The road has been kind to the Flyers this season and that could explain why they feel confident going into Saturday’s almost must-win game at Winnipeg.
The Flyers, coming off a 6-3 defeat at Detroit on Thursday night, have not lost consecutive games away from home since Jan. 28-29 when they fell to Columbus and Boston respectively.
Overall, the Flyers are 22-14-4 on the road and just 18-13-8 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The Flyers find themselves one point up on the New York Islanders for the third and final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. Each has three games to play, so the importance of each outcome speaks for itself.
Philadelphia is trying to end a franchise record-tying five straight seasons out of the playoffs.
Winnipeg is 19-14-6 at home so this game will not be a pushover. The Jets are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot in the Western Conference but basically they’re going to have to run the table and look for some help.
Following the Jets tussle, the Flyers finish up with two home games – Monday vs. Carolina and Tuesday vs. Montreal.
Flyers captain Sean Couturier wants his team to get back to what it was doing on the road when it ran off eight straight victories, tying a franchise record.
“Even a few weeks ago there were teams ahead of us,” he said after Friday’s practice in Winnipeg. “We still control our destiny. All year long we’ve believed in this group and we still do.”
These are the kinds of games where teams rely on their leadership. Couturier, along with alternate captains Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny, will play big roles in these final three games over a short four-day span.
“You can tell games are starting to change, it’s a lot tighter out there,” Couturier said. “Scoring chances are harder to get. Less room out there. Every play can make a difference.”
Aside from the Detroit loss, the Flyers’ defense has improved greatly over the past month. They’ve among the league leaders in fewest goals allowed as well as limiting shots.
“We know how we want to play,” Couturier said. “We believe in the way we play. We’ve got to get back to it. On five-on-five we’re a really good team. We have to be a little more disciplined, obviously.”
One thing the Flyers have to guard against is any more subpar penalty kill work. The PK was definitely off against the Red Wings, surrendering three goals, which was the difference in the game.
Coach Rick Tocchet indicated corrections have to be made.
“(We’re) not pressuring hard enough,” he said. “We didn’t get it out a couple times. Those are the killers in the PK. It’s no different when you’re in the playoffs. You lose a game, it’s a war of attrition. You have to be ready for the next game.”
And that game just happens to be against the Winnipeg Jets.
>Short shots
Porter Martone recorded his second multi-point (goal, assist) game on Thursday in Detroit. He’s one of only five Flyer rookies in the past 40 years to achieve that. The others: Eric Lindros, Mike Richards, Tyson Foerster and James van Riemsdyk.
Trevor Zegras recorded his 66th point of the season in the Detroit game, a career high. He had 65 while playing for Anaheim in 2022-23. Since March 31, Zegras and Martone are one-two in Flyers’ scoring with seven and six points respectively.
Also from the Zegras files: His two goals in the first 3:38 of the win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night were the second-fastest in team history. The fastest pair were scored by Brian Propp in just 1:58 on Feb. 27, 1982.
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