When the regular season ends, if the Flyers are somehow still playing and one of 16 teams in the playoffs, it is games like the one on Thursday that you can point to as the reason.
The Flyers faced the daunting task of playing from behind on the St. Louis Blues. The Blues entered the game with a 28-4-2 record when scoring first and a 25-1-2 record when leading after two periods.
The Flyers allowed the Blues to both score first and hold the lead after two periods.
But the third period belonged to the Flyers, who used gritty play to score two goals and add an empty-net goal to seal a huge win over another top team in the NHL.
"They're a big heavy team and they play the game the right way," Wayne Simmonds said. "I thought we did a good job keeping it simple. It worked out for us well obviously. We needed that really bad."
"I think our team played well all game," head coach Craig Berube said. "I didn't think there was any let down from the get-go. I think our team believes that we can come back. A lot of character in that room."
Simmonds scored the game-winning goal at 11:37 off a steal by Matt Read. Read held onto the puck as his teammates entered the zone before making a pass to Mark Streit. After maneuvering to the slot, Streit threw the puck toward the net and Simmonds was there for the deflection.
"Reader made a great delay play and obviously Streiter jumped up in the rush," Simmonds said. "I just went to the net. Nothing was set up."
Read assisted on Simmonds game-winning goal as well as Michael Del Zotto's game-tying goal at 9:47. Simmonds was put onto a line with Read and Sean Couturier, while Jake Voracek returned to the top line, midway through the second.
"I thought that line was really good tonight," Berube said of Read's line. "They skated well and did a good job against the Backes line."
In addition to scoring a big win, the Flyers had to do it with determination and will in a third-period that truly showed the character of the team. They will not die yet, as evidence by wins over playoff teams during the past few weeks. If not for the disallowed goal on Tuesday, that would have also been a third-period comeback win for the Flyers.
"Anytime we've been faced with a big challenge against one of the top teams in the league, we've responded well," Steve Mason said. "Tonight was another effort that overall the guys can be proud of."
On a night when heavy snow and treacherous roads kept many fans from attending the game, a sizeable crowd of 12,531 showed at Wells Fargo Center.
"The crowd was good," Berube said. "Them showing up and being there – the team appreciated it."
The Flyers face a treacherous road of their own, as they head off for two crucial road games over the weekend. The next may truly determine if they will have anything to play for as the season gets later into March.
The Flyers will go into Boston on Saturday trailing the Bruins by four points in the battle for the final playoff spot.
"I'm looking at beating Boston on Saturday and that's it," Berube said. "It's a huge game obviously, but they're all huge now. I don't really have to tell my team how big the game is. It's a big game against a team we're chasing."
"It's a four-point swing there," Simmonds said. "If we grab those two points from them, that's two more points that they can't get. We've got to be really prepared and start from the drop of the puck."
If the Flyers deliver three periods similar to the third period they played on Thursday, they could be one step closer to the playoffs by Saturday's end.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
