Slow start could lead to scare in Philly before Halloween

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Stanley Cup hangovers only supposed to affect teams that actually win the darned thing?

Or at the very least, those who get to championship round?

Martin Biron and the Flyers have given up the 2nd most goals this season. (AP)

The Philadelphia Flyers did neither, although they did make it as far as the Eastern Conference finals last spring, which was an impressive effort considering they were dead last the season before that. Problem was, the tantalizing long run created much higher expectations this time around than say the Phillies had when they began their new campaign, and they aren't even close to being met.

Fortunately for the Flyers, the baseball club's World Series presence is hogging the spotlight around town these days, but those who are paying attention to the ice prancers couldn't be faulted for seeking out the panic button because Philadelphia is the NHL's only winless team two weeks into the season.

If that seems like an overreaction to a slow start, consider that last season only four of 14 teams that were below the playoff cutoff line at Thanksgiving ended up getting to the postseason. And Philadelphia, which has allowed more goals than anyone but Dallas -- who has played more games -- already has six teams to climb over as it readies for a home-and-home set this weekend against the surging New Jersey Devils, an arch division rival.

In other words, Philadelphia could find itself in a potentially insurmountable hole before Halloween. That has to be a scary thought around Flyerland, although probably nowhere near as frightening as watching the team play in its own end these days where it has been almost defenseless this season.

"That's the part of our game we changed the most last year and that's what gave us success," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "A lot of games this year we've created opportunities and do some positive things, but it's no secret that you have to get the goals against down to win games."

Which is easier said that done when you look at the way Martin Biron and Antero Niittymaki have played between the pipes this season. Biron came across as the Flyers solution to longstanding problems in goal with his superb effort in the playoffs last spring and Nittymaki has shown flashes of brilliance during his four seasons with the Flyers. But both have been abysmal this season with save percentages of .840 and .881 respectively.

Niittymaki was yanked after allowing four goals in the first period of a 7-6 shootout loss at home Wednesday against San Jose, and then Biron was badly positioned and turned around for the Sharks two other goals before being beaten twice in as many tries in the shootout. With those kinds of performances being the rule rather than the exception for Philadelphia so far, it doesn't bode well moving forward since every other team in the Atlantic Division has what could be considered an elite goaltender.

"Our goalies can play better," Stevens said.

He hopes, although a little added support for them probably wouldn't hurt. But the Flyers are hard-pressed to provide any help in large part because the blue line has been affected seriously by changes since the end of last season and has turned into a very weak link for the club. Veteran crease clearers Derian Hatcher and Jason Smith are gone –- Hatcher effectively retired because of knee problems and Smith went to Ottawa via free agency –- while Ryan Parent and Randy Jones are out with injuries. What remains is Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn and a patchwork of bodies that have been generally pushed around and pressured into making mistakes.

"We're giving up a lot of second and third opportunities in front of our own net," said Philadelphia captain Mike Richards. "If we start eliminating those, clearing pucks better, start clearing in front of net better. It seems like we're looking around too much instead of clearing people out."

"When the play is there make it, but we've got to eliminate those second and third chances."