After years of mediocre play with little to no playoff success, it appeared that the Philadelphia Flyers were finally taking a step forward this season.

The Broad Street Bullies entered December riding high after quite possibly their best November in franchise history. Philadelphia collected a very impressive 24 points over the month of November which tied their franchise record for total points in that month. The Flyers looked to stay hot to start December and began the month with a 2-2 record before tragedy struck the team. On December 13, 2019, Oskar Lindblom, the Flyers leading goal scorer at the time, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. The diagnosis was a huge blow to the team but served as a profound reminder to everyone how minuscule hockey is in comparison to the issues of the real world.

Since Lindblom’s diagnosis, the Flyers currently maintain a mediocre record of 5-6 and have been quickly falling in the standings. The team is on the outside of the playoff picture after being a leader in the Metropolitan division as recently as the Christmas Break when they stood at 3rd place with 47 points.

The team clearly needs to figure out quickly how to sharpen their play, especially on the road. The team is underperforming noticeably when away from Philadelphia. Carter Hart, the Flyers franchise goalie playing in his first full NHL season, is a big part of Philadelphia’s road struggles. Carter Hart is 11-1-2 with 1.49 goals against average at home this season and is 2-9-1 with a 4.01 goals against average on the road. The difference in the goalie’s stats at home versus on the road is startling, but Hart says the focus is to just stick to their game. “I think we just need to stick to our game, and just come out hard in the first twenty minutes and set the tone,” Hart said after the Flyers 6-2 loss to the Coyotes.

Align Vigneault, Flyers head coach, spoke on the team’s recent struggles saying, “We’re a better group than what we’ve shown lately, and we are gonna get an opportunity to show it next game.”