For the past several weeks, the Flyers have consistently stated that they believed they could still be a playoff team. All the while, they were inconsistent in trying to prove it.
Sunday night, they proved they certainly have life in the race.
The Flyers followed a dominant win on Saturday in Toronto with a dramatic 4-3 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets, starting an eight-game road trip with two wins.
But it was the players who contributed to Sunday's win that made it that much more important to the Flyers comeback effort. Vincent Lecavalier scored twice. The fourth line fueled the comeback. Rob Zepp made his debut in goal and made 25 saves, including what his teammates would call a game saver.
"He did some big saves to keep us in the game," Claude Giroux said. "He worked so hard to be here; his work ethic is unbelievable. There’s nobody who deserves it more than him. We’re really happy for him and wanted to get that win for him."
Zepp was the reason the Flyers were even still in the game. In addition to his huge save, a skate stop on Mark Scheifele in the closing seconds of the second period, the Flyers were getting vastly out-played through the first 40 minutes, out-shot 26-13. In the third, the Flyers found another gear and took to the aggressive offense they had in Toronto.
"In the third we started competing and playing hard," head coach Craig Berube said. "We didn’t play hard enough the first two periods. We were aggressive and competed hard.
"He handled himself well. That’s a tough rink to come into, especially for a guy who hasn’t played in the NHL. We ended up getting the first goal out of it, but we were on our heels and he did a good job."
Perhaps the only blemish in the first two games on the road trip are the early deficits the Flyers have faced. They stacked the odds against them on Saturday by allowing the first goal – Toronto was 14-0-0 when scoring first before Saturday. Before Sunday's loss, Winnipeg had a 12-1-3 record when leading after two periods.
Leading the charge was a huge period for the fourth line. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Chris VandeVelde were instrumental in setting up both goals in the period. But it was Lecavalier, who had gone 14 games without a goal, that got the Flyers back into the game on the scoreboard.
"The last three games, we got a lot of chances and opportunities but things really didn’t go in," Lecavalier said. "Sometimes you get a lucky goal off your shin pad and it goes in and it kind of gets your confidence up. To get one, it gets the confidence up and your next shift out there, you kind of feel better and see your vision is better."
And then, as he did to start the game, Jake Voracek wasted no time ending it in overtime, finishing a great forechecking play by Giroux to give the Flyers another win.
So the Flyers road trip rolls on as they play one more game before going home for a holiday break. If the first two games are any indication, the Flyers are starting to rally around each other. That's something the NHL's points leader thinks has them on the right track.
"We skated very well in the third period and were on them and got a good forecheck and opportunities," Voracek said. "And Vinny had a good game, which was good to see. It showed our chemistry, that we were able to come back and win again. It’s a huge win."
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
