They need a win. The Philadelphia Flyers have lost three games in a row. Their combined margin of defeat in those contests is 12-5.
So it’s been a rough stretch for the Flyers, who are in the middle of the pack in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, sitting in fifth place with 34 points.
But there’s still a lot of hockey left on the schedule, with about seven weeks remaining in the season. So flickers of hope remain. The Flyers could still get hot and make a playoff run. Futures odds have them at fifth in the East Division, precisely where they are at now.
A turnaround is not impossible.
But first, they need a win.
That could happen tonight, when Philadelphia hosts the New York Rangers at 7 p.m. DraftKings has the Flyers at -106 on the moneyline with Philadelphia +1.5 priced at -286. The game’s total is set at 6.
The Flyers are hoping for a much better home result than Tuesday, when the team trailed 4-1 after the second intermission and heard boos from some of the fans in attendance, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Flyers GM recognized team’s roster problems
On Wednesday, Philadelphia GM Chuck Fletcher held a midseason press conference and addressed many of the team’s struggles. According to the Philly Sports Network, Fletcher admitted the team’s roster is not ideal right now.
“I think the makeup of our group is not right. I think that’s a fair comment. I think we have to address that to get the right mix,” said Fletcher.
But he also said it’s unlikely the team will make any major moves in the immediate future to fix things. So for better or worse, the change must come from within.
“We have a lot of confidence in our group,” Flyers center Claude Giroux told NBC Sports. “We still think we’re going to make the playoffs. We need to be a little bit more consistent in our game. It starts with me. You can’t play one good game and then one bad game and keep going like that. We need to put a few games together here.”
So a win tonight would be a start. And then maybe with a little luck, an opposite streak will begin. One that brings more victories and more optimism and far fewer questions about where the team is going.
Flyers longshots to make the playoffs
For now, there seems to be more pessimism than anything else. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Flyers at -340 to miss the NHL playoffs, while a playoff berth would pay out +230.
So oddsmakers aren’t expecting much from this team. But the season isn’t over just yet.
In time, everything will be decided on the ice. But about halfway through this season, the Flyers will need a major turnaround to make the season a success.
They need a spark. And some momentum.
And tonight, they just need a win.
Lead image credit: AP Photo/Matt Slocum
