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The failure of the steering wheels

The Flyers are just as tough and gritty as any team in the NHL Playoffs. They have the most potent power play. They can score with anyone. They have the current MVP of the postseason in Claude Giroux. Still, the Flyers have one major flaw…

They lack Emergency.

Great teams don’t take nights off. The Flyers have already canceled three contests this postseason. It’s become painfully obvious that the Flyers need a reason to play their best, because “winning” apparently isn’t enough.

Against the Penguins in Round 1, the Flyers had years of hate and scorn that led to greatness. Seeing 90% of the “experts” pick the Penguins to dump the Flyers and make it to the Stanley Cup Finals certainly helped, too. On top of that, the Flyers (and their fans) sincerely despise Sidney Crosby. The chance to send the Penguins home before the playoffs was all the motivation the Flyers needed to improve their game.

Then, after the Flyers defeated the Penguins and took a 3-0 series lead, the Flyers lost interest. They had shown that they were the better team. The penguins were crawling out of mercy. The Flyers needed a new challenge. What the Flyers forgot, however, is that you can’t take days off in the playoffs. As a result of the Flyers’ lack of urgency, the Penguins struggled to force a critical Game 6 in Philadelphia. The stakes were raised again. The Flyers had a reason to play. The emergency returned and the Flyers crushed the Penguins.

Fast forward to Sunday’s win against the Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It was obvious the Flyers lacked the same urgency they displayed in Game 6 against Pittsburgh. The Devils came out well, controlled the puck and took a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. Once again, the Flyers found themselves against the wall. Urgency returned, the Flyers battled aggressively for the next 40 regulation minutes before dominating overtime and earning the win on Danny Briere’s rocket just inside the blue line.

In Game 2, the Flyers maintained the same intensity and urgency that won them Game 1 and jumped out to a 1-0 lead. The Flyers were in control, the Devils seemed outmatched. The emergency was now gone. Thus, the Flyers mustered just two shots in the second period and blew a 1–0 third period lead by allowing three goals in the first 15 minutes of the fourth period. Only then did the Flyers step up their game. Only then did the urgency return that stunned the Pittsburgh Penguins… who won Game 1 from the Flyers… that gave the Flyers an early 1-0 lead in Game 2. But by then it was too late. . A goal into the empty net sealed Philadelphia’s fate before their inspired play could produce results.

The teams that survive the NHL Playoffs and lift the Stanley Cup in early June are rarely the most talented team in the tournament. The Stanley Cup Champion is the team that wanted it the most, the team that played every second of every minute of every game of every series as if it were overtime in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Playing with a sense of urgency every night doesn’t always equal winning. It is about desire, effort and intensity.

Right now, the New York Rangers play with that intensity. The Los Angeles Kings and Mike Richards play with that intensity. The Phoenix Coyotes play with that intensity. Even Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals have played with that intensity during the playoffs. The Flyers haven’t, and until they maintain the level of urgency necessary to be the last team standing, they’ll still be a fun team to watch and a good story, but not Stanley Cup champions.