Flyers' offense dries up in season's second half
The Philadelphia Flyers have a scoring problem.
In the midst of chasing down a playoff position, Philadelphia's offense has gone cold. Since returning from the All-Star break, the Flyers have managed just 23 goals, or about 1.64 goals per game. No club has tallied fewer over that stretch:
| Rank | Team | Games | Record | GF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Canadiens | 16 | 8-7-1 | 32 |
| 28 | Avalanche | 18 | 4-13-1 | 30 |
| 29 | Hurricanes | 14 | 5-6-3 | 29 |
| 30 | Flyers | 14 | 5-7-2 | 23 |
It's a drastic fall from the season's earlier months, when the Flyers collected 135 goals through 50 games, a middle-of-the-pack showing of about 2.7 goals per game.
Despite the lack of finish, the Flyers remain in the thick of the playoff race, largely due to their early season success. Philadelphia sits three points behind the New York Islanders, who hold the East's second wild-card seed.
Seeking a scoring spark, the Flyers added a new face at last week's trade deadline, recruiting forward Valtteri Filppula from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Filppula recorded 34 points with the Lightning this season and scored in his debut with the Flyers.
If Philadelphia fails to qualify for the postseason, consider its biggest offender the lost offense from the team's top players:
| Player | Before ASG | Pts/GP | After ASG | Pts/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voracek | 14G 30A | 0.88 | 3G 5A | 0.57 |
| Giroux | 11G 29A | 0.80 | 1G 4A | 0.36 |
| Simmonds | 21G 17A | 0.76 | 6G 0A | 0.43 |
| Schenn | 15G 18A | 0.70 | 4G 5A | 0.64 |
Should the Flyers not make the playoffs, it will mark the third time in the past five seasons. They were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in the opening round last spring.
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