Apparently, one overtime win over the Devils is sudden cause for both major newspapers in this city to pack stories chock full of quotes from the Flyers about how much hope there is for the future, and how much they all wish there were half the season to play instead of a handful of games remaining.
Look, it's great that this rag-tag bunch of Phantoms call-ups, deadline acquisitions, and veterans can squeeze out a couple nail-biters against potential playoff teams as this season circles the drain into the start of baseball...but let's remember that this team is still a deeply troubled, losing one. OK, so the string of points (in four straight games and five of their last six) is promising, but the actual record in that stretch (2-1-3) is nothing to write home about, plus, they're just 3-4-3 (or 3-7 if you're a hard case) in the last 10 contests.
Last time I checked, the NHL doesn't yet award points for spirited efforts where a losing team is "in the game" over the course of 60 minutes. It is a positive harbinger for the future that this wretched refuse wearing ashen black unis can earn a pair of points against a division leader, but the future is still 16 games (plus six more months after that) distant.
If you indulge in a bit of prediction for the remainder of the schedule, it looks like the Flyers may have five games they could win outright: Boston at home this weekend, at Phoenix, home against the Islanders, home against the Rangers, then home again to the Islanders provided they're officially out of the race. That's only 23 wins folks - nothing to hang your hat on even if those games turn out correctly. The rest of their opponents are teams either eager to shore up their playoff seeding, or will be skating through brick walls to make the postseason.
Still, as the cornerstone of the franchise and its marketing slogan has always been about effort and hard work - they can sell you a picture that hard work plus a little maturity is the ultimate cure-all for the club. Of course, it's not so. You need the right head coach and the better pick of players to make it all come together, and in this, the Flyers are sorely lacking from now until April 8th, and maybe even until July 1st.
For now, though, enjoy the suck. It's almost over. Take solace in a few more watchable games. Burn into your memories some good plays by some guys who won't be back in '08. Just don't believe the hype.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment