The Flyers went from slumping to streaking in a hurry, and they’ve done both without the help of Jake Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux. As a result, the rankings shuffled around dramatically.
Sean Couturier takes the top spot with a ridiculous week, while Michael Del Zotto launched to No. 3 and Steve Mason’s shutouts jumped him to fifth. Falling down the lineup was former No. 1’s Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek, who are both slumping hard. Other players, like Evgeny Medvedev and Michael Raffl, had plus weeks but still sank (undeservedly) as a result of better week from lower-ranked players (Matt Read, we’re looking at you.)
This week we also say a tearful goodbye to the wonderful Vinny Lecavalier and Luke Schenn, as they go from the Philly cold to buying sun-soaked beachside apartments in El Segundo.
The Rankings:
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(last week: 2) Sean Couturier - It wasn’t just a big week for Couturier but the continuation of some of his career-best work. He had five points (three goals, two assists) in three games this week, eight points in his last six and 12 points in his last 10 -- and that’s while playing second-line minutes and penalty kill time. He went from an offensive black hole to a catalyst in less than a dozen games. He’s 23, so there’s reason to be excited here.
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(last week: 6) Brayden Schenn - Breakaway goal against the Montreal Canadiens, then an incredible toe-drag to backhand pass to set up a Michael Del Zotto score against the Minnesota Wild. Couturier will get all the publicity for his justifiably strong week, but Schenn finished with the same amount of points (5) in three games.
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(last week: 8) Michael Del Zotto - Prior to this week, MDZ had eight total points (one goal, seven assists) in 35 games. This week, after a pretty goal on a give-and-go from Brayden Schenn, and tic-tac-toe OT winner from Giroux, MDZ finished with two goals and an assist in three games. That’s improvement.
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(last week: 3) Shayne Gostisbehere - Things got scary for Gostisbehere (and all of Flyerdom), when the defenseman left the game against the Wild with a lower-body injury. Lucky for him and the Flyers, the injury isn’t serious. Ghost broke a season-high three-game pointless streak with a goal and assist against the Montreal Canadiens.
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(last week: 10) Steve Mason - It’s been a strange season for Mason. He’s allowed three-plus goals in more than half his starts his season, but is tied for seventh in the league with three shutouts. He had an above-average week.
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(last week: 12) Matt Read - He turned being a healthy scratch on Jan. 2 into a fantastic week, scoring a goal and two assists against the Islanders on Saturday. His strong possession numbers are starting to pay off -- Read fired off a team-leading 12 shots in his last three games.
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(last week: 4) Wayne Simmonds - It was another quiet week (one assist) for Simmonds, whose legend still managed to grow. “No, you can not fight Wayne Simmonds,” said Canadiens’ PK Subban to Max Pacioretty while mic’d up for the Epix Road to the Winter Classic. That’s respect.
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(last week: 1) Jake Voracek - After scoring nine points in six games, Voracek went cold. Again. He has two points in his last five games and isn’t producing next to Claude Giroux. But who is nowadays?
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(last week: 5) Claude Giroux - Couturier and Giroux have switched places. One guy is a point-per-game production monster and the other is dragging their linemates into a slump puddle. Giroux has two points in his last 10 games -- the last time that happened was March 11 to March 28th, 2010, when he had two points in 11 games.
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(last week: 13) Michael Raffl - After a weak start to the season, Raffl seems to have finally found a productive home, scoring three points in his last three games. He had a fantastic behind-the-net setup for Couturier’s goal against the Wild and got the favor returned when a pass from Couturier led to a Raffl goal against the Islanders. Maybe Couturier was just what he needed?
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(last week: 7) Michal Neuvirth - He was bound to drop off eventually. But that “drop off” was giving up just three goals in 24 shots in a win -- his ninth in 18 games. Neuvirth is hanging third in the league with a .934 save percentage. Still, pretty ridiculous.
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(last week: 9) Evgeny Medvedev - From healthy scratch to key producer. Medvedev only worked in two games this week yet managed a goal, assist four shots and averaged over 20:00 TOI in both games. I wouldn’t expect him to be healthy scratched again, but coach Dave Hakstol makes some wacky decisions regarding the Russian.
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(last week: 11) Radko Gudas - Check out these numbers: In three games, Gudas registered nine shots, six missed shots, 10 hits, one assist and he blocked 12 shots. It was a busy week for the burley one.
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(last week: 20) Scott Laughton - With two shots, two assists and an average of 10:58 TOI per game, Laughton somehow out-produced Voracek and Giroux this week. Bizarre.
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(last week: 19) Ryan White - It doesn’t get greasier than the goal White scored against the Wild. Flyers need more assertion (and grease) from White on the fourth line. He’s capable of it.
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(last week: 17) Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Three shots, one assist and an average of 13:57 TOI on the week. But more importantly, the Flyers killed nine-straight power plays in three wins. Nice job by Bellemare and PK.
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(last week: 18) Chris VandeVelde - When you have as many assists as shots, it was either a very good week or a fortunate one. It was the latter for VandeVelde.
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(last week: 15) Mark Streit - Still getting his legs under him following a lengthy injury, Streit posted an assist and little else this week. It’s been shot feast or famine this season for Streit, who had 33 shots in his first 14 games and two in his last seven.
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(last week: 22) Brandon Manning - With Luke Schenn gone and Gostisbehere injured, it was Manning’s turn to prove he belongs. Against the Islanders, he logged 14:33, had two shots and lost a fight to Anders Lee.
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(last week: 16) Luke Schenn - Good soldier Schenn was traded to the Los Angeles Kings midway through the week. His final line? Four years, 220 games, 13 goals, 30 assists, 304 blocked shots and 641 hits. Luke seemed to grow on fans, which is astonishing since he was the sole return in one of the worst trades in team history.
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(last week: 14) Nick Schultz - If you’re looking for a redeeming quality in Schultz’s game, it’s that he blocks shots. He blocks a lot of shots. Schultz, who is routinely pinned in his zone, is 15th in the NHL in meat shielding pucks with 87 in 39 games.
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(last week: 21) R.J. Umberger - Once again, Umberger was the least-used player on the team this week, averaging an even 10:00 TOI per game. He did nab an assist and five shots, so it wasn’t his worst outing.
23. (last week: 24) Vinny Lecavalier - It’s been fun, Vinny.
