SleeperNHL just posted that Flyers fans have raised more than $4,000 to fly a plane and put up a billboard demanding the firing of head coach Rick Tocchet.
The goal was $4,000, and it was passed within hours of the news getting out. That is real money from a fan base that has watched its team sit 30th in the NHL, one night after another loss.
SleeperNHL noted that the fundraiser has already surpassed its goal, crediting the information to @tonyescargot.
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Philadelphia is 4-10-4 through 18 games, good for 12 points and eighth place in the Metropolitan Division. Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Flyers lost 3-2 to the Rangers, their second straight defeat.
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
| Season | 18 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 12 |
| Home | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| Road | 8 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Last 10 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
Simon Benoit and Noel Acciari scored, and Joseph Woll stopped 25 of 28 shots. It wasn't a blowout and it wasn't a disaster. It was one more game the Flyers had a chance in and didn't win.
That is the frustration in the stands. The effort is rarely the issue, but the results keep landing the same way.
Is the problem really behind the bench?
The numbers are ugly. Philadelphia has scored 39 goals and allowed 61, a goal differential of -22, and the Flyers are 1-6-1 on the road. A coach can't fix all of that alone.
Still, the temperature around the room has been rising. Tocchet's frustration over Trevor Zegras's misconduct came out after Tuesday night's loss to the Wild, and the Flyers have lost twice since.
Firing a coach 18 games into a season is a drastic move, and general manager Daniel Briere owns the roster Tocchet is coaching. Billboards and planes won't change that math, but a fan base willing to pay for them is a fan base running out of patience.
Tocchet knows Philadelphia better than most coaches know their own city. His career totals list 1144 NHL games and a stop with the Flyers, and that history rarely buys time when the standings look like this.
Even the win over Utah when Zegras left with an apparent injury now feels like a long time ago.
The next test comes Sunday, November 8, when the Flyers visit the Flames. A team that is 1-6-1 away from home will hear plenty before it gets there.
Quick hits
BOSTON BRUINS: Mikey Eyssimont is back in the lineup after missing a game with a puck to the mouth, according to Mark Divver. Good news for a team that doesn't need another body down.
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INJURY: NHL Rosters reports the Utah Mammoth have placed Kailer Yamamoto on injured reserve. The details on the injury weren't part of the update.
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DALLAS STARS: Trey Taylor has two NHL games behind him, and the Stars are now waiting on Miro Heiskanen's status for Saturday. That answer will shape the blue line.
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TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: The Canadiens are headed to Toronto tonight, and Auston Matthews and the Leafs have a Saturday home game they badly need. Search for answers is the right phrase.
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MINNESOTA WILD: Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild host Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks tonight. Two of the league's best stars on one sheet of ice is worth the watch.
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Should the Flyers fire Rick Tocchet before the end of November?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
William Nylander names what he sees as Toronto's biggest problem before Canadiens showdown
