Philadelphia Flyers: James van Riemsdyk is heating up at the right time
Is JvR’s Game 5 goal a sign of things to come for the Philadelphia Flyers?
We all know the narrative pushed by the fanbase that surrounds Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk. Number 25 is overpaid, and fans are chomping at the bit to get this guy off the roster by any means necessary.
While yes, he certainly is overpaid; that doesn’t mean he still can’t be an important piece to the puzzle for the Flyers as they try to rally back in their series with the New York Islanders.
After being called out by head coach Alain Vigneault prior to Game 5, JvR found the thing that has eluded him since play got started in the NHL bubble; the back of the net. JvR scored his first goal of the post-season on a beautiful 2-on-1 off a feed from teammate Scott Laughton to give the Orange and Black a 2-1 lead in the second period of Game 5.
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While the stat sheet remained empty for JvR prior to Game 5, he has been an incredibly noticeable player for the Flyers the last few games, and you can even argue he was the best forward on the ice for the Orange and Black in a 3-1 loss in Game 3. Essentially, he was due.
Throughout his career, and more specifically this season with the Flyers, van Riemsdyk has always been an incredibly streaky player.
For example, JvR began this season scoreless through the first seven games. He followed this up with nine points (four goals, five assists) in the next nine games. This became a well-known trend for the eleven-year vet. After that nine-game stretch, he followed it up with another eight games with no points. Only to turn around and produce 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his next 13 games.
Once again, that stretch was followed by another 8 games with no points; only to again follow that up with 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his next 14 games. Are you noticing a trend? JvR is one of the streakiest players in the entire NHL; and it appears he may be heating up at just the right time.
Of course, it is only one goal, and he still has only that goal to show for the 10 games he has appeared in for the Flyers this post-season. He has even found himself as an at best questionable healthy scratch a few times. However as mentioned, his play has really picked up the last couple games and with this Game 5 goal, the best may be yet to come for number 25.
Next. Team put on their “big boy pants” in stunning victory. dark
There is one thing for sure, if the Philadelphia Flyers are going to force a Game 7, they are going to need James van Riemsdyk to continue to play the way he has been playing the past few games. If he can get hot like he has shown he has the ability to do, we could be singing a different tune about JvR’s future in Philadelphia when this is all said and done.