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Game preview: First game of the season against the Flyers

By Steve Paulus

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Julien Gauthier #12 of the New York Rangers reacts late in the third period against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on February 16, 2021 in New York City.The New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers 5-2. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: Julien Gauthier #12 of the New York Rangers reacts late in the third period against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on February 16, 2021 in New York City.The New Jersey Devils defeated the New York Rangers 5-2. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers . (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates against Ryan Lindgren #55 of the New York Rangers . (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

About the Flyers

The Flyers have not played a game in 11 days due to the COVID-19 protocols.  As of yesterday, the team had seven players on the COVID list including Justin Braun, Morgan Frost, Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom and Jakub Voracek.

According to Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher, the team had 16 players at their practice on Tuesday with seven of them just off the COVID list and they were expected to add more on Wednesday.

Still, two players, David Kase and Maksin Sushko, will be making their season debuts tonight. Kase is a right winger who played six games last season and Sushko is also a right winger who will be making his NHL debut. They would join left winger Connor Bunnaman as rookies in the lineup.

It has to be seen as an opportunity for the Rangers to play a Flyers team without Giroux, Voracek, Konecny or Lindblom.  However, the trend in the NHL has been for teams coming off long breaks to get off to fast starts.  Just ask the Blueshirts about the Devils.

After this game, the Flyers travel to Lake Tahoe for an outdoor game against the Bruins on Sunday.

The Flyers have one of the best scoring offenses in the NHL.  They are averaging 3.54 goals per game, third best in the NHL.   They are 21st in goals against, allowing 3.08 goals per game compared to the Rangers who allow 2.71 goals per game.  The Flyers are a scoring at that rate despite being dead last in shots, averaging only 23.7 shots per game.  The Rangers average 32.1 shots per game, second most in the NHL.   It’s the same story with shots against.  The Flyers allow the second most shots per game, 33.2 shots.  The Rangers allow an average of 29 shots, 13th fewest in the league.

Philadelphia’s special teams are not anything to write home about. They have the third worst penalty kill in the NHL, stopping only 70.5%.   Their power play has a 21.5% success rate, 15th overall.

Backup goalie Brian Elliott has outplayed starter Carter Hart.  Hart has started nine of the 13 games with a 3.49 Goals Against Average and a .897 Save Percentage.

Statistically, its’ tough to see how the Flyers are playing so well.  They have the worst possession statistics in the league.  One reason is the team’s PDO of 1.056 that is the best in the NHL.  PDO is the sum of a team’s shooting percentage and its save percentage.   The average PDO is 1.00 so a higher PDO means that the team is scoring more than they should and inevitably, they are due to digress.  This season, the Ranger’s PDO is 98.5,  lower than average.

What this means for the Flyers is that their shooting percentage of 14.9% has inflated their offense and they are due for a slump.   Consider the fact that their shooting percentage is twice that of the Rangers (7.3%).

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