Philadelphia Sports Fans Have A Reason to Smile

       

Philadelphia Sports Fans Have A Reason to Smile

          Back in October the Phillies were watching the MLB playoffs from their couch. The Sixers were getting ready to start their season knowing they had little chance to make it back in the NBA playoffs, and the Eagles were off to a brutal 3-5 start and couldn't find a way to stop the opposing offense. The Flyers started their season off 3-8, which led to former coach Peter Laviolette getting fired after losing the first three of the new campaign. After missing the playoffs in the 2012-13 lockout shortened season, it seemed as if the Flyers were ready for a long disappointing year. Then magic happened!

          November arrived and all of a sudden the Flyers were a reborn hockey team. Racking up nine wins in the month, and moving up in the standings, the Flyers had life again. Craig Berube had this team turned around and headed in the right direction. It was the start of good things for the Flyers and the city of Philadelphia.

          The Flyers started playing their best hockey in the month of December, and what better way to have your team succeeding than captain Claude Giroux leading the way? Giroux had a rough start to the season, not registering a goal until the ninth of November, which led to frustration and a lot of broken sticks. The commitment and sacrifice he showed on the ice every night in this month truly pointed out that he was the right choice to be named Captain. The team went on to have eight wins in 14 games and had managed 18 points out of a possible 28.

          A very cold month of January in the city didn't fare well for the team as they finished with six wins, seven losses, and two overtime losses, making this their first month since October where they weren't over .500 for that month. However, with these losses Giroux seemed to get better and better every night. Whether it was scoring a goal, feeding a player with a beautiful pass, drawing a penalty, or making a big hit, the team could count on G giving 110% every game.

          "Snubbed" was the word used when Giroux wasn't picked by Steve Yzerman to play on team Canada in the 2014 Sochi Olympic games. A tough start to the year probably led to the Flyers captain not being selected, but still many media members believe he should have represented his country on the ice. Giroux was very upset with the diss and I believe this fired him up even more, which led to his seven point month in five games, where the team only lost one decision.

          As March approached, there was still uncertainty that this team had what it takes to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs once again. The Flyers had the toughest month in the NHL looking them right in the eye, with home and home series games against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, and then against MVP favorite Sidney Crosby and the first place Penguins. The Flyers took one of two from Washington, and played their best games of the season in both Penguins match ups taking all four points. The schedule got even tougher with a four game home stand against the West, starting with the Cup champs Blackhawks. Securing a point and forcing overtime, the Flyers looked sure to be heading to a shootout. But with 4.2 seconds left in overtime Claude Giroux put the puck past Antti Raanta with a blazing wrister for the victory. Thursday brought in the Stars and the Flyers scrapped all night for a 4-2 win. On Saturday the Best of the West St. Louis Blues came into town, and the Flyers dominated all game long picking up a hard fought 4-1 victory.

          With 12 games left in the season, the Flyers are in sole possession of 2nd place in the Metropolitan division and currently hold a one point lead over the Rangers with two games in hand. Philly looks bound for a playoff berth and could be destined for a big playoff run. In my early season prediction, I had Pittsburgh and St. Louis in the Final. I have changed my prediction and have put the home team back in the Cup for the first time since 2010 against the team that broke all of our hearts that year-the Chicago Blackhawks. It will be a rematch of the series that went six games and then all of a sudden "disappeared". In the final 12 games, look for the Flyers to keep winning and gaining momentum into the postseason, giving Philadelphia sports a reason to smile once again.

          Monday night, I will be on the Sports Goombahs podcast talking all about Flyers hockey and where they stand. So if you have an opinion and want to be apart of the show, give us a call and tell me how you feel about this hockey team with only 12 games left before the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Thanks for reading!

-Jimmy "the Fish" Forte (Sports Goombahs Blogger)