For Flyers, too much time in the box

Advantage Margin            -77
The Flyers' penalty-killers finished sixth in the NHL with an 83.0 success rate, but allowed 67 goals because they were forced to kill off an NHL-high 393 opposition power plays, including 216 (more than five per game) on the road.

Even-Strength Goals Margin        +9
Philadelphia outscored its opponents by just one goal (153-152) while playing 5-on-5 and was outscored 9-7 in 4-on-4 play. However, the Flyers had an 11-3 margin in empty-net goals, accounting for their positive differential at even strength.
   
Special Teams Goal Margin        +19
The Flyers scored just four more power-play goals than their opponents, but cleaned up while playing shorthanded -- scoring an NHL-high 16 shorthanded goals and allowing just one (on the final day of the regular season).

Goals by Defensemen            20
The addition of Chris Pronger (11 goals) in a trade with Anaheim should help a group of defensemen that generated little offense -- Braydon Coburn was tops with seven goals.

Overtime Record            
Total: 10-5-6 (OT: 6-5, SO: 4-6)

The Flyers have never been among the NHL's best at the shootout, and last season was no different -- they split two at home but lost five of eight on the road. Jeff Carter scored three of Philadelphia's six OT goals while Mike Richards had two.

Times Scored First           
43 (Record: 29-8-6)

The Flyers were among the NHL's leaders in scoring first, though their .674 success rate was only middle-of-the-pack. However, they were in the top 10 the NHL with 15 victories in games in which the opponent scored first.

Best 08-09 Number            4
Thirty-goal scorers on the Flyers last season, the most of any team in the East and tied with Detroit for the most in the NHL. Jeff Carter's 46 goals were the most by any center and second to Alexander Ovechkin in the NHL.

Worst 08-09 Number          4-9-2
Philadelphia's record on Thursdays, by far its worst of any day of the week. The Flyers' struggles were more remarkable because nine of their 15 Thursday games were at home -- they were 4-4-1 in those games, 0-5-1 on the road.
   
Scheduling
The Flyers have a great chance to get off to a fast start -- after opening with two games on the road, they play 13 of their next 16 at Wachovia Center. They also have a six-game homestand in January that comes not long after an eight-game trip.

Back to top