Philadelphia Flyers: Hard Fought Weekend Shows Good Signs

This weekend the Philadelphia Flyers had two hard fought games against Eastern Conference rivals. Ending the two-game stretch with a record of 1-0-1 proves that the Flyers will be a serious threat for the Atlantic Division title, and a difficult matchup in the playoffs.

Each of the Flyers’ two games was against teams battling for top spots in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are all just a few points from leading their divisions, so any points gained will be important with only 11 games remaining.

While the Flyers ended their weekend with three of their four possible points, they did bring themselves within two points of the Penguins, and three points of the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers. While this weekend was very important for the Flyers in the standings, how they played during the two games was even more important.  

Ilya Bryzgalov has been a questionable choice between the pipes for the majority of the season. During the entire weekend Bryzgalov allowed a total of four goals, and nobody would consider any goals scored on Bryzgalov as being “soft”.

Not only is Bryzgalov proving he is worth his contract, but the Flyers are showing that they are a resilient team capable of mounting comebacks. In each of their two games this weekend the Flyers fell behind, 2-0.

As players start to return to the lineup the Flyers become more productive offensively, and have more depth to keep their players fresh and rested.

The hard weekend proved to the team and to fans that the Flyers can skate with the best in the Eastern Conference. With every team having 12 or fewer games remaining, it is important that the Flyers earn as many points as possible.

After a hard fought weekend, the Flyers and their fans should feel confident about where the team currently is in the standings. The Flyers seem to be in a great positing to make a run at winning the Atlantic Division. Even if the Flyers fall short of winning the division, they should feel confident about how the team is playing going into the playoffs.