The 2013 NHL season is finally settling in, and the competition is heating up for the Philadelphia Flyers. As of March 6, they’re skating a thin line between contenders or pretenders.

At 11-12-1 and with 21 points, the Flyers are sitting at third place in a heated division with the hated Pittsburgh Penguins at first place and New Jersey Devils at second. The once feared New York Rangers are below Philadelphia with only 8 wins and 18 points.

Flyers games pack a faithful group at the Wells Fargo Center, but a mix of emotional wins with questionable losses have yielded a lukewarm fandamonium. The recent success of winger Jakub Voracek notching 4 goals, 7 assists, and 11 points in the month of February.

It’s hard to label the Flyers as either good or bad, underachieving or outcoached. They’ve lost key players (Scott Hartnell, Matt Read, Andrej Mezarjos) for extensive time periods. The return of beloved Simon Gagne is either a temporary spark or a real veteran presence to jumpstart some much needed offensive firepower.

 

Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov has been mum on his reasons for frequent letdowns. “It’s going to be more ugly. This is the reality.”

What Flyers fans can look forward to is a week-long break from March 18 (after a matchup against Tampa Bay Lightning) to March 24 in their final regular season game against state rival Pittsburgh Penguins.