I remember writing about how well the Flyers were playing when they first brought up Carter Hart, and how quickly my thoughts changed.
The Fly Guys are coming off a 1-0 victory against the Rangers. Anthony Stolarz was in net and posted his second career shutout. Can you imagine a world where the Flyers goaltenders are actually making an impact? If this was early December, the Flyers would’ve lost that game 3-1, but Stolie allowed them to sneak away with a win.
Good goaltending goes a long way. If you trust the man between the pipes down at the other end, you are more likely to engage in aggressive play, which leads to more scoring opportunities. The young guys need to keep playing at a high level. They are the future of this club. The teams’ success is going to directly be affected by them.
We have seen the emergence of JVR. Before the game last night, he had 7 goals in the last 6 games. It has been sort of a disappointing year for him, as he scored 30+ last year. The Flyers thought JVR would be the piece that got the team really rolling. Obviously he has taken a dip down from last year, but this team would look completely different come next year.
I hate that I’m such an optimist. I’m sitting here thinking to myself, “Why can’t they make playoffs”? They would pretty much have to 30-10 in the last half of the season, but at this point, I’ll take any type of success the team has, whether it’s playoffs or losing for Hughes.
Currently, the Flyers have won five in a row. If the goaltending keeps playing like this, I would think the Flyers could make the end of this season a little bit interesting.
