It’s been a pretty ugly start to the season for the 0-2 Flyers, and with each passing game that the pucks fail to go in the net, the power play fails to convert, the defense looks slow and the marks hit the loss column, the pressure on Peter Laviolette and Paul Holmgren gets tighter.
Yes, we’re preparing for Game 3 of the season and we’re already talking about the future of the coach and general manager. That’s certainly not what we want to be talking about right now, but the reality is that if this team continues on this slow start, a change is going to be made. Whether that’s the right or the wrong call, pretty much everybody feels that pressure — the players, Lavi and Homer, you and I.
Philadelphia Flyers (0-2-0, 0 pts) at Carolina Hurricanes (0-1-0, 0 pts)
5 p.m. | PNC Arena | Raleigh, North Carolina
Local: CSN Philly, FS Carolinas, NHL Net Canada | Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Get the Carolina perspective at Canes Country
Luckily, it’s still early enough where it can all change with a good game or two. The Flyers are in Carolina tonight at 5 p.m., and a convincing win will do a lot to stop the fears that this is a season on the verge of going south again.
Some bright points: Both goaltenders have looked pretty good, the Flyers have looked good at even strength for some solid stretches in both games thus far …. yeah. The bad points: No goals scored at even strength, an awful PP percentage, defensive zone coverage is laughable.
Carolina is winless in two games in one game as well this season, so that’s helpful at least. They have a potent top line but aren’t as deep up front as the Flyers, and defensively they should be much worse than Philly, but over at Canes Country they seem happy with the defensive play they saw in a loss to Detroit on Friday night.
We don’t know what the lineup will look like tonight. Probably pretty similar to last night, but no word on a starting goaltender. I’d guess Mason since it’s the second game of a back-to-back, but we’ll see. Neither goalie has ever lost to the Hurricanes in their careers.
Questions to Answer
1. Will the defense tighten up?
2. Now that we’re not in Montreal any more, can the Flyers stay out of the box?
3. Will the Flyers look sharper and more consistent at even strength?
4. A power play goal maybe for the love of God?
