Time to Break up the Top Line

We may only be four games into the 2014-15 campaign, but the Philadelphia Flyers appear to have the same problems that plagued them last season.  Most notably, major problems at even strength.

The power play has been a strength with the team going five for seventeen, good enough for eighth in the league.

The penalty kill has been just as effective with the Flyers one for ten which puts them at tenth.

In terms of penalties the Flyers sit in a very strange position, having accrued the least penalty minutes per game in the league at 7.2 penalty minutes per game.

This has exposed the weakest part of the Flyers game, even strength, where they have given up thirteen even strength goals and scored only six.

The Flyers minus seven put them near the bottom of the league tied with both Buffalo and Colorado with Edmonton the worst even strength team in the NHL at a minus nine.

The problems can be traced specifically to one line and one defensive pairing.  The top line of Michael Raffl/Claude Giroux/Jakub Voracek has accounted for an outsized portion of these goals. 

Michael Raffl has been on the ice for eight even strength goals while Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have been on the ice for seven each.  These numbers are greatly affected by their poor game against the New Jersey Devils but it does point to a larger problem.  The top line is not as effective at five on five than they should be. 

The case can be made that the Flyers should replace Voracek with Wayne Simmonds on the right side of the top line and begin looking for a replacement on the left side with the possibility of moving Brayden Schenn back up to left wing on the top line.

Simmonds and Schenn can provide the muscle down low and create space for Giroux to work around faceoff circles.

But that is not the only major problem, the defensive pairing of Luke Schenn and Michael Del Zotto has been a problem as well with Luke on the ice for nine even strength goals and Del Zotto eight. 

Again, these numbers are a bit outsized due to the New Jersey Devils game where these five individuals happened to be on ice for a number of New Jersey goals.

I am not sure about a solution for the defense because the Flyers desperately need Del Zotto's speed and ability to push the puck up ice.  Without Del Zotto the Flyers defense is slow and immobile. 

The Flyers should consider a different partner, perhaps Braydon Coburn, when he returns from injury for Michael Del Zotto.

The final two areas of concern are singular players who may not be good fits overall or just looking for the right partner.

R.J.Umberger has been on the ice for six even strength goals against so far this year and Andrew MacDonald five.  No other player accounts for being on the ice for five or more goals.

This is not to say that the pairing of Claude Giroux, Michael Raffl, and Jakub Voracek cannot be effective as they can still anchor the top power play line but it appears that they are not an effective even strength line combination.

The Flyers are in the midst of a roster overhaul focusing on plus skaters with skill and their play has not been that bad.  The key, as they begin an important road trip, is to find effective line combinations at even strength for both the forwards and defense. 

While breaking up some combinations may be unpopular it is necessary if the Flyers expect to turn around the season after a slow start.

2014-15 Philadelphia Flyers Goaltending and Defense

Defense

The much maligned defense of last season will be returning once again for the 2014-15 campaign with the addition of Michael Del Zotto who is replacing Kimmo Timonen.

Starting with the top pairing of Andrew MacDonald and Braydon Coburn the Flyers will get two workhorse, yet unexciting, defensemen whose jack-of-all-trades skills are underappreciated by Flyers fans.

Coburn led the team in total ice time last year with 22:26 per game and MacDonald jumped into the fray with the second most ice time tallying 21:59 since his arrival late last year from the New York Islanders.

On the penalty kill Coburn tallied 3:59 of ice time leading more than the team; his shorthanded ice time lead the entire NHL greatly contributing to the Flyers being one of the top shorthanded teams in the league.

While much has been made by fans of his giveaways, Coburn’s giveaways are far less than the top defensemen in the NHL.

This pairing is not a sexy top line defensive pairing, but both Coburn and MacDonald will log a lot of minutes and do a lot of the dirty work while not gaining a significant amount of attention.

The second pairing of Nicklas Grossman and Mark Streit provide the smooth skating and power play QB roles that fans will be watching closely.  Streit will provide the puck movement and smooth skating necessary to push the play up ice while Grossman hangs back in a defense role.

This pairing may be the most interesting to watch.  Grossman is known for his shot blocking and stay at home skills nicely complements Streit’s offensive prowess. 

The final pairing of Michael Del Zotto and Luke Schenn are two defensemen looking for redemption after disappointing campaigns last year. 

Luke Schenn showed some flashes of the skills that made the Flyers take a risk by trading for him two seasons ago, but last year reverted back into his old, bad habits.  The Flyers are hoping that this year he can once again show the skills that made the Flyers take a chance on him.

Michael Del Zotto is a smooth skating defenseman who has yet to live up to his potential with both the New York Rangers and Nashville Predators.  Teams were wary to sign him allowing the Flyers to pick him up on a one year low-risk contract.

While Del Zotto will not replace Kimmo Timonen he will be given a significant opportunity with the Flyers to help fill Timonen’s 3:25 of ice time per game on the power play.  While nobody expects Del Zotto to completely fill Timonen’s shoes he is being given the opportunity to make a significant impact with the Flyers on special teams.

This pairing will be seen as a reclamation pairing for the season with Schenn having the most to prove.

Nick Schultz will be the teams seventh defenseman and called upon to provide a veteran presence on the blueline should one of the regulars go down.

While not sexy the defensive corps for the Flyers were more than able to hold their own last year and will be asked to do the same this year until the next generation of Flyers defensemen are ready to take their place.

Goaltending

The tandem of Steve Mason and Ray Emery will be back for another season between the pipes for the Flyers.  While not a sexy combination, Steve Mason has solidified his game since coming over from Columbus and Ray Emery has filled in as an adequate backup. 

This pairing may be of greater concern if Steve Mason goes down for an extended period of time as Ray Emery’s lack of lateral movement was exposed is last years seven game playoff series with the New York Rangers.

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Tomorrow my thoughts on the upcoming season for the Flyers.

Follow me on Twitter @dcurban1.