It’s time to stop blaming Matt Niskanen

Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty ImagesThe Philadelphia Flyers are in Hockey Hell. After getting shitkicked 9-0 by the New York Rangers, increasingly existential questions are starting to be raised. Why am I here? What is defense? Is hockey even real?

Unfortunately, hockey is real and the Flyers are currently pretty bad at it compared to some teams around the league. But that’s just currently; they have shown dominance in the not-so-distant past and were considered true Stanley Cup contenders at that time.

Hell, if they didn’t end up facing a defensively-elite New York Islanders team that just knew exactly what buttons to push against the Flyers’ offense in the second round of the…