Flyers need to surge after all-star break
WASHINGTON - With five days off between games, most of the Flyers will get some rest during the all-star break and can look ahead to their final 35 games of the season.
WASHINGTON -- With five days off between games, most of the Flyers will get some rest during the all-star break and can look ahead to their final 35 games of the season.
They are five points out of a playoff spot at the break and need to climb over five teams to get the final wild-card berth. The Flyers, who will send center Claude Giroux to Sunday's all-star tournament in Nashville, have games in hand on all five teams.
Thanks to a stunning 4-3 overtime win over mighty Washington on Wednesday, they are feeling good about themselves.
"It's always important to go into a break like this on a positive note, a positive mind-set," coach Dave Hakstol said.
That said, the giddiness of a recent 5-0-1 run has disappeared because the Flyers lost three of their last four games, going into the break with a 21-18-8 record.
"Too many ups and downs," defenseman Nick Schultz said about the Flyers' season to date. "We get going in one direction, and then we regress. We have to do a better job of being even keel and understanding how we have to win games. We just need consistency in our game."
Wednesday's dramatic win rekindled their playoff hopes.
"It feels good. We played such a good road game from the start," goalie Michal Neuvirth said after beating his former team. "We were ready for them, and it was a great team effort. . . . Our goal is to make the playoffs, and the Flyers [organization] expects us to be in the playoffs. If we're going to play the way we did [Wednesday], I'm sure we're going to do it."
After a 4-2-1 start, the Flyers lost eight of their next nine (1-6-2). They regrouped nicely and had a pair of four-game winning streaks - one that triggered the 5-0-1 spurt - to climb within two points of a playoff spot before slipping in the last week.
"It's been a tale of two different teams," goalie Steve Mason said.
Since Nov. 14, the Flyers are 16-8-5.
"I think over the last 2 1/2 months, we've been playing good hockey," said Jake Voracek, who scored the overtime goal to beat the Capitals, giving him 31 points in his last 31 games. "We've found a way to win games. The last three games [before Wednesday], we've found a way to lose the games. So we just have to make sure we're on the same line. Don't get too high. Don't get too low, and just try to make the playoffs."
February will be crucial. The Flyers have 15 games in the month - 16 if a postponed matchup with the Islanders is added - and their success will determine if general manager Ron Hextall is a buyer or seller at the Feb. 29 trade deadline.
"The season is going to revolve around that month," Mason said.
A weak offense and shoddy special teams' play have been the Flyers' downfall.
They are 27th in the 30-team NHL in goals per game (2.28), and their power play (tied for 21st) and penalty kill (26th) have been extremely streaky.
Between injuries and a personal issue, Mason has been in and out of the lineup and has not put together an elite season like he did last year.
"It's been a strange year, a lot of different circumstances," said Mason, who sat out the win in Washington with an unspecified injury but hopes to be ready for Tuesday's game against visiting Montreal. "You just try to find some smooth ground."
That sounds like the team's motto for the unofficial second half of the season.