They don’t call it the home-ice advantage for nothing which is why the Flyers need to make some hay while the Wells Fargo Center lights shine during a five-game stay in Philadelphia.
Over the years, statistics show NHL teams must have a strong record on their familiar ice surface to achieve postseason play.
The Flyers, who are trying to avoid missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a team record-tying fifth straight season, are just two games above .500 at the WFC since the start of the 2023-24 season.
On this homestand, including Saturday night’s 5-2 win over Buffalo, the Flyers have their work cut out for them. There are games against strong contenders, a list which has two of the last three Stanley Cup champions, Vegas and Colorado, on it, plus powerhouse Carolina.
Philadelphia got off to a very slow start this season, in part because of a hellacious schedule which began with a four-game road trip through Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Seattle.
Just the fact the players had to live out of a suitcase for more than a week made it challenging.
So when the Flyers finally got back to Philly and were promptly blanked by the Canucks just one day after trudging off a jet from the West Coast, hardly anyone blinked an eye.
This stretch should be different. Maybe they can get a little momentum going. They will need it because while the season is still quite young, there’s already some separation among the projected haves and havenots.
As of Friday, the Flyers were still on the outside looking into the playoff bubble. They have to crack the top eight and teams just above them in the standings, such as Washington (Metropolitan Division) and Tampa (Atlantic) already had games in hand.
After Thursday night’s overtime win at Ottawa, defenseman Travis Sanheim shared his thoughts on getting off the road for awhile.
The Flyers did not play very well in this game but were saved by a rejuvenated goalie Ivan Fedotov, who stood on his head in the first, third and overtime periods of a 4-3 OT win.
“Move on and get ready for a homestand that we got to be good at,” Sanheim said. “There are areas we need to be better in. We have a decently long homestand here and hopefully we can get back to some good hockey.”
Probably the only two games the Flyers might be favored to win on this slate are Buffalo and Chicago.
One trend the Flyers would like to continue on this extended stretch of play in Philadelphia is special teams.
Prior to giving up two power-play goals at Ottawa, the Flyers had killed off 20 straight penalties, a stretch of seven games which fell just two short of the franchise record.
Even after allowing that pair, the Flyers remain third in the NHL at 87.9 percent. And the power play is even more encouraging. After finishing 32nd (dead last) the past three years (including 12.2 percent last season), the Flyers are exceeding many projections by standing 18th in the league at 18.5 percent.
>Carnival set for 46th year
The event might still be a few months away but already the excitement is building.
This past Wednesday, Flyers Charities announced the return of the Flyers Charities Carnival, one of the longest tenured and most successful one-day fundraisers hosted by a professional sports franchise.
The 46th annual Flyers Charities Carnival will take place on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 at the Wells Fargo Center. General admission tickets are on sale now with the first wave of Player Sign & Snaps available for purchase on Monday, Dec. 9.
All proceeds from the event will benefit Flyers Charities and its giving pillars of supporting families affected by cancer and growing the game of hockey.
Tickets for the ultimate Flyers fan experience will be available for purchase at FlyersCarnival.com. Kids under 12 are free. The Flyers ask potential buyers to please select kids’ complimentary tickets when purchasing adult tickets. One adult ticket grants access to four children’s tickets. Tickets only will be available digitally to make entrance and access to player meet and greets, also known as player Sign & Snaps.
Tickets may be purchased att FlyersCarnival.com.
