The Philadelphia Flyers are a top 5 team in the league

[chethejet]

Long season and injuries, goaltending concerns and puck luck will be in the mix. If Hart plays good they are capable. But have not been a serious playoff team in 7 years. We will see in March who is looking like a cup contender. Pens if healthy, Caps, Bruins, TB, have much more experience and Canes, Leafs have potential to be a player for a run as well. Right now Flyers, Florida, and perhaps the Habs and Rangers are playoff teams as well.

 

[StoneHands]

They have been playing well and yes are top 5 in the standings right now. However, assuming every team is healthy, I'd pretty easily take caps, pens, canes, bruins and tampa over them in a playoff series and that's just off the top of my head in the east.

The Caps, Bruins, and Tampa I can't disagree with. The Pens also smoked the Flyers in the one game they played so I'd give them the edge too if they're healthy but why Carolina? The Flyers are ahead of them in the standings, The Canes have been healthy, and the Flyers beat them both times they've played by a combined score of 9-4.

 

[bobholly39]

Who do you consider to be better than them? They are easily top-5 and are in the conversation for top 3.

I consider Washington/Pitt/NYI easily better than them.

Carolina - I also expect them to do better than Philly by end of year.

I expected bigger seasons by NYR and NJ, both of which started out slow. I thought it would be a fight between those 3 for 5th best. Even though Rangers look better lately - clearly i think Philly now belongs above them (and NJ). So I agree - they are easily top 5, if just barely (as in - i have them 5th).

 

[MardyBum]

It was nice while it lasted, no longer top 5

 

[blankall]

Philly has fallen to 7th, and they're only within 6 points (3 games won or lost) of 22nd place.

That being said, there's no reason why Philly couldn't be a top team. They have a sweet spot with some vets still somewhat in their prime, or at least solid contributors, (Giroux, Voracek, Niskanen, JVR, Niskanen, etc..) and the young guys just reaching their prime (Couturier, Konecny, Lindblom, Provorov, etc..). They definitely have all the pieces the need to win. This is also the new NHL of extreme parody. The line between championship and missing the playoffs is thin. Quite frankly, I don't see a single team I'd call a favorite to win it all. Teams like Boston are way up there, but I could see a team like Philly beating them in a series.

 

[bobholly39]

The Caps, Bruins, and Tampa I can't disagree with. The Pens also smoked the Flyers in the one game they played so I'd give them the edge too if they're healthy but why Carolina? The Flyers are ahead of them in the standings, The Canes have been healthy, and the Flyers beat them both times they've played by a combined score of 9-4.

Montreal beat St Louis pretty handily both times they played too. Teams have good games and bad games over an 82 game season - you can't always draw conclusions based on matchups that way. So them beating Carolina 9-4 doesn't mean much in terms of who should have the better season/playoff run.

Caps, Bruins and Tampa are self explanatory as you say. Pittsburgh has the playoff pedigree and Crosby/Malkin - very easy to favor them over Philly come playoff time too.
Carolina was expected to be better than Philly this season - and is coming off a very strong playoff run. Gun to my head if I had to say who today I expect more likely to be playoff bound and/or do well in the playoffs - I pick Carolina (only 2 points behind Philly). If Philly ends up having the better season - sure maybe you pick them too come playoff time - but there's still an easier case to have Carolina above them.

 

[StoneHands]

Long season and injuries, goaltending concerns and puck luck will be in the mix. If Hart plays good they are capable. But have not been a serious playoff team in 7 years. We will see in March who is looking like a cup contender. Pens if healthy, Caps, Bruins, TB, have much more experience and Canes, Leafs have potential to be a player for a run as well. Right now Flyers, Florida, and perhaps the Habs and Rangers are playoff teams as well.

I know the Flyers haven't had a lot of playoff success lately but to say that Florida has more potential for a long run despite only making the playoffs once in that same 7 year window is a little surprising. They're a one line team who can't stop anyone from scoring. They're basically what the Flyers have been for the past 7 years, really good top end talent but not much support.

 

[bobholly39]

I barely consider them a top 5 team in the metro tbh.

Surprise surprise. 1 month later and my comment doesnt seem too far off anymore

Flyers are now 14th in the league instead of top 5.

As for the metro - Columbus is coming on strong. NYR was doing decent for a while too but have fallen off a bit.

I still dont expect Philly in the playoffs. Theyll be in the race but i expect them to fall out by year end.

