Flyers comfortable with where they stand, despite what oddsmakers say

THERE MIGHT BE no greater insult in sports than describing a team as an underachiever.

Except, perhaps, calling it an overachiever.

Underachievers suggests there is a ceiling above.

Overachievers suggests the ceiling lies below.

When the NHL season began, few saw the Flyers as a playoff-caliber team, and the betting line reflected that. In June, most Las Vegas sportsbooks had their chances to win a Stanley Cup set at or around 66-to-1, and by the start of the season, those odds had grown to 75-to-1 at most books.

That the Flyers entered Wednesday night only five points from a playoff spot, with 34 games to play and games in hand on teams above them is impressive.

At least it should be.

These days, however, Vegas has them listed at 100-to-1 to win the Cup.

Meaning only one thing:

Oddsmakers think they are overachieving.

"That's good," Ryan White said. "We'll just keep beating the odds then. That's all right by us."

White knows he is one of the reasons for such an evaluation. The Flyers' third and fourth lines are filled with hockey middle-agers who have bounced between the minors and majors for much of their careers (Chris VandeVelde, White), veteran European players (Pierre-Edouard Bellemare) and once highly thought of players who failed to live up to that billing and the pay scale it included (R.J. Umberger, Sam Gagner).

Against teams such as Montreal and Toronto, it is less noticeable. But in recent matchups against teams on the top rungs of the NHL food chain, there have been some harrowingly lopsided shifts involving those players. True, the recent return of Sean Couturier from injury mutes that to a degree, but when oddsmakers look at this team, they likely see what other NHL coaches see.

A strong first line, a competitive second, and not much punch after that.

I asked Scott Laughton this after practice Wednesday: "Is there ever a night when you go out there and say, 'Man they've got way more talent than we do'?"

This is what he said: "I think we have two of the best players in the world. It's pretty tough to say that."

Well, not if you're looking across at a team such as the Capitals, with a slew of such players, or the Blackhawks or the Kings or the Stars, or even the Penguins.

Doesn't mean you can't beat any of them on a given night, as the Flyers showed last week in Washington and came within a bad bounce of showing in Pittsburgh the week before. Then there are their struggles against teams in an even worse position than they are, a grueling schedule remaining that is among the league's toughest, and a roster so thin that an injury to a single player such as Couturier can greatly influence the recent four-game tailspin.

The Flyers live in the razor's edge between winning and losing more than any other team. No team has been in more overtime games than they have, and their ability to emerge with points and wins is a welcome departure from the late-game failures of the previous season.

"Last year, it was a little bit of a different team," Laughton said. "I think we just got frustrated too easily. This year, I think we're all more confident in each other. And we've been playing together for quite a bit now. I think we've got a confidence now from within."

Said White, who scored his fifth goal of the season in the 4-3 victory over Washington two Wednesdays ago: "I do think we have a talented group in here. But the big thing is we have the right kind of guys. Every night it seems there are three or four instances where guys go to bat for each other, stick up for each other. That's pretty tough potion when you have everybody fighting for each other."

Is it enough? Feistiness? Almost to a man, players point to the league's rich tradition of gritty teams winning games they should be expected to lose, climbing over teams with better rosters, winning playoff series - even Stanley Cups.

"As soon as you get into the playoffs, anything can happen," Laughton said. "You see that with a lot of teams. Playoff hockey is a whole different ballgame. It's a whole different atmosphere and style of play. I think our game suits it and I'm pretty confident that if we can get in, we can do some damage."

In other words, overachieve.

Just don't use that word with them.

"If anything, I think we've been underachieving," White said. "In here, we're a confident group that thinks we can beat anybody. Anything less than a playoff spot is going to be an underachievement to us."

donnels@phillynews.com

On Twitter: @samdonnellon

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