With a 4th straight win against the Flames, the Flyers matched their longest winning streak of the season
The Flyers celebrate after Scott Hartnell scored the game-winning goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Flames. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
The Olympic break is a blessing and a curse for the Philadelphia Flyers. They spent the final few minutes of Saturday's 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames playing with four defenseman. Some time off will help heal the wounds of a tough road trip and 18 games since the start of 2014.
But the Flyers are also riding one of their hottest stretches of the season. They have won four straight games, five of their last six and erased a 2-5-2 stretch from the middle of January.
How good have the Flyers been in that time? They were able to sub Andrej Meszaros into the lineup for Erik Gustafsson in the midst of winning ways. Meszaros had an assist in the win after being a healthy scratch for the last three games.
The line of Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and Vincent Lecavalier played another strong game. Schenn got the only goal from the line. Simmonds also added an assist.
"Before and after, I had quite a few opportunities – not just me but the whole line," Schenn said. "We feel like we've been getting chances as of late and they weren't going in. It's nice to get one."
Claude Giroux assisted on a goal for Scott Hartnell, marking four straight games with points for the Flyers captain. Giroux will get a break after being passed over for the second time by Team Canada. Giroux spoke about the Olympics following the win.
"I'm trying to not concentrate on that and enjoy the break a bit," Giroux said. "Mentally kind of relax and make sure I'm ready for the second half. It's going to be a tight race to the playoffs so it's important for us to go until the end of the season."
Giroux also said that he probably will watch the Olympics and hopes Team Canada can win in Sochi.
Before anything happens in Sochi, the Flyers finished the pre-Olympic stretch with another strong game. The 2-1 win over the Flames moved the Flyers to third in the Metropolitan Division. The four-game winning streak matched the Flyers longest of the season. The Flyers had won four straight games after beating the Flames on Dec. 31.
"We're just staying with the system," Giroux said. "We're winning a lot of battles. That was one thing before the road trip, make sure we win more battles and work more together."
"We knew this was going to happen," Schenn said of the break. "It's up to us to keep in shape so when we come back we're ready to go again."
The Flyers now get almost three weeks off before their next game. They will play five games in 10 days starting with the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 27.
"You're on a roll so you want to keep playing," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Like I said before, it is what it is. Everybody's in the same boat. There's nothing we can do about so you just have to work around it."
This is also a good time for the Flyers to evaluate where they are. With 23 games remaining, including 14 at home, the Flyers will be put to the test after the break, facing many teams in front of them. That includes three meetings with the Pittsburgh Penguins, two with the New York Rangers and two with the Boston Bruins.
The final 23 games also feature six games against Western Conference teams, including a pair against the St. Louis Blues. The Flyers will also face the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings in addition to their first game back from the break against the Sharks.
Having 14 games at home doesn't give the Flyers any advantage. Despite a 16-10-1 record at Wells Fargo Center, Berube doesn't think it makes an impact on the future schedule of the team.
"I don't think it does at all," Berube said. "When you start thinking that way, you're looking for trouble. Home or road, in this league, you've got to be ready to go. Teams are going to come in here looking for points. It will be tough. We've got to be ready. We've got to play hard and we have to be sharp every night."
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
