For the Philadelphia Flyers, the Atlantic Battle Will Rage for Months

Having vaulted themselves back into contention with some inspired play over the past month, the Flyers are now locked in a tight race with the Rangers and Penguins for the Atlantic Division crown. 

Their miserable 0-3-3 start well behind them, the Flyers have gelled and established themselves as a legitimate threat to win the division. They have caught fire since the start of November, while the Rangers have posted a .500 record in that span and the Penguins have been below that mark since a six-game winning streak to open November. 

The constant ebb and flow of an NHL season can drastically change our opinions of a team, but let’s examine how these three clubs stack up against one another.

Sporting two lethal power-play units, the Flyers are easily better than the Rangers in this area and even outshine the mighty Penguins, who have been rather unimpressive offensively aside from their two big centers and cannot offer up the kind of offensive depth that the Flyers have. 

They will of course be helped greatly by the returns of top-end defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, but a healthy Danny Briere at some point this season figures to strengthen the Flyers’ power play even more.

The Flyers have also shown themselves to be similarly dangerous in man-down situations with a league-high 11 short-handed goals to complement their seventh-ranked penalty kill.

That being said, they have no answer to Henrik Lundqvist, who is responsible for the Rangers’ successful PK, which leads the league with an efficiency over 90 percent. Lundqvist has also saved the Rangers in the shootout several times, which has proven to be a valuable way for the Blueshirts to pick up extra points and inflate their season total.

Marc-Andre Fleury’s return will be enormous for Pittsburgh since he is able to play at an elite level beyond what Martin Biron or Antero Niittymaki can reach despite their vastly improved play since the beginning of the season.

As good as the Flyers have looked in the past few weeks, they must improve on their even strength play, where they are a minus on the season. The Rangers are in the same boat thanks to their tendency to rely on superb goaltending and play low-scoring games where they make the most of offensive chances and do just enough to win. 

Meanwhile, the Penguins find themselves as the best even strength team of the bunch thanks to Crosby and Malkin’s scoring binges while their other lines hold their own.

With Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, and Jeff Carter all playing at an All-Star level this season, plus solid secondary scoring from the likes of Mike Knuble, Scott Hartnell, and Joffrey Lupul, the Flyers have to be taken seriously by their opponents and “experts” alike, many of whom dismissed them just a few weeks into the season.

Since that point, their defense has come together, added a valuable piece in Matt Carle, and will be further bolstered by the returns of Randy Jones and Ryan Parent, providing depth that will be extremely valuable during the stretch run.

They may not take the division, but the Flyers will be there in the end and may very well meet up with one of these foes when the ice thaws and playoff hockey arrives in the spring.

-Kevin Lagowski  ([e-mail])