WOO HOO!
As a concession to the many friends who continuously hound me to
say something positive in this column, here's a happy thought
right off the bat.
The Flyers have clinched a playoff spot.
There. Did that do the job?
I sure hope so because that's about the last ounce of positivity
I can muster for this increasingly hapless team.
And unfortunately, the credit for that one piece of good news
belongs to the Florida Panthers, not the boys in orange and
black. The Panthers guaranteed the Flyers invitation to the big
dance when they Kevorkianed themselves out of the realm of
playoff possibility by losing 3-0 to the Caps.
Appropriately, the Flyers had no chance to celebrate. They were
busy shrugging off one of their ugliest defeats of the season, a
5-1 beating at the hands of a pitiful Rangers squad.
At least the game wasn't without highlights. For starters, goalie
Ron Hextall allowed the absolute worst goal of his career (high
praise, eh?) on a fluttering backhand dump-in from center ice.
Then there was the embarrassing behind-the-net collision between
Hextall and Chris Therien that resulted in an early Christmas
present for Kevin Stevens. And then there was the play that
effectively ended the contest, Valeri Zelepukin's mind-boggling
empty-net miss. Not only did the blunder cost the Flyers a chance
to cut the Rangers lead to 2-1, it resulted in a 4-on-2 Rangers
rush and an easy rebound goal for Mathieu Schneider.
After covering this team for the past few months, I ask myself,
what's next for me? A crippling car accident? Genital cancer?
Sexual assault at the hands of an escaped mountain gorilla?
Rectal surgery?
Calgon, take me away! Go Phillies!
EXCUSES, EXCUSES...
Sure, it's possible to dismiss the Rangers debacle as the result
of an incredible run of injuries to the orange and black. While
other teams whine about the loss of one All-Star, the Flyers
currently have four of the league's best players out of their
lineup. And with the injuries to Lindros, Recchi, and Desjardins
looking particularly serious, that situation is unlikely to
change anytime soon.
All that considered, injuries will be a hollow excuse for the
inevitable early playoff exit the Flyers will make in the next
few weeks. I'm sure that many observers will call for Bob Clarke
to stand pat and bring back this nucleus for one more shot, but
I've seen more than enough.
Even without the injuries, the Flyers were going nowhere. Their
defense is embarrassingly shaggy, their goaltending has been
consistently atrocious, and they've played horribly down the
stretch - not exactly characteristics of the old Islanders
dynasty.
Perhaps worst of all, the Flyers still lack a true leader - the
type of player to help a club through the inevitable rough
stretches that crop up over an eight-month season. That
shortcoming was particularly evident during the club's recent
record winless streak.
This is clearly a team with a fragile ego. After embarking on one
of the most impressive unbeaten streaks in franchise history, the
Flyers went almost a month without a win. Not even the pathetic
squads that missed the playoffs for four consecutive years EVER
went that long without a "W." It's a damning statistic.
For two years now, Bob Clarke has tinkered and tinkered,
attempting to find just the right group of secondary players to
support his core group of stars. Clearly, that approach isn't
working.
In my opinion, it's time for Lindros to go.
Sure, he's shown flashes of brilliance during his Flyers tenure,
and sure he's capable of winning a championship for the Flyers
almost all by himself. Well, Randall Cunningham was once capable
of winning the Eagles a championship almost all by himself, and
we know how that worked out.
Hockey is a game where many games are played, but few matter. And
in the games that have mattered most, Lindros has fallen woefully
short. He did it in the Olympics for Canada and he's done it
continually in the playoffs for the Flyers.
I define his Flyers career by his failed guarantee of victory in
Florida a few years back and his give-away-plagued series against
Detroit in the finals two years ago - not the Hart Trophy that he
won for dominating regular-season play.
I'm tired of waiting for this guy to turn into another Messier.
I'm tired of waiting for the Flyers to acquire a more fiery
personality under his leadership.
You don't significantly remove bad karma from a locker room by
swapping Trent Klatt for Jody Hull. If the Flyers want to change
their personality, they need to make more significant changes.
I'd like to see what they could accomplish without Lindros in the
equation.
All that said, I don't believe that Clarke will trade #88,
especially now that he's likely through for the season. Lindros'
collapsed lung almost guarantees that he'll get another shot.
And that's not necessarily such a bad thing. Maybe Clarke could
reinvent this team by simply finding a true leader to guide the
ship. And maybe Lindros could finally achieve his potential if he
could be just one of the guys.
Has anyone else noticed how much the current Flyers resemble the
Phillies of the mid-to-late 70s? Both teams featured a ton of
marquee talent and hovered near the top of the standings for
several years. Both featured superstars (Mike Schmidt and Eric
Lindros) with highly questionable leadership abilities. And both
teams were predicted to win championships, but fell short.
The Phillies eventually did win, but only after they acquired
Pete Rose, a proven leader and one of the great clutch players of
all-time. Not only did Rose help transform a team with a
reputation for choking into one of the grittiest outfits in
baseball history, he also removed the crippling mantle of
leadership from Schmidt. Predictably, the great slugger had some
of his greatest seasons during Rose's stay in Philly.
I sincerely believe the Flyers need to follow the same blueprint.
Some are meant to lead and some are meant to follow. Eric Lindros
is a follower. As long as he serves as the leader of the Flyers,
they'll continue to come up short when the chips are down.
Are you listening, Clarkie? If you're not going to ship out
Lindros, go out there and find a new go-to guy.
NOTHING COULD BE FINER THAN TO BE IN CAROLINA
Any hope that the Flyers might survive the first round of the
playoffs seems contingent on one thing - a possible matchup with
the very beatable Carolina Hurricanes.
Fortunately, it seems like a pretty good possibility. Thanks to
the new playoff format, Carolina will surely finish third in the
Eastern Conference. That would match them up with the sixth seed,
the spot the Flyers currently hold down.
Ironically, this is one situation where losing might not be a bad
idea. The Flyers currently rank just behind Pittsburgh, with the
same number of points but less wins. And with the Penguins
currently floundering, even a couple Flyers wins in their last
five games might propel them past Pittsburgh into the fifth spot
in the conference. That would mean a date with the scary Maple
Leafs.
Of course, losing could spring another catch. Buffalo is
currently just three points behind the Flyers, and the Sabres
have two games in hand. And if both the Sabres and the Pens
finish ahead of Philly, the Flyers would be doomed to a
seventh-place finish, and a first-round appointment with New
Jersey. Gulp.
For lack of a better option, maybe it's time to call on the power
of prayer. Please, God, please. Let them finish sixth.
