Philadelphia Flyers: December Schedule May Decide Playoff Spot

With a record of 13-11-1 through their first 25 games, the Philadelphia Flyers sit 10^th in the Eastern Conference, two points out of the playoffs.

Nobody is going as far to suggest that it is time to panic in Philly, but with the team marred in a three-game losing streak and having gone 3-7-0 in its past 10 games, the questions are starting to mount.

Recently, Flyers fans on various sites have been calling for Coach John Stevens’ head and, to a lesser extent, have been asking that age-old-question, “do we have enough goaltending to get the job done?”

To be fair, the entire team has been struggling of late. That said, in four out of his past six games, goaltender Ray Emery has posted a save percentage under .900. He has not won a game since Nov. 16 and has a record of 1-4 and a no-decision over that six game stretch.

Here is something startling for Flyers fans to consider, Philadelphia has been shut out  in back-to-back games for the first time since February 2003 and the Flyers, who have an enormous amount of offensive talent both up front and on in the back, have not scored in 160:04. In a word, "GRIM".

Let’s face it, the finger cannot just be pointed at Emery, there are a lot of players that are not playing up to their potential. Forward Jeff Carter has not scored in four games, Mike Richards has three goals in his last 13 games, Chris Pronger is a -3 in his past six games and Matt Carle (Pronger's defensive partner) is a -4 over that same time span.

Let’s call a spade a spade here, the Flyers big guns are not getting it done right now and that’s discouraging. This is a team that has exceptional leadership in Mike Richards (although that has been questioned by many of late), the locker room is filled with players that are more than capable of speaking up, such as, Pronger, Simon Gagne, Ian Laperriere, Scott Hartnell and others.

Faced with a multitude of questions, the Flyers now embark on a very tough stretch of hockey games in December. Given the Flyers recent struggles and with the Olympics approaching rapidly, it would appear as if December could be a make or break month for the Flyers and could put their chances of making the playoffs in jeopardy.

The Flyers play a total of 15 games in December, including three back-to-back games on Dec. 7 and 8, 14 and 15, and 26 and 27.

The Flyers played the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-0 loss last night and unless they find a way to get through this tough stretch, which by all accounts is not going to get any easier for the Orange and Black, the Flyers may very well be looking at more than a few loses this Christmas.

The Next 14 games will see the Flyers play against Washington, Montreal, New York Islanders (2), Ottawa, New Jersey, Boston, Pittsburgh (2), New York Rangers (2), Florida, Tampa Bay and Carolina.

Clearly, there will be no nights off, and given the fact that every one of those teams resides in the Eastern Conference, every match will carry with it huge playoff implications.

Then there is the pressure of having the entire hockey world focused on the Flyers when they drop the puck against the Boston Bruins at the Bridgestone Winter Classic on New Years day, a game I will be covering on behalf of Bleacher Report as an NHL credentialed writer.

To say the Flyers are feeling the pressure may be the understatement of the year. Many of the Flyers are likely to see action at the Olympics in February, including, Jeff carter, Mike Richards, Chris Pronger, James Van Riemsdyk and perhaps Matt Carle and/or Scott Hartnell, which adds pressure to an already tough situation.

On the surface, given the number of Flyers that might see action at the Olympics, it would appear as if December is an important stretch for them to impress those that are watching, namely Canada’s Steve Yzerman and Team USA GM Brian Burke.

That’s a lot of added pressure for a team that is already struggling and in desperate need of a good ‘ol fashioned winning streak to cure what ails them.

The Flyers have proven in the early part of the season that they can be a dominant team, one capable of making a long run in the playoffs. Their defensive corps is one of the Leagues best and, as I have written before, I don’t think there are too many teams that have as much talent down the middle as the Flyers.

That said, if the Flyers are unable to find “that loving feeling” once again, they may very well be behind the eight ball once January rolls around and, from all accounts, that may very well lead to head coach John Stevens being fired and a number of players changing addresses.

There has been plenty of talk on many Flyers fan boards suggesting the Flyers bring in Guy Carbonneau, "Iron" Mike Keenan and others to take over for Stevens behind the bench. Question is, will that help matters, or is this problem more the players fault?

It will be interesting to watch how December shakes out, one thing is for sure, if the Flyers keep this up, nobody is safe, not the players, not the coaches, not with the Flyers fans making so much noise.

Until next time,

Peace!