On March 12, the Philadelphia Flyers got a much-needed victory against the San Jose Sharks, winning 3-2. The Flyers controlled the pace from start to finish, only done in by a couple of power-play tallies from the Sharks. An overall solid effort from Philadelphia, what were some takeaways?
Konecny, Tippett Get a Confidence-Booster
Both Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett have been rather cold recently for the Orange and Black. The former hadn’t scored a single point since returning from injury two games before, while the latter had just one goal and two assists in his previous nine games. Since those are two of the Flyers’ best players, for the team to win they need to be on their game. They finally made a difference in this one, hooking up for the game-winning goal.
On a delayed penalty, Konecny waited out the Sharks’ defense and found a wide-open Tippett for an easy tap-in goal. But it was great for both of them to have that sort of contribution to a win. They were both decent in the game in general, but that goal could start a streak for both of them. Each of them tends to be streaky in their scoring, as exemplified by their recent droughts, so that scoring stretch coming at the most pivotal part of the season would be perfect timing.
York Continues to Be an Unsung Hero
Cam York might not be the flashiest player that the Flyers have, but he has quietly had very solid defensive results this season. His minutes have increased more and more as he has continued to play well. Playing 26 minutes in this one and having a 59.1 percent expected goals percentage (xGF%) at even strength, he was a big reason why the Flyers played as well as they did.
York played over nine minutes on special teams in this one. With Nick Seeler still out with injury, he has been sorely missed on the penalty kill. While York has played there anyway, it has been more important for him to step up as a premier penalty-killer. He has been an overall force in the defensive zone whilst contributing good offense when needed.
In this game, forwards Cam Atkinson and Nicolas Deslauriers were both scratched for the Flyers. That is important to note because, weirdly, York has significantly better on-ice results at even strength without them. In over 398 minutes of ice time with the two of them, his xGF% is a lowly 44.8 percent. When he’s without either of the two, his xGF% improves to 53.2 percent (percentile among NHL defenders) versus 50.4 percent (56th percentile among NHL defenders) overall. In essence, some of his poor on-ice results are not an indictment of him — it’s more so on the forwards at times.
Still just 23 years of age, York could be a top-four defender for the Flyers by the time they are ready to contend. His game is steady and he is more than capable of handling top-end minutes. He might work his way into a long-term deal in the near future.
Frost Had an Incredible Performance
Morgan Frost’s ice time was limited to just under 12 minutes in this one, but he had one of his best games of the season, if not one of the better games for any Flyer forward of the season. He scored a goal and an assist for two points, but his 2.01 expected goals for to just 0.05 expected goals against for a 97.6 percent xGF% show just how great he was. He was flying all over the ice, and that’s terrific news for the Orange and Black.
Frost tends to get a bad rap for only performing against lower-end teams like the Sharks have been this season, but only a slight majority of his points have come against non-playoff teams. This is the case for a lot of players, so there’s nothing out of the ordinary with his play. It would be nice to have him be at his best against high-end teams, however, especially if the Flyers fancy themselves as a playoff club. When the big guns come to town, that’s when it’s the hardest to perform.
The Gauntlet Is Upon Us
Speaking of performing against contenders, this next stretch would be a great place for that to happen. The Flyers are now in the “gauntlet” area of the season with seven playoff teams on their plate from March 14 through March 26. Of those seven teams, the lowest point total of them is the Toronto Maple Leafs who sit at 82 in just 64 games — they are ninth place in the NHL overall.
Unfortunately, this stretch could take the Flyers out of the playoff spot they have held for a majority of the season. At 34-24-8 for 76 points in 66 games, the New York Islanders only trail them for third place in the Metropolitan Division by four points with two games in hand, while the Detroit Red Wings are also back by four points but with just one game in hand. Thankfully, the Flyers have the tiebreaker with the higher total of regulation wins, but things could really start to spiral for them if they aren’t careful. If they are a true contender, this is where they’ll have to prove it.
Related: Islanders Have Strong Odds to Make Playoffs After Soft Schedule
That stretch starts on March 14 against the aforementioned Maple Leafs at Wells Fargo Center. The Maple Leafs are more or less locked into third place in the Atlantic Division barring a major skid or winning streak on their behalf, so Toronto is ironically the team that would be playing spoiler here. They need points too, of course, but the Flyers need them more. They’re a fantastic club with great high-end talent, so it will be a big test for Philadelphia.