Unity, Togetherness, Connected However You Want To Say It, The Flyers Are It
If someone told you the Philadelphia Flyers would be 1-point out of 1st place in the Metro with 16 games remaining at the beginning of the season, you would have thought they were crazy. Well, crazy enough. That is exactly where the Flyers sit.
With 16 games remaining, the Flyers, 39-20-7, sit just 1-point behind the Washington Capitals for 1st place in the Metro Division. A division normally led & won by teams with a superstar. Someone who the team relies on every night.
Washington led by Alex Ovechkin. Pittsburgh led by Sidney Crosby. But, for the Flyers, there is not that one sole superstar to go to on a nightly basis on the team.
Their rise in the Metro Division hasn’t been from just one person. Their rise has been together, as an unit. Every night it is someone different. A philosophy that the team has taken very well too.
“Everyone’s buying into the system and we’re putting together good 60-minute efforts. It’s been fun, honestly,” Kevin Hayes said “It’s fun to come to the rink everyday.”
In his first year behind the bench of the Flyers, Alain Vigneault has the rooms attention & they are listening. Vigneault doesn’t demand perfection. But, Vigneault demands you give it your all every night on every shift.
It isn’t easy when a new coach comes in. Normally first seasons under a new head coach aren’t always this great. But, the Flyers have come together and are buying into Alain Vigneault’s system & it is paying off big time.
“The boys are rolling and we’re playing for each other” Ivan Provorov said. “Everyone’s giving 100%.”
Playing for each other is just what the Flyers couldn’t do last season under Dave Hakstol.
Countless times early on last season, the Flyers were caught playing for themselves. Not as a team. Dave Hakstol’s inability to reunite the room is one of the very reasons why a big organizational change was made.
“I think it’s everybody supporting each other. We sound like a broken record, but when you’re playing good hockey, you’re doing the same thing consistently on a nightly basis” Brian Elliott said.
With the Flyers, you know exactly what you are going to get on a nightly basis. A team that battles hard in the corners, will wear you down, & will capitalize on your mistakes.
Just look at the Flyers current 7-game winning streak.
On their season long 7-game winning streak, the Flyers have been dominant to say the least. Flyers have scored 4+ goals in all 7-games, have a power-play goal in 6 of the 7, & have outscored their opponents 32-15 over the streak.
“They’ve been some hard-fought games here,” Alain Vigneault said. “These are games for men and guys are battling hard on both sides. Not a lot of friendship going on the ice. We played hard against them and we were able to come out on the right side.”
How-ever you want to say it, this Flyers team is something special. Special in a way that everyone in the room knows their role, plays their role, & will do anything possible on a nightly basis to win.
With a 16-4-1 record since 1/10, the Flyers are the hottest team in the NHL right now. This team is united, together, & fighting hard. Three things that are proving to be hard to beat right now.