Scott Hartnell returns to lineup: Philadelphia Flyers getting healthy at the right time
Scott Hartnell is making his return to the lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers when they take on the New York Islanders tomorrow, and the timing couldn’t be much better. Claude Giroux made waves earlier this week when he spoke to the media about his team making the playoffs this season.
The response around the league varied, especially considering that the captain has yet to find the back of the net for the Flyers this season. Yet his team responded to the comments. While they didn’t destroy the New York Rangers, they still beat them. Heading into their match against the Islanders, they have a chance to do something they haven’t done yet this season—win two games in a row.
The NHL is a living and breathing thing. It ebbs and flows and seems to breathe life into certain teams while gusting up against hot streaks and trends. Read: the Flyers are bound to catch a break sooner or later. There’s just too much talent on this squad for them to tank out this early.
Giroux might not be a 90-point player, but he’s better than this. Everyone knows that Hartnell can be one of the top power-forwards in the NHL once he gets going. Wayne Simmonds is a great scoring threat and Brayden Schenn is capable of being more. That’s the difference between Philadelphia and several other awful teams around the league.
Glancing elsewhere, you kind of shrug and say “well, what did you expect?” That isn’t the case with the Flyers.
To Giroux’s point, no. The Flyers aren’t too far outside of the playoff picture. They’re getting important bodies back at the right time and seem to be emptying the bad-luck sewage tank all at once this season. Heading into 2013-14, everyone assumed that goaltending would plague this team while goal scoring would be plentiful. That line of thinking made perfect sense.
It just hasn’t been the case so far. If Steve Mason can continue to channel his Calder winning form and the Flyers can start to score some goals, this team could be dangerous down the stretch. The Flyers were mean as it was. Now they’re the cornered and wounded animal that folks seem comfortable turning their backs on.
That shouldn’t be the case.