Flyers' power play finally starting to produce

General manager Chuck Fletcher said last week the Flyers’ power play had been “historically unlucky.”

Many of the Flyers agreed Monday, saying they have been getting the bounces lately.

Whether it’s luck, or creating that luck by crashing the net and getting more numbers in front, one thing is certain: the Flyers’ power play is starting to have a positive effect.

Finally.

After a 2-for-25 funk over their previous nine games, the Flyers were a combined 6-for-7 on the power play in comeback wins over Boston and Edmonton recently. The streak enabled their power play to move from 31st (last) in the NHL to 23rd heading into Monday’s 2-1 win against Vancouver.

“We were getting shots, but goalies were making saves,” right winger Wayne Simmonds said when asked about the power-play struggles for most of the season. “Now we’re bearing down and putting pucks in the back of the net.”

Center Sean Couturier said the team has been getting more pucks to the net recently, but “other than that, we’re just getting the bounces on our side.”

“We knew we were a better power play than what the stats show,” Couturier added before he scored a power-play goal in Monday’s win. “We got a few bounces the last few games and that was nice. Before, we didn’t seem to have those. We just have to keep it riding and build on it.”

For goalie Carter Hart, the honors keep coming.

Hart, 20, was named the NHL’s No. 2 star of the week Monday after going 3-0 with a 2.27 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in three games.

“I think it’s a byproduct of the level of hockey we’re playing,” Hart said Monday afternoon. “Things are starting to click for us and we’re finding more consistency in our game.”

Winnipeg center Jack Roslovic, who had five goals and an assist over four games, was the week’s No. 1 star.

A few days earlier, Hart was named the rookie of the month for January.

The Flyers won their 2,000th game in franchise history Monday, becoming the first team from the 1967-68 expansion to reach the milestone. They have 162 more wins than the next expansion-era team on the list, St. Louis. ... Claude Giroux moved into third place in franchise history in games played (791) Monday. ... Hart became the sixth Flyers goalie to receive a star of the week since the NHL started the award, joining Brian Elliott, Ilya Bryzgalov, Marty Biron, Michael Leighton, and Steve Mason. ... Scouts from Florida, Carolina, New Jersey, Boston, Vegas, Calgary, Montreal, and Detroit were at Monday’s game.