Even before Saturday’s game against the slumping New York Rangers, the Flyers were trying to figure out what lessons needed to be learned from their first certified dry spell of the season. One thing is for sure: Their upcoming schedule doesn’t get any easier. Following the Broadway Blueshirts e ncounter, there would be a three-game road trip out west to places such as Las Vegas, Utah and Colorado coming up next. So what can the Flyers do to pull themselves out of their recent 0-4-1 rut? Here’s a quick checklist of possible fixes: 1. The power play: Ah, one of the great mysteries of modern day NHL play – how a team with a potential eight or nine 20-goal scorers struggles so much with the man advantage. Things started off in promising fashion this season, with the extra-man crews connecting often enough to stand in the middle of the NHL pack. Then the wheels started falling off. Tyson Foerster got hurt and is out for the season. Teams began keeping a closer eye on Trevor Zegras, who leads the team with seven power-play goals. The rest of the team has a grand total of 13. The Flyers need more production from Matvei Michkov on the power play. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) Suggested solutions: For one thing, find a way to get Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov more involved. Last year, those two tied for the team lead with nine goals each for the PP. So far this season? One each. Also, get big players such as Owen Tippett playing closer to the net, like the days of Tim Kerr, Paul Holmgren and John LeClair. In other words, take the goaltender’s eyes away. And raise a little havoc. 2. The penalty kill: At times this season, this unit was ranked as high as top three in the league. But like the power play, recently it has fallen on hard times. Like the three goals it allowed to Pittsburgh on Thursday night, which made the difference in a 6-3 loss. Well, things could improve right away if the Flyers weren’t taking so many dumb penalties. Take the play of Michkov. Often he lags behind the action, then takes a lazy penalty. That’s one of the reasons why he leads the team in penalty minutes. The answer for the kill: Be more active in puck pursuit. Try to be more disruptive at center ice rather than let teams set up and create good scoring chances off the rush. Big guys like Rasmus Ristolainen should be warriors in front of the net, clearing things out so goaltenders can see shots better. 3. Better backup goaltending: To say Dan Vladar has been unexpectedly good would be an understatement. At the same time, Sam Ersson has not excelled in relief. He’s under .500 and his save percentage is one of the worst in the league. Aleksei Kolosov was brought up the other day after Vladar was injured and was OK in relief of Ersson in the Sabres game. The question now is whether he has the potential to be a better backup than Ersson. That’s a question coach Rick Tocchet must be mulling each night as he stares at the ceiling before going to sleep. 4. Press harder for an early lead: The Flyers have given up the first goal of the game an incredible 32 times this season, which is tied with Nashvile for worst in that category. While the Flyers have won 14 games in those situations, it’s a formula for success which probably can’t be sustained. There are some who will remember those “Broad Street Bullies” days. That gang would have a 2-0 lead before fans got settled in their seats. The home record for the 1975-76 squad? 36-2-2. 5. Trade for a star scorer: While the Zegras unexpected scoring parade is nice and the balanced scoring is commendable, the Flyers need a go-to guy at crunch time. General manager Daniel Briere might be reluctant to pull the trigger on a transaction which brings a legitimate 50-goal guy to Philadelphia because it could involve a number of promising prospects. But right now, Zegras’ 18 goals are ranked only 40th in the NHL. Only two players in the NHL’s top 20 are not on playoff-bound teams. You need a gunner, a go-to guy in close games. Make no mistake, the Flyers have made huge strides under Tocchet this season and few saw this much improvement coming. Yet there’s still much work to be done. The Flyers appear to be headed in the right direction. In the short-term, though, it’s all about addressing some of the aforementioned issues. Wayne Fish is a freelance writer. Follow his coverage at www.flyingfishhockey.com ...read more read less