Philadelphia Flyers: 3 big challenges of the 2020-21 season

1. Losing true home ice advantage

I’m well aware of how the element of the “home crowd” can be massively overrated in sports. And I also know that every team is dealing with empty stands at this point in time until larger social issues are solved. But, man, it feels like Philadelphia Flyers fans are getting jobbed big time by not being there in person to watch this team play this year.

And the team itself should be concerned, as the Flyers posted a league-best mark of 25-6-4 at home in 2019-20. Carter Hart was particularly unbeatable on home ice, going 20-3-2 with a .943 save percentage and 1.63 Goals Against Average. The Wells Fargo Center was rocking for Flyers games last year, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.

Additionally, the team and fans alike seemed to band together in the wake of Oskar Lindblom’s cancer diagnosis, something that served to galvanize everyone toward a common goal, with the highlight being a standing ovation for the brave young man that brought the house down during a January 11 game against Tampa.

Sadly, these magical moments between the Flyers and their fans will be absent from this season, at least initially. But there is hope. Perhaps the coming weeks and months will see a loosening of restrictions which would allow at least some fans into the building. It’s most likely a pipe dream to have a full house of 19,000+ this year, but nothing can be ruled out as of yet. And who knows, maybe the fans arriving will give the Flyers an extra boost. It just would have been better for things to be “normal” from the jump, but I guess we have to take whatever we can get when it comes to sports now.

The Flyers have a lot of pieces in place, but it’s not going to be easy to improve on what they did last year. Overcoming these three obstacles, however, would be a big help in reaching new heights.