Heard in the Cheap Seats

Just when I started going on and on about how the Flyers have turned a corner and are building momentum for a long run in the playoffs, they bring me back to reality.  The reality is that the Flyers, while extremely talented, are frustratingly inconsistent.  I am done writing about how the power play has found its groove, or that Biron is finally looking like a goalie that can lead the Flyers to a Stanley Cup.  Some of that is due to superstition, but some of it is for the simple fact that with this Flyers team it is pointless to write any of that.  From game to game, and period to period they look like completely different teams.  The Flyers team that we would all prefer seeing is the team that went out and defeated Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey consecutively, while notching 7 power play goals.  But, stretches like that one 2 weeks ago, are usually followed by a bunch of games like last night.  Last night the Flyers lost to a Toronto Maple Leafs team that has been eliminated from the playoffs.  The Flyers, on the other hand, have everything to play for.  They are fighting for playoff seeding, an outside shot at a division crown, and trying to play their best hockey heading into the playoffs.  Well, the Flyers looked more like the team who had been eliminated from the playoffs last night.  It was hard to watch.  They looked like they were at a leisurely morning skate.  The more disturbing part is their habit of starting off games like they are in quicksand and digging themselves an early hole.  It’s as if the Flyers feel like they can just flip a switch whenever they want.  Maybe the comeback win over the lowly Islanders was a bad thing on Saturday because it made the Flyers believe they could just come out and half ass the hockey game until the 3^rd period.  It didn’t work last night.  John Stevens pulled Marty Biron in the second period and even called a timeout in the period to light a fire under his players, but none of it worked.  After the game, all the Flyers players were talking about how poor their effort was, how they need to step up, and that they were having a meeting today to talk about everything.  I don’t get it.  How do they not understand what the stakes are?  The thing is, they do understand, but for some reason have not been able to raise their level of play to reach their goals.  I don’t want to be overly pessimistic, but at the same time, raising the level of play is exactly what needs to happen in order to have a shot at a Stanley Cup.  The Flyers have shown glimpses of what they are capable of, but glimpses won’t get the Flyers very far.  There is that frustrating inconsistency again.  Instead of playing their best hockey, the Flyers have gone 8-8 since the end of February. 

The players certainly deserve much of the blame, but in situations like this I think we need to look at the coach as well.  John Stevens has done a very nice job, and this Flyers still has a chance to do something special.  But, when a team is constantly starting off games slowly and trying to fight back, and looking great one game and sleepwalking in the next game, there has to be some eyes looking at the coach.  It is the coach that should have a pulse on his team at all times.  The coach needs to know how to jumpstart his team and make sure that their focus is always there.  The Flyers focus is definitely not always high, and aside from blaming the players, Stevens needs to a better job in that area.  He seems to scratch his head and lament the same things over and over.   Maybe he was trying to get his team to focus a little more when he shook up the lines recently.  Ok, fine, that means he is paying attention, but it seems like this Flyers team is one that needs a little extra attention.  I think Stevens knows this, so I am interested to see how the last 6 games play out.  Six games are all that remains in the regular season.  Six games to stop the talking, stop looking ahead, and just go out and play each game from the drop of the puck to the final buzzer as if it was a playoff game.  If they can do that, good things can and will happen.  If they don’t, this season might be over way sooner than any of us want to think about.