Vigneault Warns That If Five On Five Struggles Continue, Team Might Not Make Playoffs.

The Philadelphia Flyers lost another game in the shootout on Saturday, this time to the New York Islanders by a score of 4-3. Philly has now played more than 60 minutes in seven out of their last 10 games, and while they haven't all been losses, it's a troubling pattern. According to head coach Alain Vigneault, the team's lack of execution five on five is a dangerous trend. "Five-on-five, we need to be better than we have" said Vigneault.
Teams that struggle five on five could be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. "There's no doubt that teams that get into the playoffs are on the plus side in five-on-five, so we're not there right now," Vigneault added. "I think our process is good; we're getting a lot of chances, but we're just not putting the puck in the back of the net. … You have to go to the tough areas. Most of the goals are scored a couple feet from the goaltender. You have to go there. You have to have that willingness to play inside."
It's not just one player who's struggling as Kevin Hayes, Michael Raffl, Shayne Gostisbehere and Carsen Twarynski have no goals in their last 11 games, Jake Voracek has no goals in his last 10 and James van Riemsdyk has one goal in his last 11."We're working on getting better as a group," Vigneault said. "We're not where I think we can get to, but we are working extremely hard and we've got a lot of faith that we'll be able to get there."