Postgame Perspective: Defense carries Flyers to 1st win

If the Flyers could take one lesson from a 7-1 loss in Florida on Saturday, it was that they could not rely on a goaltender to bail them out time and time again in games. Defensively, they would need to make plays at every part of the ice.

In Monday night's season opener, the team that helped stifle the Tampa Bay Lightning for 60 minutes pitched a shutout against the Florida Panthers. 

There were times when it wasn't pretty, but for the Flyers, it was a much-needed first win that they had to claw out from start to finish.

"It's little things. It's a game of inches sometimes," head coach Dave Hakstol said. "Saturday not a lot went right. We were a foot or two off of some plays on Saturday. Tonight, we were in good position. We were pretty scrappy."

The Flyers were forced to be ready defensively early when Michael Raffl was handed a four-minute penalty for high-sticking just 1:17 into the game. The same penalty kill that allowed three power play goals to the Panthers on Saturday barely allowed that many shots on the Panthers six power play opportunities.

"Saturday we were inconsistent [in front of the net]," Hakstol said. "We did a lot of good but we had holes. Those guys are always going to make some plays and they did, but we did a good job defending some of the high end plays. I think we had a lot of traffic in the critical area in our own zone all night long."

Michal Neuvirth, who was the team's star stopping all 31 shots, also credited the defense for so many blocked shots. The Flyers had 17 blocked shots in the win.

"I thought I had a good pre-game skate and I think the last game helped me a lot. I was coming into the game relaxed," Neuvirth said. "The guys did an awesome job. Great sticks, so many blocked shots, great team effort."

The lone goal for the Flyers came moments after the first penalty kill of the game. Sam Gagner's hard charge to the net set up a rebound for Brayden Schenn.

"We were trying to play with a lot of pace and get pucks to the net," Gagner said. "We did it that shift and got rewarded with a goal."

The 7-1 loss in Florida prompted a team meeting by the leadership group. The main focal point of that meeting: don't hit the panic button and forget the past. In their next trip to the ice, the Flyers produced a win they can build on moving forward.

"One of the reasons we had the meeting was because of our past. We'd get a couple losses, we would get off track and we would change the whole mindset of the game," Claude Giroux said. "I think the whole thing was to get everyone to relax and not hit the panic button right away. I think guys came to the rink tonight ready to play and it's great to have that first win of the year."

Behind a raucous crowd, which will surely be back on Wednesday for the Flyers second home game of the season, the Flyers delivered their first win and best game out of the three. The crowd's energy helped fuel the team's energy, leading to a 60-minute defensive effort.

"The fans were awesome," Neuvirth said. "They were one of the big factors [to why] we won tonight."

"It was everything that we thought it would be," Hakstol said. "That's something our group can feed off. We went out and had a good first shift right off the introductions and the energy was there all the way through the final buzzer."

It was the energy the Flyers had spent so much time looking for. Offensively, the one goal will often times not be enough. But defensively, it was the Flyers best game in a long time, making Monday's win all the more monumental as the team continues to grow under Hakstol's new system.

And for Hakstol, it is the first of what he hopes will be many more wins to come.

"Winning's what we're here for," Hakstol said. "It took us three games, but we've really liked our performance in two out of three games. It's one win and it's back to work tomorrow."

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.