VOORHEES, N.J. – The NHL standings might suggest the Flyers are more pretenders than contenders, but don’t try telling that to the players.
Of the ones surveyed after Saturday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center, to a man they believe they can somehow make some noise when the second half of the season begins later this upcoming week.
A four-game winning streak, albeit three of those victories against non-playoff aspirants, has given Philadelphia a belief it can cause some trouble the last few months of the current campaign.
But now comes a much more challenging and, perhaps, telling test in a stretch of games which includes Sunday night’s game at Toronto, followed by encounters against Buffalo, Washington (twice) and Boston.
If the Flyers, now back to within two games of .500 (15-17-7), can somehow survive this gauntlet, the confidence level might get even higher.
Although December’s schedule wasn’t exactly killer caliber, Joel Farabee pointed out November’s was no cupcake. That included games against Boston, Toronto, Dallas, Washington, Pittsburgh and the Rangers.
“We played a lot of good teams,’’ Farabee said. “Sometimes you can lose a few games and get a little stagnant but we feel really good (now) coming off the West Coast trip. I think it’s the first time in franchise history we ever swept it.
“There’s definitely a good feeling in the room. This last game we went down 1-0 and I don’t think anybody panicked. We were in full control even though we were down.’’
In their most recent showdowns with Washington and Toronto, the Flyers have been it right to the end, losing to the Capitals in overtime on Nov. 23 and to the Maple Leafs by a single goal on Dec. 22.
“You want to put yourself up against the best teams in the league,’’ Farabee said. “You want to show what you can do against those guys. These games are crucial to where we want to go to.’’
Last year’s team theme was “Something to Prove.’’ This year’s theme might be best summed up as “Proving the Doubters Wrong.’’
“Even just going on Twitter and stuff like that, a lot of people have counted us out already,’’ Farabee said. “I don’t think anyone in the room thinks that.’’
James van Riemsdyk has played in the NHL for the better part of 15 years. He knows when a team feels justified to be considered more than just an also-ran.
“As we’ve gone on here, especially in the last little while, it seems like we’ve been right there in games,’’ he said. “We just haven’t made the plays to push ourselves over the edge as far as finding ways to win.
“Recently we’ve done that. We’ve had some good results and gotten some confidence building that way. We’ll just keep riding that out, keep doing what we’re doing.’’
As for wins against San Jose, Anaheim and Arizona, van Riemsdyk said no opponent is necessarily a pushover.
“It’s a hard league to win in, no matter what,’’ he said. “Anytime you can win games and piece them together, that’s a good thing. Obviously we know who’s coming up here. We know they’re going to be challenging games.’’
The mood in the locker room after Saturday’s practice was downright playful. Someone (possibly Scott Laughton) got in the room early and decided to switch the nameplates on several players’ lockers, including those of Travis Konecny, Justin Braun, Patrick Brown and Travis Sanheim.
“You build some confidence when you’re able to get some results,’’ JVR said. “It brings some life into the room. We’re just continuing to take it one day at a time and then see where we can take it.’’
Brown took the locker “switch’’ with good humor. The atmosphere feels a bit looser and there’s a sense that players go into a game believing they can win rather than just hoping.
“There’s always been belief,’’ Brown said. “I think our game has started to come together. You can see it, especially in the third period of the last game. We had all four lines rolling and getting pucks deep.
“That was something we struggled with to start the year. But we’re playing situationally smart hockey. Now we’re holding on and closing out games.’’
Coach John Tortorella has declined to put much emphasis on wins and losses or placement in the standings. He says this season is more about developing players and evaluating talent heading into next year.
“For me, all year long, it’s evaluating players,’’ he said. “I think there are going to be some very important decisions at the end of the season.’’
If the Flyers somehow were to continue this run of success, it might make Tortorella’s evaluation plan a bit easier.
“If we’re six or seven games over .500 and we’re in the middle of the battle of the Metro (Division), I do think there’s more information there,’’ he said. “I don’t want to minimize (winning). . .when you play a game, you play to win. I think there’s pressure to do that.
“But I’m not going to sit here, with us being two games under (.500) and the climb that we have – to think we’re going to see those types of situations.’’
The last time the Flyers finished a season with a bang came at the end of the 2019-20 campaign when the Flyers won nine straight games before the start of the pandemic. There are a number of players from that team still playing for the Flyers.
“I hope we put ourselves in a spot where we’re sniffing (at a playoff spot),’’ Tortorella said. “Then you do react in those types of situations. The more important the games are, the more information you get.’’
