How do you spell Philadelphia? Right now, it’s D-O-M-I-N-A-N-C-E. The Flyers are on a six-game winning streak and are the hottest team in the entire OTHL with an 8-1-1 record in their past ten games, accumulating a staggering 17 out of a possible 20 points. The surge has pushed the Flyers past the Florida Panthers and just two points shy of the league-leading Ottawa Senators.
The most impressive fact of this six-game winning streak is that the Flyers have given up just one goal over the course of the past five games. This has included three shutouts for Vezina-favourite Marty Turco and a clean sheet for stalwart back-up Vesa Toskala, who will start roughly half of the remaining games this season.
Considering this recent streak of dominance, it is hardly surprising that with 141 goals against, the Flyers have been the best defensive team in the OTHL. Only one Flyer who has been with the team all season, Steve Yzerman, is a “minus” player. Nik Lidstrom leads the team with an astounding +32 rating. Defensive defender Jason Smith and Mattias Timander are a remarkable +24 and +23 respectively and shut down centre Jim Dowd is more than earning his salary at +18.
With 14 games left, the Flyers continue their steady march towards the league championship.