QUICK HITS: JANUARY 18, 2017
1) If it were an isolated bad period of hockey, the Flyers third period collapse in Washington on Sunday could be explained away as a team with tiring legs at the end of a three-in-four/back-to-back stretch getting taken apart by the hottest team in the NHL. That excuse rings hollow, though, because disastrous periods have been happening far too frequently of late:
* On Jan. 4, the Flyers and Rangers played a scoreless first period and Philly trailed 1-0 heading into the third period. The Rangers then put a four-goal blitz on the Flyers in the third period of a 5-2 final.
* On Jan. 10 in Buffalo, the game was scoreless for 25 minutes. By the time the Flyers staggered off to the second intermission, the Sabres led 3-0 and went on to win, 4-1.
* The Flyers' won 5-4 (via shootout) on home ice against Vancouver last Thursday, but it was an ugly win in a sloppily played game. In the second period, the teams combined for five goals, including three by the Canucks.
* On Saturday, a four-goal second period for the Boston Bruins proved to be too much to overcome in a 6-3 Flyers loss.
Add in Sunday's third-period debacle and that is five times in the last seven games in which the Flyers have yielded three or more goals to an opponent in a single period. Needless to say, that is unacceptable. There's plenty of shared blame between the defensemen, forwards and goaltenders. Several of the goals have been stoppable ones that leaked into the net. Several have been the product of turnovers, coverage breakdowns and insufficient back pressure. Most disturbingly, a couple have been ones where the Flyers simply didn't compete and a play turned into an all-too-easy goal.
Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said on Tuesday that perhaps the current bye week is just what the team needs to regroup and then "go back to work." There's plenty of work to be done. In barely over a month, the Flyers have gone from a nine-point cushion in the wildcard playoff chase to being out of the playoffs if the season ended now.
2) Unlike their parent club in Philadelphia, the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms continue to find ways to win even in games where they are at less than their best form. On Monday, the Phantoms trailed 3-1 with less than six minutes left in the third period against the Springfield Falcons. Lehigh Valley then scored three goals in the waning minutes to win, 4-3. While that's not a fomula for frequent success, this season's Phantoms are never out of a game.
Overall, the Phantoms are 4-2-0 in January and 25-10-2 for the season. While they trail the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins by seven points (with two games in hand) in the Atlantic Division, the Phantoms have the look of a team that could make some noise in the postseason.
Tomorrow's blog will focus on the progress of four Phantoms defensemen -- Travis Sanheim, Samuel Morin, Robert Hägg and Reece Willcox.
3) The 113th Annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Banquet will take place at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Current Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere will accept Philadelphia Pro Athlete of the Year honors from the PSWA and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Eric Lindros will receive the Living Legend Award.
There will also be extensive attendance by many of the captains and leaders in Flyers history, including Lindros, Bill Barber, Dave Poulin, inaugural team captain Lou Angotti and more.
If you enter online promo code FLYERS50, you will receive $10 off an admission ticket to this special event. For more info, call 267-546-7277 or click
here.
4) The Flyers Alumni Team has a very special trip upcoming, with the team heading to Russia in mid-February. The highlight of the trip will be an outdoor game in Red Square. More information about the Russia excursion, including the Alumni roster, will follwo.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»