5 Flyers Takeaways From 7-Game Losing Streak

The 2021-22 season didn’t go as planned for the Philadelphia Flyers. They entered with high hopes for a turnaround after a disappointing effort in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, but they only disappointed more. Head coach Alain Vigneault lost his job eight games into a 10-game losing streak spanning through late November and into early December. Interim head coach Mike Yeo led the team to a 13-game losing streak and two six-gamers later in the season.

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While expectations for the 2022-23 Flyers were about as low as they’ve ever been in Philadelphia, a respectable 7-3-2 start sparked some positivity. A seven-game losing streak has put the Flyers right back where they were last November: hopeless about the future and desperate to figure out a way to recreate success buried away in franchise history.

Injuries and Lack of Talent

General manager (GM) Chuck Fletcher bluntly stated in January that the Flyers lacked “top-end talent” on their roster. At the time, the organization hadn’t yet moved on from Claude Giroux, their second all-time leading scorer. They expected Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis to return from injuries to begin the 2022-23 season on time.

Fletcher dealt Giroux two months later and failed to replace him with any established scorers during the offseason. Couturier, Ellis, and Cam Atkinson haven’t played a game this season. James Van Riemsdyk has missed the last 13 games with a hand injury. Travis Konecny left Thursday night’s game against the Boston Bruins early and missed the next two games with an upper-body injury. Scott Laughton left the game on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury that could be a concussion.

Five of the Flyers’ six forwards with the highest career point totals didn’t play in Monday’s home loss against the Calgary Flames. Kevin Hayes has reached the highest points of success in his nine-year NHL career as a suitable second-line center, and the Flyers counted on him for over 23 minutes of ice time because there was no other established veteran forward presence in the lineup. The organization should soon release updates about the status of Konecny and Laughton.

Until reinforcements start coming, which doesn’t appear to be any time soon, the Flyers will work with even slimmer offensive talent. On Monday night, they sent Tanner Laczynski and…