As the Philadelphia Flyers near the Christmas break and other holiday festivities, they are 14-13-4. With their playoff odds as good as anyone else’s in the wildcard hunt, the Orange and Black will need a boost to establish themselves as a clear-cut postseason team in the Eastern Conference.
With the season of giving upon us, what three gifts should the Flyers want from Santa Claus in their time of need?
Gift One: Drysdale’s Continued Success
Since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out of action for a month, Jamie Drysdale has been one of the best defensemen on the Flyers. If you’ve been paying attention to his tenure with the Orange and Black, it’s a pretty out-of-the-blue revelation but one that is a dream come true. All stats below are at 5-on-5:
Related: Philadelphia Flyers’ Jamie Drysdale Blossoming After Injury Recovery
Prior to his last four games, the 22-year-old had a 42.62 expected goals percentage (xGF%) since joining the Flyers last January. As a result, he was outscored 32-10 for a goals percentage (GF%) of 23.81. Among the 13 defenders who played for the team in that span, the offensively minded blue liner was dead last in both metrics. Opponents thoroughly outplayed him in his minutes, unfortunately making the youngster a considerable liability.
But things have changed. With a 67.42 xGF% since he returned to the ice on Dec. 8, Drysdale ranks second on the team among defensemen. He has outscored his foes 7-0 for a perfect 100.0 GF%. Just to give you an idea of how immense this turnaround is, he was only on the ice for five goals in his first 30 contests as a Flyer. He allowed 28.
The top wish on the Flyers’ Christmas list should be for Drysdale to keep it up. He is an essential part of their future, no way around it—his early struggles were a hard pill to swallow, even if they were to be expected for a player of his age and with his injury history. Now that he is in a groove for, really, the first time in Philadelphia, sustaining it could mean big things.
Gift Two: Andrae Staying in the Lineup
You know how I said Drysdale is second among defensemen in xGF% over the Flyers’ last four games? Emil Andrae is first, and he was a healthy (or maybe not-so-healthy) scratch in back-to-back contests. Getting the Swede in the lineup again is paramount to the team’s success.
Giving a rookie a bit of a break makes…
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