Morning Observations is a feature where we break down the previous night's game with an analytical eye.
A 3-5-2 month of January certainly doesn’t inspire much optimism regarding the Philadelphia Flyers at first glance. Once solidly in a playoff spot following a 10-game winning streak, the Flyers’ poor results since mid-December have moved them right back onto the bubble, and simultaneously tested the fanbase’s patience. However, it wasn’t all doom & gloom for the team. Despite the poor win/loss record, the Flyers’ performance in terms of advanced metrics was strong — they were driving play at 5v5, racking up tons of shots on the power play, and even were posting middle-of-the-road shot suppression rates on the oft-criticized penalty kill.