Philadelphia Flyers 2008 Preview/Midseason Review

To me it makes sense to couple the 2008 preview edition of the Flyers with an 07-08 midseason review. So that's what happening. First, a look back on what's been going on, and then, a preview of what's to come.

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How's this for perspective: on January 4 of last year, the Flyers were 11-25-4 and had the worst record in the NHL with only 26 points. It's pretty remarkable how far the team has come in just one season, from the doldrums of the league to a legitimate playoff contender. Of course, we're still mired (temporarily, hopefully) in the basement of the Atlantic, but it's way too early to tell where we may end up (and bear in mind we've played the fewest games of any team in the league so far).

The Flyguys sit at 19-14-4 with 42 points. As of January 4, that puts them in the 9th spot in the conference, just a point behind the Islanders and two points behind the Rangers (who have played 4 more games than us so far). So we're in a good spot in that case. But I don't think many people gave Philly a chance at the beginning of the season just judging by how we finished last year. What have been the keys to the turnaround?

Coaching - The Flyers surprised a lot of people when they fired Ken Hitchcock in the middle of the season last year. They brought up John Stevens from the Phantoms to take his place, and the Flyers continued to struggle. This year, however, with the coaching situation stable, Philly has thrived under Stevens. He's had a full year of experience at the NHL level now and his quiet demeanor seems to get the job done. He must be doing something right, as Paul Holmgren gave him an extension just a couple weeks ago.

Goaltending - I don't have to go through the litany of failed goalies the Flyers have had since Ron Hextall retired. So it's certainly a relief to me to see solid goalie play through the first half of the season. Marty Biron was a terrific acquisition by Holmgren last year, and he has lived up to his #1 goalie potential. He's 7th in the league in save percentage, even though his GAA is 26th (he faces a ton of shots consistently). With Antero Nittymaki behind him, the Flyers have a solid 1-2 combo that should see them through to the postseason. Not to mention Brian Boucher is with the Phantoms. Wouldn't it be nice if he could regain his 2000 form?

New guys- Danny Briere and Joffrey Lupul are 2nd and 3rd on the team in goals and points. Holmgren made it a priority in the off-season to find offense for a team that had almost none last year. He definitely found two guys who can get it done on a consistent basis. Lupul has especially surprised me with his ability to go off for multi-point games. The Flyers were smart to sign these two, they give you offense every night.

Better defense - Again, Holmgren made sure to completely revamp the D and he did. Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Jason Smith, Lasse Kukkonen, Rory Fitzpatrick and Jim Vandermeer have all been brought in during the past 12 months (Vandermeer just recently). Combine them with Randy Jones and Derian Hatcher and it's simply a more productive defense than last year. The departure of Joni Pitkanen certainly hurt, but it was necessary to bring in other guys to help the team.

Young guys - You can't say enough about the value that Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, R.J. Umberger and Coburn among others have brought to this team. Richards has emerged as a big-time player who'll be around until 2020 if he plays out his contract. Carter is finally becoming the goal scorer that everybody thought he could be. Umberger leads the team in +/- at 10. The emergence of these players has been vital to the team's success. Last year, with these same guys, there wasn't nearly as much production.

NOW WE LOOK AHEAD TO 2008

Where the Flyers are right now, they have as good a shot as any team in the East to qualify for the postseason. And as with any sport, the divisional games will be the most important. I've always said, whether it be football, hockey or whatever, if you're solid within your division, chances are you're solid without it. There are some critical division games coming up in the near future that the Flyers would be wise to get two points in:

Tonight - at New Jersey (have lost their last three to the Devils)
1/10 - at N.Y. Rangers (winless against NYR this year)
1/19 - at N.Y. Islanders (one point behind them for a playoff berth)
1/22 - vs. New Jersey
1/24 - vs. Pittsburgh (3-0 vs. Penugins this year)
1/31 - vs. N.Y. Rangers

And that's only in January. No other league puts as much of an emphasis on playing division games than the NHL, and the Flyers will be riddled with games like that for the rest of the year. For the most part, they've been average against the Atlantic (6-4-1) but it could be better, especially against the Devils and Rangers. The Flyers have to win most of these division games in January to send a message to the Atlantic and to make a chase for the division title.

Of course, what everybody is looking forward to in the second half are the triumphant returns of Simon Gagne and Steve Downie. Gagne because he's a big-time goal scorer who will only provide more offense for an already offense-driven team, and Downie because he's a big hitter/enforcer that the Flyers could use as the season winds down. Yes, Downie was suspended for his ridiculous hit on former Flyer Dean McAmmond, and yes, he'll probably be head-hunting upon his return. I'm not going to complain about that. Gagne's return will bolster the offense even further, so I'm looking forward to seeing even more goals in the future.

FIVE NOT-SO-BOLD PREDICTIONS FOR THE SECOND HALF (though as always they're in bold)

5) Biron goes through a rough patch - He's playing a lot of games, and he's facing a ton of shots every night. It'll catch up to him and he'll struggle for a few games.

4) The Devils fade from their perch - Before the 9-game winning streak, they were 7-10-2. Since it, they are 6-5-0. They don't have the consistency to win this competitive division.

3) The Flyers won't sign Peter Forsberg - Not gonna happen. No matter how much I want it to, it won't. He's old and he's hurt.

2) 8th seed will have 90+ points - It seems to be the trend in the new NHL. If that's the case this year, the Flyers are well on their way to achieving that.

1) The Flyers get in the playoffs...but lose the division - It's too competitive. But it'll be close, they'll probably just lose out to the Rangers or Penguins. Flyers are destined for a 6 or 7 seed.

The Flyers have come a long way since the debacle that was 2006-07. Everything has improved and they're playing with much more confidence. But they have to keep it up. Biron has to stay relatively steady for the whole season, because as we know what plagued the Flyers teams of the past was shoddy goaltending at the worst times. The big three scorers (Richards, Briere, Lupul) need to continue to generate a lot of offense, Gagne has to be back to 100% and provide more offense, and of course the defense has to continue its solid play. With such an even-matched conference and division especially, anything can happen. The Flyers could be on the cusp of winning the Atlantic in the last couple weeks and end up missing the playoffs. That's just the way it is. If the Flyers play well against their divisional opponents down the stretch, they will find themselves in a familiar position that was abandoned last year: the playoffs.

-ajd