Its going to take more than just the three time zones the Bizarro Flyers flew across this morning to leave their alternative universe behind.They scored five goals twice and got shut out twice on the four-game trip, which is not only just plain weird, but doesnt really have much to do with anything they now face moving forward.
Since 12 of the last 20 are at home, where they are a disappointing 14-10-5, the Flyers fine 20-11-1 road record is going to be of more limited encouragement to them the rest of the way.The three games in hand (to go with the six-point lead) they hold on ninth-place Winnipeg essentially are home games, not necessarily a good thing.
Of course, as skeptical as we are about a sudden home turnaround, we are equally questioning whether the Jets, Leafs or Lightning are good enough to get hot enough to make things uncomfortable. Or, to the point, even more uncomfortable than the Flyers seem to be at the Wells Fargo Center, where the impatience of the fans seems to have exacerbated collapses like the ones against the Devils and the Penguins.
Expectations of a long Cup run may be a little high, considering the massive turnover of personnel and the relative youth of the Flyers up front. But clearly Paul Holmgren isnt ready to call this a rebuilding year if hes trading picks for two veteran defensemen before the deadline.
Of course Holmgren did that because he really couldnt do anything in goal, which brings us back to the No. 1 obstacle towards starting to clean up at home: Ilya Bryzgalov.He did play an improved, more composed, game as the trip progressed, but there have been previous times weve thought he was gaining traction and been proven wrong.And anyway, his worst meltdowns have been at home, so the burden remains on Bryzgalov to improve the vibe for his team at Wells Fargo.
Jay Greenberg covered the Flyers for 14 years for the Daily News and Evening Bulletin. His history of the Flyers, Full Spectrum, was published in 1996. He can be reached at jayg616@aol.com.