What Philadelphia Flyers Fans Have to Be Thankful for This Year

With Thanksgiving almost here, it's time for Philadelphia Flyers fans to take a step back and give thanks for the blessings that they have. Sure, the Flyers are not off to a fast start, but fans of the orange and black still have plenty of good things to savor this holiday season.

Here are the five biggest things Flyers fans have to be thankful for right now. Some of them are related to the franchise's history, others to recent or even future events. All affect the club's situation and how fans feel about the team.

Items are ranked based upon their impact on the team and the fans right now.

Feel free to comment on any of these items or to add a few of your own. As always, please indicate why you feel the way you do.

5. The Flyers Have a Wonderful History

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

John LeClair and Eric Lindros are just a small part of the team's rich history.

The Flyers recently inducted Eric Lindros and John LeClair into the team's Hall of Fame. It represented a mending of fences with Lindros and a big part of the team's history from the 1990s.

Lindros and LeClair are just one small chapter in the rich history of the Flyers. Since entering the league in 1967, the Flyers have won two Stanley Cups and reached the Stanley Cup Final on six other occasions.

The Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup in 1974. They have featured a Hall of Fame coach in Fred Shero and all-time great players like Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Bernie Parent.

Other prominent Flyers include Rick MacLeish, Dave Schultz, Tim Kerr, Ron Hextall, Brian Propp, Reggie Leach, Rod Brind'Amour, Pelle Lindbergh, Mark Howe and Dave Poulin.

The Flyers organization is stocked with former players who help carry on the team's tradition. Head coach Craig Berube is a former player, as is general manager Ron Hextall.

The organization has more history than any non-Original Six team in the NHL. That's something Flyers fans have to be proud of.

4. The Flyers Have Several Quality Prospects

Matt Slocum/Associated Press/Associated Press

Scott Laughton is one of several highly regarded prospects.

The Flyers defense is not highly regarded now, but the team has several highly ranked prospects who can change that situation in the very near future.

Last summer's first-round pick Travis Sanheim is a very good puck-moving defenseman who has 19 points in 24 games with the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL.

Samuel Morin is more of a physical defenseman who is also still in junior, while Shayne Gostisbehere is in the AHL and already got his first taste of NHL action this season when injuries hit the Flyers defensemen.

Robert Hagg is also in the AHL and has some potential as a two-way defenseman.

The Flyers' top-rated prospect is Scott Laughton, who the team just recently recalled from the AHL. He had 11 points in 13 games in the minors but has yet to score in four games this year with the Flyers. He has not looked overwhelmed, however, and has shown flashes of the talent that makes him such a promising player.

Overall, the Flyers have several players with potential, and that bodes well for the team's future.

3. Sean Couturier Is One of the Game's Better Defensive Players

Matt Slocum/Associated Press/Associated Press

Couturier is a great checker and penalty-killer.

Sean Couturier is one of the game's better defensive forwards.

Last year, he and Matt Read were part of the Flyers' checking line and were very persistent penalty-killers.

This season, Couturier and Read have been moved up to the second line alongside Wayne Simmonds. Berube was hoping for more offense out of Couturier and Read.

"They’re a shutdown unit, play against top lines at times, but that doesn’t mean they can’t score,” Berube told Dave Isaac of The News Journal during training camp this fall. “You’ve got to be able to play both sides. You’ve got to be able to do your job and produce offensively.”

The results have been underwhelming offensively, but Couturier remains a very good defensive forward. When he's on top of his game, he's very fun to watch as he frustrates opposing forwards and prevents them from scoring.

While the Flyers are probably better off restoring Couturier and Read to a more strictly defensive role, there is a certain pleasure in watching a defensive forward like Couturier doing what he does best.

2. Steve Mason Has Kept This Team Alive

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Steve Mason has bailed out his team in many games.

Monday night's 1-0 shootout loss to the New York Islanders may be an extreme example, but Steve Mason has played well for the Flyers lately despite the lack of defensive support he gets from his teammates most games.

Mason faced 46 shots against the Islanders and turned away all of them. Too many of them were quality scoring chances.

The Flyers were 27th in the league as of Tuesday night with 33.1 shots allowed per game. Their team goals-against average is 22nd in the league at 2.85.

Most of the reason is the strong play of Mason. He has a .923 save percentage and a 2.61 GAA. He has kept the Flyers in several games they had no business being in with their mediocre defense.

Goaltending had been an issue for many years, dating all the way back to Hextall's heyday as a player. Mason appears to have solved that problem, at least for now.

1. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek Are Dangerous and Entertaining

LM Otero/Associated Press/Associated Press

The Flyers' top line is one of the most skilled and explosive in hockey.

Right now, Flyers fans have to be thankful to be watching talented players like Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek at the top of their games.

As of Tuesday night, Voracek was tied with Sidney Crosby for the league lead with 29 points in 20 games, while Giroux is tied for fifth best in the league with 24 points.

More than that, these two maintain possession of the puck, make pinpoint passes and are just enjoyable to watch.

"

League exec text "Giroux and Voracek are the best two players in the NHL right now. Singlehandedly carrying a bad Philly team"

— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) November 23, 2014"

The Flyers are struggling with Voracek and Giroux, but without them, the team would be utterly lost.

Either way, Flyers fans should be thankful they get to watch these two talented players shine on a game-by-game basis.