5 Observations as the Flyers Wrap Up the First Week of the Season

Flyers head into a week long break coming off two very strong efforts. Here are a few observations from the first four games.

1. With the exception of a clunker in Florida the Flyers have been right there toe to toe with some pretty tough competition. They gave Tampa Bay all they could handle taking them into a very exciting 3 on 3 overtime. They bounced back from a thumping delivered by Florida in an impressive way shutting them out 1-0 in the home opener. They managed to follow that up with an encore shutout against Chicago.
2. It will be hard to keep Sam Gagner out of the lineup. He had struggled to find chemistry with anyone during the preseason but since getting back in the lineup he has clicked rather well with Brayden Schenn. Creating the lone goal in the Florida rematch and then potting one himself against the Black Hawks.
3. Much was made of how little GM Ron Hextall could do with limited salary cap space. We learned very early that he made the most of what space he had.   When Steve Mason needed to leave the team with an undisclosed personal issue The team was able to turn to Michael Neuvirth who has already shown his worth posting back to back shutouts becoming the first Flyer goalie to manage that feat in his first two starts with the team since Jeff Hackett did it in 2003. Neuvirth was outstanding stopping all 61 shots faced in the Wells Fargo Center.  It will be interesting to see how Coach Hakstol handles the goaltenders once Mason returns.
4. Radko Gudas is going to be a player Flyer fans will enjoy watching. In his first two games of action he was making plays all over the ice. Hitting, blocking shots, and showing that he isn’t adverse to dropping the gloves.
5. It is very nice that this team has a checking line that is capable of changing the energy in the game. The line of Chris Vandevelde, Ryan White and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare are fun to watch. They play with an edge but they are also able to kill penalties instead of taking penalties. A welcome change from the Zac Rinaldo days where you could count on dumb penalties coming from him.

Hopefully the week off doesn’t kill their momentum they have established after the players only meeting following the debacle in Florida. If they are able to maintain this momentum good things are in store as the schedule gets considerably easier as the month winds down.