As the final horn sounded, the Philadelphia Flyers mascot, Gritty, stripped off his jersey and shorts, leaving only his furry orange belly exposed—a fitting end to a season that left much to be desired for the Flyers.
The Flyers wrapped up another season without a Stanley Cup, a drought that has persisted since their back-to-back championships in 1974 and 1975. This season, in particular, will be one of the most disheartening in franchise history.
Joel Farabee scored twice, and James van Riemsdyk added a power-play goal to lead the Flyers to a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils in the season finale for both teams on Monday night.
“I think we need a little bit of time away to clear our minds,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. “We need to take the time to analyze this season properly.”
As the game ended, Gritty celebrated uniquely, and the Flyers raised their sticks in a salute to the roughly 2,000 fans still left in the Wells Fargo Center.
“I know we have a good group here and a solid core,” Farabee said.
Expectations were high at the start of the season, with many predicting a deep playoff run. The Flyers were coming off a season where they earned the No. 1 seed in the playoff bubble, won their first playoff series since 2012, and boasted a roster full of young talent, including Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov, and Carter Hart. But things worsened in March when the team lost 11 games and surrendered 15 consecutive goals to the New York Rangers over two games. Instead of contending, the Flyers limped to the finish line.
“Before the season started, I don’t think anyone expected us to be in this position,” said team captain Claude Giroux. “It’s very frustrating and confusing.”
Before the game, the Flyers handed out several awards, including Sean Couturier being named the team MVP for the third consecutive season. He is the second Flyer to achieve this feat alongside Ron Hextall and Eric Lindros.
Despite the accolades, Vigneault struggled to name one when asked about his MVP pick.
“I’d have to give that some deep thought,” he admitted. “But I think a guy like Justin Braun, who plays dependable hockey, had a solid season for us considering the situation.”
Braun, demonstrating that reliability played hard until the end but suffered a broken foot against the Devils.
Vigneault, who has been openly critical of the Flyers’ core group and general manager Chuck Fletcher and chairman Dave Scott, is scheduled to address the media on Tuesday in a state-of-the-franchise discussion. This conversation is expected to be far from positive.
Pressed on what went wrong this season, Vigneault responded, “I’ll get into that tomorrow.”
Expectations for the Devils were low coming into the season after they finished last in the Metropolitan Division the previous year. Under new coach Lindy Ruff, the Devils showed promise early but eventually slid back toward the bottom of the standings. Only Buffalo finished with fewer points in the East.
Reflecting on the season, Ruff said, “I’m encouraged by the growth of many of our young players. They’re on an upward path, but we’re not where we want to be. To be a better team, a playoff team, we need to finish our chances and defend better.”
The atmosphere at Wells Fargo Center was subdued, though the Flyers and Penn Medicine partnered to offer Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines to fans before the game. Seventy people received vaccinations.
Pavel Zacha scored his 17th goal of the season, and Janne Kuokkanen added his eighth to give New Jersey a 2-0 lead. The Flyers tied the game with Farabee’s 19th goal of the year and Couturier’s 18th.
Award Recipients
- Ivan Provorov was named the Flyers’ top defenseman.
- Farabee received the Pelle Lindbergh Trophy as the most improved player.
- James van Riemsdyk won the Yanick Dupre Class Award for exemplifying character, dignity, and respect for the sport on and off the ice.
- Giroux took home the Toyota Cup for accumulating the most points as the “Star of the Game.”
- Couturier also won the Gene Hart Memorial Award for the third time in four years, recognizing the Flyer who shows the most heart throughout the season.
Up Next:
- The offseason begins for both the Devils and Flyers.
