Welcome to 3-on-3, a weekly look back at the week that was for the Philadelphia Flyers, from a statical point of view. Last week the Orange and Black went 2-1 in their three games, capturing four out of a possible six points. Let’s get to this week’s 3 “hot” and 3 “not” players of the week.
3 “Hot”:
- Danny Briere: Briere had a hat trick and a fight on Saturday against Ottawa and for the week he was a plus-2. He is currently fourth on the team with 28 points in 36 games. The 34-year-old right wing seems to be warming up as we reach the half way point of the season. If he can continue to score goals, the Flyers will have real scoring depth through the top three lines.
- James van Riemsdyk: “JVR” had a two goal game against Chicago, including the game winner. The young New Jersey native is currently ninth on the team in scoring with 21 points. If the Flyers are to win the Eastern Conference, they will need JVR to continue his strong play in the second half and like Briere, produce in the playoffs.
- Ilya Bryzgalov-”Bryz” came off a rough week with two straight wins against Chicago and Ottawa. He singlehandedly kept the Flyers in the Ottawa game facing numerous turnovers and 2-on-1s and denying them all. His goals against is still very average at 3.07 and his save percentage of .891 is way too low, but if Bryz can get hot, his numbers will improve.
3 ”Not”:
- Holding a 3rd period lead: The Flyers blew a lead in all three games, but managed to win two of them with some late game heroics from JVR and Briere respectively. Going forward, the Flyers will need to tighten up defensively in the final period, while still putting pressure on the opposition goal. Their winning percentage when leading after two periods is 17th best in the league at 86.4 percent, something they will need to address if they want to distinguish themselves as a real Stanley Cup contender.
- Brayden Schenn: Although he scored his first career goal in the Winter Classic against the Rangers, Schenn needs to tighten his play up in his own end and the neutral zone. His minus-8 is second-worst on the team. His ice time will not increase with numbers like that.
- Wayne Simmonds: “Simmer” was a minus-2 in the three games lowering his plus/minus to minus-4 on the season. Wayne needs to be a more consistent physical presence night in and night out and needs to continue to chip in on the score sheet as well.
Well, that is all for this week’s 3-on-3, join me next week when we look back at four road contests against Ottawa, Carolina, New York and Nashville.