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Quick hits: Flyers using less to get more

The loss is coming. Over their seven-game win streak, the Flyers have been getting away with winning by playing portions of games. But hey, they're in first place in the Metropolitan Division. Who would've thunk it two months ago?

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Juulsen and Flyers left winger Oskar Lindblom run into Montreal goaltender Charlie Lindgren during the second period on Monday.
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Noah Juulsen and Flyers left winger Oskar Lindblom run into Montreal goaltender Charlie Lindgren during the second period on Monday.Read moreRyan Remiorz/ The Canadian Press via AP

The loss is coming

Over their six-game win streak, the Flyers have been getting away with winning by playing portions of games. They were extremely lucky to emerge with two points in Monday's 1-0 shootout victory over Montreal, giving away the second period last night to a Montreal team that is dead in the water, falling in love again too often with the pretty play.

But hey, they're in first place in the Metropolitan Division.

Who would've thunk it two months ago?

The emerging Flyers

"Our guys stuck together; Nothing came out of the locker room negative; We've got a good group here,'' Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said a few hours earlier as the NHL trade deadline expired. It's usually nice talk, little more. But if you're a young team surging, there's usually some emerging too, and such has been the case with this team as it seeks a lasting identity.

The statistics tell you that Shayne Gostisbehere has become an elite player. What they don't tell you is that he is emerging as a team leader.

For the second time in eight days, Ghost dropped the gloves with a player who had delivered a hard shot on Travis Konecny. Against the Rangers two Sundays ago, it was Pavel Buchnevich.

Monday night it was Montreal's Max Pacioretty.

Neither was much of a fight. But they represented the first two fights of Gostisbehere's career. And thus, the meaning was huge.

You'd rather have somebody other than Gostisbehere, one the team's smaller finesse players, fight. But his willingness sends a message to the young players coming behind him. It's how a team builds an identity, something the 24-year-old third-year player seems quite aware of.

The emerging Flyers part deux

Flyers fans have seen, read or been told about Oskar Lindblom's gritty play in front of the net. They got a good view of it during a second period rush Monday night. Lindblom was clobbered while crashing the net trying to convert a pass… It's a short sample size, but Petr Mrazek is playing so well that Hextall's news during yesterday's trade deadline press conference that Brian Elliott would begin skating next week was not the headline you thought it might be when he went down. Mrazek gave the Flyers countless chances to win this game, the most memorable perhaps the sprawling glove save he made on Jacob de la Rose's wrist shot in close with 2:17 remaining in regulation. He also helped them get to the shootout with spectacular overtime saves on Phillip Danault and Jonathan Drouin. He made 28 saves over regulation and overtime. Montreal backup Charlie Lindgren, who made 33 saves and somehow stopped Claude Giroux late in overtime, wasn't too shabby either.