The Flyers’ Fun New Second Line Leads the Way

Through eight games, Philadelphia sits 4-3-1 (9) with convincing wins in their past two matches. Statistically, there’s a new alpha: Travis Konecny.

In fact, he’s been so good, that The Hockey News keeps asking readers if the Flyers should consider moving Claude Giroux.

This tweet was rightfully “ratio’d”, with almost unanimous replies of “no”.

Konecny does lead the team in assists (7) and points (11) and is second behind Oskar Lindblom (!) in goals, with four. He’s probably the fastest skater on the team. Most importantly, we can overreact to this eight game sample and say that he’s breaking out. Konecny has displayed great chemistry with linemates Sean Couturier and Oskar Lindblom; the three have combined for 11 of the Flyers’ 25 goals this season.

By the numbers, this line dominates any and all opposition. In a 6-2 beating of the Vegas Golden Knights, Mark Stone posted a 0.0% CorsiF and a 0.0% xGF%. The best two-way winger in the world was a complete non-factor for an entire 60 minutes against Couturier and Co., who took 100% of the shots with Stone on the ice.

Coach Alain Vigneault has said that he wants this line together as much as possible for the forseeable future, and for good reason. The early line juggling has left this particular trio untouched for the most part. Once the big names get going (Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek), this offense could be extremely dangerous.