Flyers refuse to lose two straight
If there is one single thing that can be pointed out as most impressive about this year's Flyers team – aside from their depth, passion, and consistency – it would be their hatred for losing.
The Flyers take after their coach, Peter Laviolette, in that way.
Thanks to Sunday's win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, the Flyers avoided losing back-to-back games for the sixth time in a row – a span stretches 23 games of the season.
"I've been impressed by that," Laviolette said. "It's almost an opportunity to fix something after a loss. If they're not happy [losing], I'm not happy. You get an opportunity to go out there and right a wrong. They've done that. They've played hard."
The result is a slew of victories for the Flyers, who haven't had much of a lull at all this season. The 82-game hockey slate usually features a ton of peaks and valleys for almost every team in the NHL.
Here's the win/loss column:
Loss Next game
Dec. 31, 5-2 at Anaheim Jan. 2, 3-2 W at Detroit
Jan. 13, 7-5 at Boston Jan. 14, 5-2 W at Atlanta
Jan. 22, 3-1 vs. New Jersey Jan. 23, 4-1 W at Chicago
Feb. 1, 4-0 at Tampa Bay Feb. 3, 3-2 W vs. Nashville
Feb. 13, 1-0 vs. Los Angeles Feb. 15, 4-3 SO W at Tampa Bay
Feb. 18, 3-2 at Carolina Feb. 20, 4-2 W at New York
Here's what's most impressive:
They avoided back-to-back losses twice on back-to-back games
They avoided back-to-back losses five times on the road
Every team they avoided the back-to-back loss against is currently in the playoff picture.
No matter the task, the Flyers seemed to have handled it.
"I think there's an expectation to win every game," Laviolette said. "And when you have that expectation and you lose one, then you get mad. You try to fix it. The best way to fix it is to go back, play harder and do the right things to win hockey games."
ALARMING TREND? If there is one alarming stat from last week's four-game road trip, it's that the Flyers didn't do a very good job in the third period in applying pressure. The Flyers went 3-1 on the road trip but didn't manage 10 shots in any of the third periods they played last week.
Feb. 15 at Tampa Bay: 6
Feb. 16 at Florida: 9
Feb. 18 at Carolina: 6
Feb. 20 at New York: 3
The Rangers have consistently done a solid job against the Flyers in the third period, the Flyers have a combined 11 shots against New York in the third period of four games this season.
ROAD SUCCESS: As the Flyers enjoy some home cooking this week – Tuesday against Phoenix and Thursday against the Islanders – they do so coming off some serious road success this season. The Flyers have 20 road wins in 30 games away from home, posting a 20-7-3 record.
It is the fastest run to 20 road wins in franchise history. The previous record was 1978-79, which reached 20 wins in the 32nd road game.
More updates from Flyers practice today in Voorhees.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers