Monday's 1-0 shutout win for the Flyers over the Florida Panthers carried much more meaning than just being the first of the season for the Orange and Black.
In addition to being Dave Hakstol's first NHL victory, it was also the first where his system carried the Flyers to a win.
In two out of the team's three games thus far, improved neutral-zone play with a care on defense while being mindful of the situations in the offensive zone that can lead to goals.
Those situations, going to the dirty areas and winning puck battles and playing with high intensity, are what will eventually help the Flyers be successful offensively.
Even with a 1-1-1 record, the Flyers have just four goals on the season.
"It's hard to get to the net in this league," Hakstol said. "I think we have a good mentality in going to the net. One of the things we've seen is having two guys on top of the blue paint. We really want to have one guy there and one guy spread out a little bit."
That push for the net is how the Flyers managed their lone goal on Monday. But as the Flyers get ready to face some of the better teams in the league in the coming weeks, it will take a lot more than one goal to win. Hakstol's system is in place. The Flyers just need to operate it with consistency.
"Our mentality is the right way," Hakstol said. "It's just something we have to keep working on. We've got to keep going to those areas and get a greasy one every game."
As Wayne Simmonds noted on Tuesday, that 1-0 win is the type of game the Flyers lost last season. It just makes it all the more important to build on the win.
The Flyers struggled with consistency throughout the 2014-15 season. Even following Monday's win, Hakstol said how the Flyers played an inconsistent game in terms of defensive coverage during their 7-1 loss to Florida just two days earlier. It seems like consistency is the crucial point of every Flyers game and their season as a whole.
One of the keys to games in Hakstol's system is playing with high intensity in all zones. The Flyers attentiveness and active play defensively helped silence the Panthers. Limiting the opposing offense may be just as good as scoring goals, especially if they want to avoid a slow start while searching for an offensive formula that works.
"Any hockey game, it comes down to the players going out and playing with high intensity and making plays," Hakstol said. "I'm worried about our guys. Our guys did a good job of it and it took all 60 minutes, but this is a good win for our team."
It is a win they can build on, and will have to build on in order to avoid the slow start they can't afford to have.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