 

[GKJ]

Best team in the league at home
5th worst on the road

only 18 more road games though, and only 1 stretch of 3 in a row on the road (had 4 such stretches to date this year).

not even the most optimistic fan would have thought we were a top 5 team in the league, but over the last 6 or 7 years despite being hit or miss to make the playoffs, the Flyers have been a better team in the second half of the year, so we’ll see.

 

[biturbo19]

vingeault has only missed the playoffs twice since 2006. hes a fantastic coach

flyers have a solid team

Yeah. A lot of fanbases have come to hate Vigneault when he passes his expiry date for their team...but he's an extremely good coach, and once that talented Flyers team got themselves familiarized with his systems...they started winning. It's not rocket surgery.

 

[Mick Riddleton]

Month later and they are 14th, it changes so fast. Still I think they have a decent team but it will be hard to make the playoffs. The wild card is the best option.

 

[YEM]

Surprise surprise. 1 month later and my comment doesnt seem too far off anymore

Patting yourself on the back for a slide in the standings that coincides with a devastating cancer diagnosis to one of their top scorers?

Classy.

 

[Blueboy]

Patting yourself on the back for a slide in the standings that coincides with a devastating cancer diagnosis to one of their top scorers?

Classy.

Lol

What kind of bullshit defamation is this? He’s clearly talking about the team. Get out of here trying to attack the poster like that.

 

[max21]

Patting yourself on the back for a slide in the standings that coincides with a devastating cancer diagnosis to one of their top scorers?

Classy.

Whats happened with Lindblom is tragic, everyone wishes him the best. But teams lose top players all the time, STL is doing it right now winning without Tarasenko.

 

[Turin]

Patting yourself on the back for a slide in the standings that coincides with a devastating cancer diagnosis to one of their top scorers?

Classy.

Can’t criticize the Flyers anymore, heard it here first folks.

 

[bobholly39]

Patting yourself on the back for a slide in the standings that coincides with a devastating cancer diagnosis to one of their top scorers?

Classy.

Honestly hadn't even heard about that. Very very shitty to hear.

This was just about the team and people being too quick to laud them as an absolute top team a month ago.

 

[NyQuil]

This seems to happen every year.

They look like world-beaters for a stretch and then terrible for other stretches.

 

[Canadian Finn]

Patting yourself on the back for a slide in the standings that coincides with a devastating cancer diagnosis to one of their top scorers?

Classy.

feel better?

you sure showed him!

 

[BigEezyE22]

Patting yourself on the back for a slide in the standings that coincides with a devastating cancer diagnosis to one of their top scorers?

Classy.

Clinging to someone else's illness to try to grant yourself some bogus moral high ground...

Classy.

 

[chethejet]

As I posted it is a long season and things change. But to suggest they were top 5 was premature. They are in the hunt but so are many other teams.

 

[wintersej]

Uh, 7 points, unless the second wild card team no longer makes the playoffs. They also have games in hand and two tiebreakers on the first two teams outside the picture. So, actually, 8 points. Four wins.

If they lose two and every single team behind them wins two, they're still in the first WC. There's literally only four teams in the NHL who are farther above the cutoff line than they are, hence being 5th in the league, so nothing really premature there.

premature.

 

[Sam Spade]

When they are on their game they are damn good for sure.

 

[Empoleon8771]

It's kinda crazy that the Flyers are on pace for 98 points yet wouldn't be a playoff team if the playoffs started today, while a team in the Pacific very well could win their division with 95 points. 8 Eastern teams are on pace for 100 or more points, only 2 Western teams are on pace for that. The 2nd best Western team would be the 6th best Eastern team and the 3rd best Western team would be the 10th best Eastern team.

Has a team ever finished 11th in the NHL while missing the playoffs? Because that's what would happen with the Flyers if every team continues their early season pace.

 

[Ctrain2k]

Idk about top 5 NHL team, maybe top 5 in mascots punching kids though.

 

[Dooble08]

Wow, I really wanted to post how much easier our schedule gets.....but it really doesn't. Still have 16 home games, 16 away games left. Still have 5 (mostly) brutal back to backs left. But we do have 7 games left against teams that we are directly in competition with for 3/4 playoff spots (Columbus, Carolina, NY Islanders, Florida). I think we match up quite well against both Columbus and Carolina. Not really sure about the other 2, since it has been months since our last games against either. I feel like when the dust settles, we'll be in the playoffs.