Flyers look to stop the bleeding vs. Anaheim

Nicklas Grossman and the Flyers’ defense must improve quickly
as the early season struggles continue. Credit: Getty Images

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The Flyers are off to a slow start. They have no depth defensively and are unable to hang on to a lead.

It’s nothing new — just version 3.0.

Philadelphia looks to turn things around Tuesday night at 7 p.m. when it hosts the Anaheim Ducks at home.

With a 0-2-1 record that includes an embarrassing shootout loss (after blowing a 3-0 lead) to Montreal this past weekend, the players have been here before. And they know it’s not time to panic.

“You just have to relax,” Wayne Simmonds said. “I think [Saturday] and even the previous two games we were nervous in the first period. We got that 3-0 lead and we looked like nerves got hold of us again. Starting squeezing our sticks, and weren’t getting pucks out, weren’t getting pucks in. Paid for it dearly.”

With Braydon Coburn still sidelined with a lower body injury sustained in the season-opener last week and Kimmo Timonen out indefinitely, Nick Shultz, Luke Schenn and a relatively inexperienced defensive front have had to adapt during the first three games. And they’ll have to adapt some more when the Ducks come to town.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating,” Schultz said. “I think it’s something, it’s a lesson where you have to learn, you don’t have to necessarily have to work through these things but we are right now so you have to learn from it and make and make sure you kind of squash it, squash it early, we have a couple days to reflect on it to see what’s wrong and move forward.”

If the Flyers can’t find a way to earn two points Tuesday, it won’t be any easier for quite some time.

After concluding their homestand vs. Anaheim, Philly will travel to Dallas, Chicago and Pittsburgh before returning home to host the Red Wings and defending Stanley Cup Champs the Kings on Oct. 28.