Predicting the rest of the Flyers season
The Philadelphia Flyers have shed weight at the NHL trade deadline last week. Parting ways with Scott Laughton, Andrei Kuzmenko, and Erik Johnson just weeks after sending Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to the Calgary Flames — this team took on just one current roster player in Jakob Pelletier to show for it in the short-term.
And right now, this team that we love so much have now lost five straight games and with no one really showing some fight, it might be a rough rest of the 2024-25 regular season. But might is the key word there! You never know what this crazy team is going to do, so we thought it would be in our best interest to go ahead and go game by game to try and predict what the rest of the season is going to look like in Philadelphia.
March 13 – vs. Lightning
While the Flyers are not playing abhorrent hockey, they still are losing a heck of a lot of games. And after this rough stretch they have to host the Tampa Bay Lightning of all teams? A Lightning team who just reunited themselves with Yanni Gourde and added ultra underrated winger Oliver Bjorkstrand at the deadline? That Lightning team?
Yeah, this is a loss.
March 16 – vs. Hurricanes
After the Lightning take advantage of a weakened Flyers team, the Carolina Hurricanes come to town and after the Mikko Rantanen fiasco, they’re feeling good. No more uncertainty over their head about a will-he-won’t-he situation and they get a player that fits their mold so much better in Logan Stankoven. So, yeah, they’re feeling good and confident.
Might be a close one, but Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere pull out some old Philly magic and get a couple points between them. It’s another loss. Seven straight now.
March 17 – at Lightning
Just a few days after facing them in Philadelphia, the Flyers head down south to Florida to face the Lightning. And boy oh boy, this one goes in the same direction as the previous matchup. We might see some action from the Flyers’ depth — maybe a goal from Jakob Pelletier? — but this is another big, fat L.
Another one.
March 20 – at Capitals
Great, the Flyers just had to face two very good teams and now visit another one. The Capitals are riding high, edging closer and closer to Alex Ovechkin breaking the all-time goal record. By this time, they are just a few goals away. Ovechkin doesn’t get the record on this night, but he gets close with a sizeable win over the Flyers.
Chalk up another loss.
March 22 – at Stars
Oh, you’re telling me after going through the gauntlet of these former Southeast Division teams, they have to go visit the Dallas Stars who just traded for Mikko freakin’ Rantanen? Great. Despite maybe a depleted blue line and a lackluster right side, the Stars just run over the Flyers in their own building. Jason Robertson pots a couple of goals and this is one of the more demoralizing losses this season.
March 23 – at Blackhawks
The Flyers are in hell. An endless hell is before and after them. Only experiencing pain. They visit Chicago during what is now a 10-game losing streak and they are feeling so down on themselves, with no help coming for them. No one is rescuing them. Hopeless. The Blackhawks get some young hotshot prospect graduated from the AHL to trample the Flyers to what truly is a bad loss.
March 25 – at Maple Leafs
Great, the Flyers go north of the border and face a Leafs team that is fighting for the division title. A hungry group of players and Scott Laughton is there with them. The Flyers are too overcome with emotion, seeing their longtime teammate on the other side, that they lay an egg and allow several goals. It is now 12 consecutive losses.
March 27 – vs. Canadiens
You’re telling us that after visiting Toronto, the Flyer have to go home and host a different Canadian team? The Habs will certainly graduate some prospects like a David Reinbacher or someone else from Laval to put more of an impact on their season. They’re like last year’s Flyers if they didn’t trade away Sean Walker. They win this one.
March 29 – vs. Sabres
The Sabres are bad. An awful hockey team from top to bottom and are only getting worse. This is a battle between two miserable teams and even more miserable fan bases. Buffalo wins 4-3 in a shootout because why not?
March 31 – vs. Predators
The Flyers close out the month of March rocketing down the standings and completing a back-to-back against lottery teams. But Nashville finds a way to come into Philadelphia inspired to revitalize some of their veterans. Ryan O’Reilly scores a hat trick.
April 5 – at Canadiens
Finally, the Flyers get to visit the Bell Centre after a little stretch of days off. Relaxed and rested, they stare down the barrel of a gun loaded with bullets named Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Lane Hutson. The young defenseman makes a fool out of some poor Flyer and has a three-assist game. The power play is clicking for the Habs and they really put a beating in on a Flyers team that is just asking for mercy. Montreal has something to play for.
April 9 – at Rangers
The Flyers continue down this spiral and they have to visit the hated New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Of course they lose. We don’t even need to be cute about it.
April 12 – vs. Islanders
It’s a loss and the most boring loss you have ever watched in your entire life. You sleep through the game. That is healthier than watching this hockey performance.
April 13 – at Senators
The Flyers visit Claude Giroux at his home on an 18-game losing streak. They are ashamed to turn up like this. Embarrassed to be near the bottom of the standings — Chicago and San Jose still worse — and re-visit what was once the leader of this team. On the verge of making the playoffs, Ottawa shows no mercy and earns a 7-1 win.
April 15 – vs. Blue Jackets
Columbus is most likely fighting for a playoff spot at this point. It feels like a predetermined victory for them and the Flyers to chalk up another loss. Someone might get fired. We see the light at the end of the hellish tunnel that was this season.
April 17 – at Sabres
The Flyers visit Buffalo and earn a win to close out their season. The two points puts lets them leap over a team in the overall standings and because of that, they miss out on winning the draft lottery. They finish the season losing 19 consecutive games followed by one hollow win over the Buffalo Sabres to push them out of the possibility of drafting Michael Misa or Matthew Schaefer. It’s the Philadelphia Flyers.
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