Flyers encouraged by successful Florida trip
SUNRISE, Fla. - Before leaving for two games in laid-back Florida, the Flyers called it a "business trip" and said their focus was on bringing home points, not a suntan.
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SUNRISE, Fla. - Before leaving for two games in laid-back Florida, the Flyers called it a "business trip" and said their focus was on bringing home points, not a suntan.
They were true to their word.
Playing with a heightened sense of urgency, the Flyers collected three out of a possible four points in Florida - in two places where they have struggled in recent years - and they head into the season's final month controlling their fate.
They have 15 regular-season games remaining, and five of them are against the teams they are chasing for two wild-card spots, Detroit and Pittsburgh.
The Flyers play host to the Red Wings on Tuesday in their latest in a long line of critical games.
They are on a 6-1-1 run after a weekend that included a 3-1 win in Tampa - their first victory in their last nine games there since 2011 - and a 5-4 shootout loss to Florida, where they were manhandled, 7-1, early in the season.
"We needed at least three out of four points in this trip to stay in it," hard-nosed winger Ryan White said after scoring a goal and setting up another by screening goalie Roberto Luongo on Saturday in Sunrise. "I thought the boys battled hard tonight to get the extra point."
White is one of the many less-heralded players who have contributed lately. Over the weekend, just one of the Flyers' seven goals was scored by a player on the top line (Brayden Schenn).
"The role guys and the supporting cast has been huge," goalie Steve Mason said. "They've been a huge factor in continuing this streak and getting points when we need them the most. The second power-play [unit] has come up huge as well. That's what we need. We have to have an all-around team effort and the guys are playing pretty good hockey."
The schedule is not kind to the Flyers, who have five more sets of back-to-back games in their final 15 contests. By comparison, the Penguins and Red Wings play only three sets of back-to-backs the rest of the way.
The Flyers will play 16 sets of games on consecutive nights this season, including one set that was caused by a snowed-out game that had to be rescheduled on the last day of the regular season against the Islanders in Brooklyn.
Detroit, aiming for its 25th consecutive playoff berth, will also play 16 sets of consecutive games this season. Pittsburgh, which is without injured star Evgeni Malkin, will play 17 sets of back-to-back games.
The Red Wings play only five of their remaining 13 games at home. The Penguins play half of their final 14 games at home, and the Flyers play seven of their last 15 games at the Wells Fargo Center.
With Michal Neuvirth making 29 saves, the Flyers scored a 2-1 shootout win in Detroit on Jan. 17 in the teams' only other meeting so far this season.
After scoring the winning goal in the shootout, Jake Voracek called the Red Wings "the best team we've faced this year."
Voracek, who has missed the last seven games with a foot injury, is questionable for Tuesday's game.
Breakaways
The Flyers are 2-7 in shootouts and their shooters are just 6 for 30 (20 percent), while their opponents are 13 for 27 (48.1 percent). . . . The Flyers are 0-1 against the Penguins, losing in Pittsburgh, 4-3, on Jan. 21. Steve Mason dropped the decision as the Penguins ended an eight-game losing streak in games against the Flyers. . . . The Flyers have allowed just three power-play goals in the last 10 games.
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