Philadelphia Flyers: Why This Team Is Ready to Bring Home Lord Stanley's Cup

Many pondered whether or not the new look Philadelphia Flyers would be able to gel in the early going with all of the new faces on the team. Injuries to some of the team's best players (Pronger, Giroux) have not stopped the Flyers from leading the Eastern Conference in points two months into the season.

Flyers Nation has seen this picture before, however. Last year the Flyers were neck and neck with the Vancouver Canucks before the All Star break for the best record in the NHL and then fell apart at the end of the season.

This team always seems to be in contention for the Stanley Cup but always comes up short. Things will be different this year. This team is built to win now and in the future and they have the perfect combination of hard-working veterans and hungry and skilled youngsters.

Here are five reasons why the Philadelphia Flyers are finally ready to bring Lord Stanley home to Philadelphia for the first time since 1975.

1. Bigger on the Wings

The Philadelphia Flyers have the most loyal and passionate following in all of hockey and Flyer Nation made it clear that they wanted bigger wingers this past offseason. The addition of players like Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Jaromir Jagr combined with incumbents Scott Hartnell and James Van Riemsdyk give Peter Laviolette so many options.

These guys aren't just Broad Street Bullies, they are skilled and can skate with anyone. Danny Briere has said that 6-foot-2 Wayne Simmonds is the "fastest skater on the team." Voracek is another big body that is showing the toughness, tenacity and skill that made him a top-10 pick.

The Flyers have the big bodies necessary to control the puck and win the battles in the corner if they meet a team like the Boston Bruins in the playoffs again. Their forwards are built to win whatever way is required of them.

If you want to bang they will bang, if you want a shootout they will welcome that with open arms.

2. Jaromir Jagr

Jaromir Jagr has meant so much to the Philadelphia Flyers already and he will be the difference of hoisting Lord Stanley and an early (frustrating) playoff exit. I could go on and on about how Jagr impacts this team on and off the ice but I will just mention three things:

1) Jaromir Jagr has been everything to the Flyers powerplay. The team relied on Claude Giroux to enter the neutral zone the past two seasons and the opposition had figured that out. Jagr has taken so much pressure off of Giroux entering the neutral zone as he still has the stick handling and of course the strength to control the puck under pressure.

Once the Flyers are set up they are tough to stop with playmakers like Giroux, Briere, Read, Voracek and Jagr making the defense look silly while Scott Hartnell (down) and Wayne Simmonds park themselves in front of the net.

2) Jagr has made Scott Hartnell useful again. Sir falls a lot already has more goals after 29 games than he did the entire 2009-10 season. He has scored a goal in six straight games (even without Giroux) and so much has to do with the 39-year-old Russian.

Hartnell better get Jagr a really nice Christmas present. This is not to take anything away from Hartnell who plays with the physical side that Philly adores, but how many guys on the Flyers could tap the puck into a wide open net?

3) Claude Giroux has the opportunity (or he did before he got a concussion) to impress one of the all time greats in Jaromir Jagr. How special must it be for a young star like Giroux to show his stuff first hand to a guy that he idolized growing up?

The combo has been lethal all season long and hopefully Giroux will be back on the ice soon to re-kindle the best duo in hockey thus far. Giroux seems like a lock for his second straight All Star game this season, could Jagr be joining him?

It's funny looking back that people were outraged with the signing of Jagr over Ville Leino.

Jagr: 25 points in 25 games. One year deal worth $3.3 million.

Leino: 10 points in 29 games. Six-year deal worth $27 million.

Is Paul Holmgren a genius?

3. Not 'Lost in the Woods' Anymore Ilya Bryzgalov

Ed Snider made it clear to the world that the goaltender carousel that the Philadelphia Flyers have ridden since Ron Hextall would come to an end. Paul Holmgren did just that when he signed the Russian to a massive nine-year deal worth $51 million.

Sergei Bobrovsky had many believing in the early going that the Flyers made a huge mistake with the way he played and Bryzgalov struggling at times. Well he's not struggling anymore as he is proving that he is the same guy who regularly played 60 games a season with the Phoenix Coyotes.

He is 14-5-2 with a 2.75 GAA and a .901 SV%. He has won 12 of his last 14 starts and is showing why Holmgren valued the 6-foot-3 net-minder over Thomas Vokoun.

Bryzgalov is finally settling into the city and is not giving up the bad rebounds that got him into trouble in the early going. After years of listening to Andy Reid blabber the same words at press conferences, it's awesome to hear a guy like Ilya say what's on his mind.

He's confident in his abilities and he isn't afraid to tell you when he stunk up the joint. Philadelphia loves and respects the honesty.

4. Where Did These Guys Come From?

Brayden Schenn is regarded across hockey as one of the best prospects in the sport and he was the cornerstone of the Mike Richards deal. It's safe to say that Flyers Nation expects a ton out of the 20-year-old and hope that he stops feeling the ill-effects of his mild concussion.

Rookies Matt Read, Sean Couturier, Zac Rinaldo, Harry Z (too hard to spell so not going to try) Marc-Andre Bourdon and Kevin Marshall have provided the scoring, fighting, penalty killing and depth at defense that finds the Flyers in first place in the Eastern Conference.

Read is electric and can score at any time while Couturier is already one of the best two-way center-man in the conference (no I'm not crazy). It seems like whoever Peter Laviolette plugs into the lineup they produce.

When this team is at full strength they are going to be really scary.

5. So Much Depth Everywhere

Offense, defense, goaltending, the Philadelphia Flyers have depth at them all. The Flyers already have an amazing eight different players with at seven plus goals.

They have 12 players with eight plus assists and 18 players who are a plus player thus far. They also have 12 players who are already in double digits with points.

Players like Maxime Talbot and Scott Hartnell are having career years and that is what makes the Flyers so dangerous. The Flyers have three lines that are capable of piling up the points and when Brayden Schenn returns that will turn to four lines.

Imagine if JVR gets his act together and starts playing anywhere near last years playoffs. Claude Giroux is already entering the conversation as top three player in the NHL as he currently leads the league in points.

Here's to hoping that his head clears up soon.

They have guys that can drop the gloves in Rinaldo and Shelley and they have some of the most underrated defenseman in the NHL playing huge minutes in Andrej (the giant) Meszaros, Braydon Coburn, Kimmo Timonen and in particular Matt Carle.

A well rested (and healthy) Chris Pronger would be welcomed with open arms by the Flyers but they have shown that they can indeed win without their Captain.

The 2011-12 Flyers are different than previous Flyers teams in that they can win in so many different ways. They have a goaltender that can pitch a shutout, a defense that has been the backbone of this team for years, potent scoring from three different lines and great special teams.

They also have one of the most respected coaches in the NHL in Peter Laviolette who has this team giving maximum effort for each other and their city. Don't overlook GM Paul Holmgren who seems to strike gold with whatever deal he makes.

He has shown that he isn't afraid to shake up this team if needed. This team is different than other Flyers teams and that is why they will break the streak and win Lord Stanley this season.