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Flyers' offense historically bad through 1st quarter of season

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

In recent years, goaltending and defense have often been the Philadelphia Flyers Achilles' heel.

But - after their second consecutive shutout loss Saturday against the Ottawa Senators - the Flyers' 34 goals mark their worst offensive production through 20 games in team history.

While captain Claude Giroux has paced the club with a team-high six goals and 13 points, the team desperately needs more production from the rest of their forward group.

After breaking through with a career-best 81-point season last year, Jakub Voracek needed 17 games to score his first goal against the Carolina Hurricanes. Though he leads the team with eight assists, much more is expected from the All-Star winger.

With the Flyers sporting the NHL's third-worst power play, it comes as little surprise to see Wayne Simmonds' production fall. Of the 57 goals he scored in the past two seasons, 29 came with the man advantage. This year, he has just one power play marker and is well behind his usual 50-point pace.

Thankfully for the Flyers, the season is still young and the team sits just six points back of a wild-card spot. But if the offense doesn't pick up soon, their current pace of 1.7 goals per game would see them finish the year with 139 goals - only six more than they scored in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.

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