Special teams play tends to run hot and hold over the course of any given year. A sampling of a few games is simply too small to worry about for the long haul.
Last season, for example, the Flyers started out the season by killing just two of the first eight penalties they took in games against Pittsburgh, Buffalo and New Jersey. Over that same span, the Flyers went 1-for-15 on the power play. Despite the horrendous start, the club finished the year at 85.9 percent on the penalty kill (5th in the NHL) and 21.6 percent (ranked 3rd) on the power play. It was even strength play that was the problem.
This season, the Flyers have been one of the NHL's top penalty killing clubs again, but there has been a bit of recent hiccup. Opposing teams have scored on power plays in three of the last four games, going 4-for-13 in that span. As a result, the Flyers penalty killing rankings for the season has correspondingly dropped a bit in the last week. The team is currently ranked 13th in penalty killing efficiency at 83.1 percent.
On the power play as well as at even strength, the Flyers had been having a miserable time trying to score goals through the first 15 games of the regular season. However, the team has been doing much better of late on the man advantage. The Flyers went 4-for-8 on the power play on their recent three-game road trip. Unfortunately, their final power play of the 3-2 shootout loss to Winnipeg was a poor one, and it was a missed opportunity to put a stranglehold on the game.
Of course, what is far more important than slicing and dicing special teams play is the end result on the scoreboard. The Flyers are 3-0-1 in their last four games and will need to have another strong week of play in their upcoming three-game homestand.
One thing I would like to see the Flyers accomplish this week is playing in third periods more like they did when leading against the Senators last Tuesday than they did when leading the Penguins on Wednesday and the Jets on Friday. In the latter two games, the team's forecheck completely vanished while trying to nurse a one-goal lead. Against Ottawa, the Flyers stayed aggressive -- yet disciplined -- and were consequently able to build their lead into a blowout.
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