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Boston Bruins: The Philadelphia Flyers will easily be the toughest challenge of 2021

By Tyler Pierce

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 02: Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers stops a shot by Charlie Coyle #13 of the Boston Bruins as Brad Marchand #63 of the Bruins and Travis Sanheim #6 of the Flyers stand by in the third period during Game One of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 02, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario., Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 02: Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers stops a shot by Charlie Coyle #13 of the Boston Bruins as Brad Marchand #63 of the Bruins and Travis Sanheim #6 of the Flyers stand by in the third period during Game One of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 02, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario., Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ONTARIO – SEPTEMBER 05: Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers stops a shot against the New York Islanders during the first period in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on September 05, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – SEPTEMBER 05: Carter Hart #79 of the Philadelphia Flyers stops a shot against the New York Islanders during the first period in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on September 05, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The Boston Bruins shouldn’t sleep on the Flyers’ young and talented but inexperienced defensive corps.

On the back end, Philadelphia suffered a key loss with the surprising retirement of Matt Niskanen. Niskanen was one of the older and more experienced players in the Philadelphia defensive corps and they will now need some of their young blueliners, namely Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim, to step up and capture the leadership and production lost with the Niskanen departure.

At just 23 years old apiece, Provorov and Sanheim both averaged over 20 minutes of ice time last season and led the Flyers’ defense with 36 and 25 points respectively, and seem to be poised to take the next step towards being leaders on the blue line.

With the average age of their defensive unit at just 25 years old, the lack of game experience will likely be something that the Bruins’ forwards, namely Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand, will attempt to exploit to give them an advantage, however, they will still need to overcome the young star in net for Philadelphia, Carter Hart.

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The Boston Bruins will have a tough time getting pucks past Carter Hart.

The Flyers have been in the midst of a goalie carousel that some may argue is decades-long. However, it appears that they have found the solution with the 22-year-old Hart.

Through his first 74 games as a pro, Hart has amassed a .915 save percentage and a 2.59 goals-against average. While he still has some game experience to gain, the Flyers seem to have confidence in his ability and feel they finally have the piece in net that they have been searching for all these years.

Both the Bruins and the Flyers have Stanley Cup aspirations this year, however, they’ll have to do battle eight times in the regular season and potentially more if the stars align for playoff matchups.

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With the aforementioned high-powered offense and the talented young defense, the Flyers pose a difficult matchup for the Bruins and will likely be a thorn in their side for the duration of the 2021 season.

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