establish ourselves as a real force to be reckoned with heading into the playoffs, however, before that we have the trade deadline.
This then brings me to this week’s poll question! Do you think I should make a big trade this time around? Remember, we have roughly two million dollars in cap space, so I’m not sure we could make a long term move. However, for a rental, that could be arranged for. Also vote on what kind of player I should go after, a forward, defenseman, or goalie (as if). So, vote away, and I’ll see you next time around! Polls close Friday.
Trade deadline, to move or not to move…
| Make a move for a big name rental | 9 |
| Make a move for a smaller rental | 30 |
| Make a move for a more permanent player | 21 |
| Do nothing | 32 |
And that player should be…
| a Forward | 35 |
| a Defenceman | 25 |
| a Goalie (lol) | 6 |
