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‘Never seen anything like it': Snider rips Philly’s lack of secondary scoring

Flyers Practice Hockey

Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider talks during a news conference as the NHL hockey team practiced in Voorhees, N.J., on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013. The Flyers open their season at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. (AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, David Maialetti) THE EVENING BULLETIN OUT TV OUT MAGS OUT NO SALES

AP

The Flyers have two of the NHL’s top six scorers at the moment -- Jakub Voracek (2nd, 32 points) and Claude Giroux (6th, 27) -- yet sit just sixth in the Metropolitan Division with an ugly 8-12-3 record.

One big reason why? Not enough points from forwards not named Voracek or Giroux. And that’s got owner Ed Snider miffed.

“Never seen anything like it in all the years I’ve been in hockey,” Snider said of his club’s lack of secondary scoring, per the Philly Inquirer. “Even when we were an expansion team, somebody chipped in here and there.”

Consider the following:

-- Matt Read, a two-time 20 goal scorer, has one goal in his last 16 games.

-- Sean Couturier, who scored a career-high 39 points last year, has one point in his last 10.

-- Wayne Simmonds, who scored six goals in his first 10 games of the year, has two in his last 13.

The slumps are out there for all to see, including Snider. Which probably explains why he called out each of these guys individually.

“We have two of the best forwards in the league, but two players can’t turn around a team,” he explained. “What’s going on with everybody else? What’s going on with Couturier, Read, Simmonds, and the other guys? They should be chipping in with some goals.

“It’s weird. I’m not going to give up on those guys. Even [Vinny] Lecavalier got 20 goals last year. What happened?”

As Snider’s words suggest, these are not good times for the Flyers. The club is 1-7-1 over its last nine and now begins a difficult stretch of road games, with four games in seven nights in San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Columbus.

If someone can’t step up and provide some offense behind the big two of Voracek and Giroux on this trip, Philly could be in danger of falling behind the ‘Canes and Blue Jackets in the Metro -- not a good place to be for a team intent on making the postseason.