The Flyers’ Horrid Start: By the Numbers
Ray Emery
The Philadelphia Flyers are off to a terrible start. The team fired its Stanley Cup winning coach, Peter Laviolette, after just three games and has replaced him with former Flyer enforcer Craig Berube. Things haven’t gotten better under the tough guy. But just how bad has it been? Here’s a look at just how bad, by the numbers.
1-7: Worst start in Flyers history. Even surpassing the 1-6-1 start in 2006 that cost general manager Bob Clarke and coach Ken Hitchcock their jobs. That team went on to have the worst record in the NHL.
-13: The Flyers are tied for the worst goal differential in the NHL.
49 years: The Flyers haven’t scored 3 goals in any one game this season. Comcast Sportsnet’s Tim Panaccio points out that the Flyers are the first team to not score three goals in a game in the first eight since the 1964 Boston Bruins.
11 goals: Total number of goals for the Flyers through eight games. It’s tied for worst in the NHL.
2: Only two Flyers (Tye McGinn, Brayden Schenn) have scored more than a single goal this season. And only eight have gotten on the scoresheet at all.
0 goals: Captain Claude Giroux still hasn’t managed to hit the back of the net. A week ago he lamented a lack of confidence. This past week hasn’t made it any better.
0 minutes: Because of injuries to Giroux and Jakub Voracek, the Flyers first unit didn’t practice the power play together at all during the preseason.
3 NHL all-stars: When Kimmo Timonen left last night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a lower body injury, he became the latest former all-star to be injured. Scott Hartnell and big free agent signing, Vincent Lecavalier are also out with injuries.
-7: Forward Wayne Simmonds is already a frightening minus seven plus/minus on the season. If he keeps that pace up he’ll end with on the ice for seventy goals more goals against than goals for.
38 times short: The Flyers preach discipline but don’t practice it. The Flyers have been as shorthanded as any team in the league so far. Tough to score when you’re always killing penalties.
2.37: The one bright spot so far this season has been goaltender Steve Mason. Despite some shoddy play in front of him the goaltender has an impressive 2.37 goals against average and .923 save percentage.
6 days; The Flyers and coach Craig Berube now have a week before their next game. Can the first year coach right the ship? Or are we witnessing what will continue to be a historically bad Flyers team?
