Messy preseason seems like bad omen for Philadelphia Flyers

For a team that badly needs to generate some excitement, the Philadelphia Flyers didn’t show much in the preseason for fans to hang their hat, on as we rapidly approach the 2019-20 NHL season.

Every year, I seem to make the same claim that the Philadelphia Flyers really need to get off to a good start to the new season.

Yet, every year it seems, the team muddles its way through October en route to a record somewhere in the crazy range of 4-7-2, treads water for a bit, has its typical mid-season surge and then goes through its annual photo finish.

Unfortunately, that photo finish tends to consist of alternating between missing and just barely making the playoffs.

After following the team this preseason, I regret to say that I already see a rough start on the horizon, likely acting as a harbinger of the “same old Flyers” that we have seen in recent seasons.

This was my opinion even before the Flyers lost an exhibition match to Swiss club Lausanne HC on Monday.

I will give the Flyers somewhat of a pass due to travel fatigue and playing on a different sized ice surface, but their (supposed) talent really should have translated to a better result against their European foe.

Even before this disappointing contest, the team’s issues cropped up on several occasions while they were stateside as they tried to work out the kinks in preparation for a new season. Their exhibition results were, to put it mildly, a mess.

While I realize that the point of any preseason is to develop and evaluate players more so than actual wins and losses, it is troubling that the Flyers managed just one victory in six games.

Not only that, but they blew late leads twice before eventually losing in overtime in both games. They also found time to fit in a shootout loss to the New York Rangers in their final game.

This inability to hold leads and finish the job in tight games is concerning. The Flyers will likely find themselves either tied, down by one goal or up by one goal in the final minutes of roughly half their games this year.

The margin for error is razor thin, as they could earn or lose numerous standings points based on how they play in these critical situations.

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Their only win came at home in a match against the Rangers in which the Flyers’ top players thoroughly outplayed the minor league roster that the Rangers dressed for the game. It wasn’t much of a reason to celebrate.

Overall, they get a failing grade for how they did in the preseason. Let’s just hope that some lessons have sunk in, and these “practice” games weren’t true indicators of the team’s actual inability to come out on top when the pressure is on.

Moving beyond on-ice results, perhaps most concerning is the health status of third-year center Nolan Patrick, whose absence remained a mystery for some time before the Flyers finally revealed that he was dealing with a migraine disorder.

It’s truly awful timing for Patrick, for whom this season will be a critical one. His struggles as a sophomore last year led directly to the Flyers overpaying to bring in Kevin Hayes as their second-line center so that Patrick could further develop his game with third line duties.

I think that Hayes will be a decent, albeit expensive, addition, but imagine how the Flyers could have used that money elsewhere if Patrick had shown last year that he was ready to anchor the second line.

Instead, his stagnation last season forced the Flyers’ hand. Now, with Patrick out, the forward group begins to look alarmingly thin on the eve of a new season.

With Patrick and offseason depth acquisition Tyler Pitlick (wrist) nursing health issues, the Flyers look like they will have to roll with multiple rookies in their forward group to start the season.

And I’m talking true rookies without even a game of NHL experience so far in Connor Bunnaman and Carsen Twarynski. They both looked like they belonged this preseason, but I don’t know how sold I am on them at this point.

Surprisingly, Joel Farabee was left out of that group for now. His omission means that the team looks like they might dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen for their season opener versus the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday in the Czech Republic.

Farabee could be up with the team soon as the Flyers try to do some salary cap maneuvering, and Pitlick may even be ready to go for the opener to give the team the typical 12F-6D mix.

The 11F-7D dynamic is something that teams go to sparingly during the season. It is far from ideal to have to deploy this kind of lineup in the first game of the year, so let’s hope they don’t have to use this option early or often.

Despite all this, at least Carter Hart looked excellent in his appearances. That is, until he turned into Swiss cheese in Lausanne on Monday.

Sorry, I had to do it.

It remains to be seen if the Flyers can flip the switch and play well in the season’s early days and weeks. Unfortunately, this longtime fan has a familiar and ominous feeling.

A team’s preseason can’t be held against it. But I am hard-pressed to see many positive indicators as the Flyers approach a very important campaign when it comes to proving they can compete during the 2019-20 season.