from Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News,
Here are five things the Flyers can do to make the last month of the season a lot more interesting:
Fight
When Claude Giroux was pounded, face-first in the boards in the third period Thursday night against a docile Islanders team, the Flyers did not react. When their captain and most important asset was lying on the ice, it was embarrassing that two players within grabbing distance - Jake Voracek and Matt Read - did not go after the offending Lubomir Visnovsky. It was more embarrassing that players who actually are paid to play with edge didn't follow up on the questionable hit on subsequent shifts.
The Flyers should be defending every questionable hit with vigor, regardless of the victim. Especially for Giroux. Instead, the sequence seemed to say a lot about the overall fight of this team. They don't need to fight more, though most hockey fans would enjoy it. They need to fight for one another.
Find out about No. 14
During the lockout, the talk around Sean Couturier was that the Flyers wanted to bring out more of his offensive game. He quarterbacked the power play and skated on the first line in his 31 AHL games, netting 28 points.
Back in the NHL since the 119-day lockout ended on Jan. 19, Couturier has seen his numbers drop, even from his rookie season. His minutes are up by 2 per game. He is averaging 0.23 points per game, off from 0.35 last season. He is averaging 0.06 goals per game, down from 0.17. His plus/minus has gone from plus-18 to minus-13.
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