Following their 3-2 shootout win over the New York Rangers on Oct. 24, the Philadelphia Flyers were presented with an interesting opportunity. Their record stood at 4-2-1, and they were set to close out their October slate of games with three matchups against the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils.
Surely, three matchups against those two lonely opponents would bode well for the Flyers, right? The prospect of finishing October with a 7-2-1 record was quite plausible, which would have been their first seven-win October since the 2007-08 season.
Could have, should have, would have.
The Flyers ultimately sputtered in those three games. They managed just one point (from Tuesday's overtime loss to the Sabres), and were outscored 11-5. One thing they did manage to do consistently, however, was take penalties.
In total, the Orange and Black deployed their power play units a total of 13 times over those three games. Respectably, two of those penalty kills came in the first game against the Sabres, but 11 penalties were taken between the Devils and the second Sabres matchup.
That lack of discipline ultimately falls on Dave Hakstol. One of hockey's universal truths is that you can't win by taking penalties all game long. Even for the most bend-but-don't-break of penalty kills, that amount of penalties taken hampers puck possession — which is a premium in today's advanced stat-oriented game.
Hakstol is still working on implementing his system, and of course, the Flyers roster isn't expected to have fully developed it yet. While they have made some strides over their first 10 games, there is no mastery of it yet. No matter how much progress is made, a staggering lack of discipline will counter-balance the work that has been done.
Also troubling is the 42 times that the Flyers were shorthanded this season, tying them with St. Louis for fifth-most in the league. They've killed off 76.2 percent of those penalties (32 total) for the league's 23rd-ranked penalty kill.
The simplest of math determines that the Orange and Black have yielded 10 power play goals so far, which averages out evenly to one per game. It may not sound like much, but to put that in perspective, that ties the Flyers with Florida and Toronto for second-most in the league.
Not only do the Flyers lack discipline, but they do not have a sufficient penalty kill to compensate for it. That ultimately falls on Ian Laperriere's shoulders — he's been in charge of the penalty kill since assuming assistant coach duties in 2013-14.
Hakstol's system is continuing to develop, and the players are starting to acclimate as we cross the one-month mark of the season. There are plenty of little things that are being hammered out, and they are all part of something bigger and more elaborate.
But as Hakstol continues to emphasize smaller details, one thing that cannot be ignored is discipline. A team simply cannot sustain winning without discipline, and can't possess the puck by spending so much time in the box.
Discipline has been a critical issue for the Flyers in their first 10 games, and they don't even have a decent penalty kill to counteract that. It's up to Dave Hakstol to emphasize that disciplined approach, and supplement it with the other aspect of his system.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
