Deflating

The Flyers came in on a nice hot streak, but one question remained: can they beat the Devils? Last night was a resounding "no".

John Stevens said it's not a mental block, but I don't see how it could be anything else. The Flyers' PK is definitely not one of their strengths like last year, but allowing 5 PP goals in one game is horrendously bad, especially against a team struggling on the power play like New Jersey.

In an era where officials are competing against each other to call the most penalties, the penalty kill needs to be strong. The game is becoming more and more about special teams, and even though the Flyers have a lethal power play, their PK leaves much to be desired.

Not much has changed since last year's team in terms of penalty killers, so what's wrong? Simon Gagne is probably still recovering from his injury and getting his legs back. Hatcher is playing hurt, and that could be reducing his effectiveness. No matter how you slice it, things need to get better.

But what about the Devils? Fortunately, the Flyers only play them two more times this season, and those aren't for a couple of months. They need to get as many points against other teams as possible, so when it comes down to the last few weeks and the Atlantic Division marathon kicks in, the Flyers are in good position against their rivals to secure some home playoff games. Remember, the Flyers have been very successful against the Atlantic with the exception of the Devils, so there will be points to had to possibly win the division.

Can the Flyers be successful without beating the Devils? I think so. They just can't match up against them very well and string together a few wins in a row against them. A playoff series would be tough, and it's always hard to bet against Martin Brodeur. Hopefully someone else can knock them off.