Struggles

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Washington, D.C. -- Defenseman-turned-forward Lance Flowers wasn't expecting to be an MVP candidate here in his final season. What he was hoping for, though, was team success above all else. The D.C. Dragons came into Season 75 with high expectations, stemming from an older roster and not many holes overall to be found. Halfway through the season, however, they sit with just 36 points, tied for the final playoff spot in the North America Conference.

 

"Yeah, I'll admit, I thought we'd be up among the conference leaders right now. It's a bit frustrating," Flowers said. "There's always time to turn things around, but if we're going to do that, it has to happen now. Like now, now."

 

Part of Flowers' frustration may very well stem from the play of the Dragons' first line. The team made the decision early on to pair Flowers and center Benny Graves with the sixth-highest TPE forward on the team, winger Jared Willis. The result has been a second line that has far exceeded expectations, with Dood, Lesieur and leFlamant among the league's leaders in points. However, that success may have come at the expense of the first line.

 

"20 points in 36 games? It's not great. I know I'm not a natural forward, but I should be playing better than this," Flowers said. "All I can do now is hope it turns around."

 

The Dragons will for sure hope the same thing. With only 36 games in his regular season career, Flowers is running out of time to turn things around.