What's Wrong With the Flyers?

Philadelphia, a team with very high expectations, has gotten off to a miserable start so far in 2008-09. The Flyers have yet to win a game, as they are currently 0-3-2. What is keeping them out of the win column? Consider the following:

• Philly's 4.31 GAA is 28th in the NHL, ahead of only Calgary and Dallas, who also are struggling in the standings.
• 
  
• The orange and black are getting outshot by seven shots on goal per game, an alarming margin for a team that is supposed to be a Cup contender.
• 
  
• The club with the second ranked power play last season has slipped to 25th, having scored only three PPG in their first five games.
• 
  
• Only the Phoenix Coyotes win a lower percentage of their faceoffs. Philly is abysmal at faceoffs, winning just 43.6% of their draws.
• 
  
• Rookie defenseman Luca Sbisa is playing like a rookie, having contributed no points while being -4 so far.

You can see that most of the problems are on defense. Sure, Biron and Niittymaki have not played well (Biron especially), but a major reason is bad defense. It certainly does not help that two of the projected top six defenders, Randy Jones and Ryan Parent, are out for at least the first two months of the season. Nonetheless, I have two words for Flyers fans:

DON'T PANIC!

Let us remember that there are 77 games remaining, and there is plenty of time to turn it around. We should focus on the positives, such as Simon Gagne being back and scoring goals just like he did before his concussion problems. I still think the Flyers can win the Atlantic Division, but they need to start winning games soon if they want to achieve that goal. Here's to a quick turnaround, which hopefully will start Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center.