Flyers-Predators: Postgame Points

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

What a week it has been for the Flyers. They started off with a solid win in Anthony Stolarz's debut. Then came the two points Steve Mason stole against Boston. Then the comeback overtime win in Ottawa. Then a total team effort against Chicago on Saturday. 

Five games in eight days, including a weekend back-to-back, came complete in Nashville on Sunday as the Flyers claimed their fifth straight win with a gutsy effort against the Predators.

Here are 10 Postgame Points from another Flyers win.

  1. The five-game winning streak is the Flyers longest since March 2014 when the Flyers won five straight in their push to make the playoffs in the 2013-14 season. It's been almost three years since we've seen the Flyers string together wins like this and to have it come while it's still the first half of the season.
  2. This was another game where Steve Mason had to be really good to get the Flyers to the finish line. Mason has been so much better since Michal Neuvirth was forced out with injury and he's been the regular starter. In the four games Mason has won on the five-game win streak, he has a .945 save percentage.
  3. Good for the Flyers power play to get back on the board. After two games where power-play chances kept going by the wayside, the Flyers were 2-for-5 on the power play. In the previous six games, the Flyers power play was 2-for-22.
  4. Even with two power-play goals, the Flyers had one of those crucial man-advantage opportunities go by the wayside. A four-minute high sticking penalty to Filip Forsberg gave the Flyers extended power-play time to just extend the lead. The Flyers eventually turned it on and got a few scoring chances in the final two minutes, but the first two were disorganized. It almost cost the Flyers too, as they had to cling to the one-goal lead for the entire third period.
  5. Both of those power-play goals came from Wayne Simmonds. Simmonds had gone three games without a goal, but the pair on Sunday brought his season total to 13. One season after setting a new career-high with 32 goals, he's going to be in the range of 40 goals this season at this rate.
  6. Simmonds is also ranking among the top scorers in the league. The 13 goals are tied for second and his 24 points are tied for ninth in the NHL. Simmonds isn't just the Flyers top dog when it comes to getting points. He's right up there with the best in the NHL.
  7. What a play by Michael Raffl on the eventual game-winning goal late in the second period. The Predators have some strong defensemen and two of them were on the ice for Raffl's goal in Mattias Ekholm and P.K. Subban. Raffl powered his way to the net right around Ekholm and stuffed it in for the goal. It was reminiscent of the goal he scored against Detroit last March. Raffl has certainly been a different player since joining the top line and may be the best fit with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek of anyone on the team for that top line.
  8. Right before Chris VandeVelde sealed the game with an empty-net goal, Mike Ribiero had an open look to score the game-tying goal. Ivan Provorov dropped to the ice and blocked the shot. The plays the 19-year-old rookie is making right now are so impressive and a sign of how much he's learning and adjusting to the NHL level.
  9. This weekend marked the Flyers seventh back-to-back this season. In the first game of back-to-backs, the Flyers have a 4-3-0 record. In the second game, they are 5-1-1. It's been a brutal schedule for the Flyers, but they've handled themselves well in these back-to-backs.
  10. This weekend was dads weekend for the Flyers, as several of the players' dads traveled with the team to Nashville after attending the home game against Chicago on Saturday. What a weekend it was for them as well. To watch their sons put together quite possibly the best weekend of the season for the Flyers to this point had to be an extra special experience.

Bottom Line

Eight days ago when this five-game win streak started, the Flyers had just come off back-to-back regulation losses and losses in three of their last four games. The Flyers were 9-10-3 at that point and every time they looked to be on the path to moving forward with momentum, they got another tough loss that changed the tune.

It's fitting that the Flyers extended the streak to five in Music City, because they have been humming along. The streak has moved the Flyers into the first wildcard spot. 

The Flyers schedule still doesn't lighten up with four games coming in the next week starting on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, where they'll have a chance to stretch their win streak to six.

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