There you have it five reasons the Flyers are struggling

Dell will also offer a glimpse at exciting newconcepts and next generation products slated for 2009. Where: The Palms Casino Resort, 26th Floor4321 West Flamingo Rd. RSVP: Laura Hanson, or 415-365-8580for DellLaura Hanson, Copyright Business Wire 2009. There has been a lot of talk on various websites as to why the Philadelphia Flyers are struggling so badly this December. Almost one year to the day later, Laviolette was summoned out of the press box to take over the head coaching duties for the Philadelphia Flyers.At the time of former Flyers head coach John Stevens firing and Laviolettes subsequent hiring, many Flyer fans applauded the move.

Flyers fans had been calling for Stevens to be fired for almost two seasons, so when they got their wish, many suspected the Flyers struggles would be a thing of the past. Lets face it, Laviolette has been anything but a savior for the Flyers and, in some peoples minds, has been invisible to a fault. Needless to say, Peter Laviolette didnt win the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes by accident, but Flyers fans dont care about his resume, they want results, which, thus far, has been abysmal.In most cases, it takes 10-15 games for the players to adjust to a new coach and the system he chooses to adapt. The Flyers had one of the most feared power plays in the entire NHL at one point this season. As it sits right now, the Flyers are ranked 9th, which is good, but hardly the power play they employed when they were number one overall.As for the penalty kill, the Flyers are ranked 26th overall and, from all accounts, have looked both out of position and out of gas. The Flyers have scored one or less goals seven times in December, including two shut outs. Averaging 2.71 goals per game, the Flyers offense ranks 19th overall and it would be a lot worse if not for their strong start.Jeff Carter, Mike Richards, James Van Riemsdyk and Scott Hartnell have all struggled to find their offensive games on a consistent basis.

Richards has two goals in his past 11 games, Carter has three goals in his past thirteen games, Hartnell has one goal in his past 12 games and Van Riemsdyk has one goal in his past 16 games. Van Riemsdyk was named rookie of the month for November but his game has tailed off considerably this Christmas season. To be fair, JVR was not really expected to be a cornerstone for the Flyers offense, but Carter, Richards and Hartnell are all veterans and were expected to score a lot more than they have, their lack of scoring has costs the Flyers plenty of games, maybe a playoff spot.. The Flyers got some good news over the weekend when it was announced that both Simon Gagne and Blair Betts would be back in the lineup. Gagne, Betts, Daniel Briere, Ray Emery, Ryan Parent and Darroll Powe have all been out of the lineup for extended periods of time, which is directly related to the Flyers struggles. Every NHL team needs to be prepared to lose some players over an 82 game season; its safe to say the Flyers have lost more than their fair share and some key players at that..

After establishing themselves as one of the most feared defensive pairings in the entire NHL, the play of Chris Pronger and Matt Carle has dropped off dramatically. Pronger has been said to be feuding with Flyers Captain Mike Richards, adding to the Flyers already complicated soap opera. Carle, who was so solid at the beginning of the season, has loked tentative and, at times, out of position.Not to mention, Braydon Coburn, Kimmo Timonen and Ryan Parent have all looked bad on more nights than not and, none of these defensemen are playing up to their potential.Its tough to question an NHL players effort, but there have been rumblings that Coburn and Parent have not played with enough heart, leading me to believe that one of those players may be traded before long.The Flyers forwards have not been playing in all zones and, as such, the Flyers defense has been left hung out to dry on far too many occassions. It is going to take a total team effort for the Flyers defense to improve, the sooner the players understand that the better.There you have it, five reasons the Flyers are struggling.