It’s been a long time since we were talking about the Philadelphia Flyers as Stanley Cup contenders. Their golden era was the 1970s, when they were known as the Broad Street Bullies, a team that brought a physical style that included plenty of fighting (and a lot of penalty minutes). They won two Stanley Cups that decade, in 1973-74 and 1974-75, and they won the next two conference championships as well. However, after that, they would only make five more Stanley Cup Finals and have only made one since 1997. Of all of the 24 expansion teams, no team has made more conference finals, and in all of the NHL, they are third in overall points percentage, at 57.5%. Even so, the Flyers are drawing championship buzz this year, with a record of 41-21-7, good for 89 points, just one behind Washington in the Metropolitan Division, and three points clear of their in-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have gotten a lot more of the championship buzz in recent years. If the postseason began today, the Flyers and Penguins would take each other on in the first round. However, if the regular season resumes, the Flyers come in with nine wins in their last ten games and with a solid chance of passing Washington for a division crown. Take a look at our in-depth analysis of the Flyers as you ponder how to incorporate NHL futures in your sports betting.
NHL: Philadelphia Flyers 2019-20 Season Analysis
As of this writing, Philadelphia has 17 more points than they had through the same number of games at this point last season, and if they keep playing at this rate, they will finish about 20 points ahead of where they were a year ago. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn created a state called Game Score, which takes basically every stat that a player can accumulate, assigns each a proportional weight, and rates each player each night. According to that metric, 14 skaters had meaningful roles on the team both last season and this season, and a dozen of them have seen their Game Score increase. Let’s take a look at some of the specific contributors.
Offensive Analysis
Travis Konecny has taken on the mantle of best scorer on this team. A year ago, he was definitely a winger that had a place on one of the three scoring lines, but this year he has left the rest of the team behind him. Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Scott Laughton started the season as depth players but have emerged as real offensive contributors for the team. Claude Giroux is the only aberration, but that may have to do with his age, as he has lost a step over the course of the year.
So while the top line (Sean Couturier, Jakub Voracek and Giroux) is still producing close to where it was a year ago, it is the next two scoring lines, including the likes of Konecny but also James van Riemsdyk, Scott Laughton and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who have the Flyers moving from clinging to third place or wild card to pushing hard for a Metropolitan title.
Defensive Analysis
Ivan Provorov has seen his defense improve dramatically. He had a terrible 2018-19 season in terms of turnovers, assignments and missed and a complete disappearing game on the offensive end of the ice. In 2019-20, though, he has played like the team expected him to when they picked him. Phil Myers has also grown into a top-four blueliner. The only real regression in this unit has come from Shayne Gostisbehere.
Key Numbers & Key Players
The two goaltenders have emerged as a source of stability for the Flyers. Youngster Carter Hart, still just 21, has a 24-13-3 record this season, with a 2.42 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Brian Elliott has also put up stout numbers, with a 16-7-4 record, a 2.87 GAA and an .899 save percentage. If the team can ride Hart into the playoffs, they could knock off the Penguins and then be prepared to give the team they face in the second round a real scare.
Playoffs panorama and Championship Odds
Philadelphia has a +3000 moneyline to win the Stanley Cup right now. They don’t have a postseason pedigree, and they have a young starting goalie. However, after a long pause like this, Boston might have developed enough rust for a young team like the Flyers to exploit.
