Analysis: Why the Flyers Swept Round-Robin

It was no small feat for the Philadelphia Flyers to earn three straight regulation victories in the round-robin against the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning in order to claim the top overall seed in the Eastern Conference heading into the playoffs. In some ways, it seemed as if the team hardly skipped a beat after a four-and-a-half month schedule break in between the start of the NHL pause and the start of the round robin.

Of course, that was not the case. No team can simply pick up where it left off. There was a lot of forethought and preparation that went into the progression of training camp, the exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Penguins (a 3-2 overtime victory for Philadelphia) to the respective 4-1, 3-1, and 4-1 wins against Boston, Washington and Tampa.

Here are three keys to the Flyers' undefeated run in the round-robin and three areas the team will need to tighten up further in order to make a deep run in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

1. Outstanding Depth.

One of the biggest reasons why the Flyers teams of 2013-14, 2014-16 and 2017-18 were unable to advance beyond the first round (losing respectively to Alain Vigneault's New York Rangers in seven games, Barry Trotz's Washington Capitals in six games and Mike Sullivan's Pittsburgh Penguins in six games) was that the Flyers lacked depth both up front and on the blueline.

The current installment of the Flyers have strong depth not only within their starting 12 forwards and six defensemen but also among players competing for a lineup spot if someone else comes out. During the round-robin phase, the Flyers' depth players outperformed their counterparts on the other side.

In the opener against Boston, the Flyers got a goal and an assist from fourth-line left winger Michael Raffl and a goal from fourth line center Nate Thompson in building a 2-0 lead. Against Washington, much of the Flyers' dominance on faceoffs came from third-line center Derek Grant going 6-for-8 on draws and Thompson going 8-for-10. In the Tampa game, Nic Aube-Kubel opened the scoring on a third-line five-on-five shift and later scored another goal on a 2-on-1. Fourth-line right winger Tyler Pitlick scored an empty-netter to seal the win against the Bolts.

Additionally, Scott Laughton racked up three goals over the first two games and the Flyers got a goal apiece from defense partners Phil Myers (against Boston) and Travis Sanheim (against Washington).

When one player exited the lineup, another stepped up in his place. Raffl's lower-body injury in the third period of the Boston game created an opening for Farabee to get into the lineup on the third line. Jakub Voracek's unavailability for the Tampa game forced Vigneault to juggle lines, and place Farabee on the top line with Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux. Farabee responded with a goal and an assist.

Shayne Gostisbehere, who had an injury-plagued down season this year and was displaced in the starting lineup by Robert Hägg, had an excellent training camp to create competition for a third-pair spot. Given the chance to start against Tampa, "Ghost" had a pair of primary assists and continued to show off the restored mobility he has now that both of his knees feel better after arthroscopic surgeries in January and during the NHL pause.

James van Riemsdyk's play in the exhibition against Pittsburgh and the exhibition opener against Boston fell a bit short of Vigneault's expectations for the veteran goal-scoring winger. This partially factored into why JVR did not dress for the Washington game and why Connor Bunnaman was given an opportunity to play each of the final two games on fourth-line left wing.

Moving forward into the playoffs, the Flyers' depth is one of the big factors that can play into their favor. Attrition during the postseason is inevitable for every team, and there will also be games where the first and second lines are unable to get on the scoresheet.

2. Making opponents earn their goals.

Sean Couturier's line was relatively quiet from a production standpoint during the round-robin, but they shut down Boston's deadly Patrice Bergeron line in the opener (and dominated puck possession in the process). Likewise, the Flyers' kept the power-packed Capitals and Lightning attacks at bay by limiting the space and time they had to make plays.

The Flyers' blueline was very good during the majority of the round-robin, on both sides of the puck. Even when there was the odd mistake or bad shift, they bounced back the next time they hit the ice. Ivan Provorov and the Sanheim-Myers pairing were especially good in the first two games.

Philly's penalty kill, led by stellar work from Kevin Hayes, Laughton, Couturier, Thompson, Pitlick and the D corps, was outstanding in the round-robin in going 9-for-10 across the three games. The penalty kill wasn't just a stabilizer but was a momentum -creator in the first period of the opener against Boston, a 4-for-4 performance against the Caps and a vital third-period kill against Tampa with Provorov in the penalty box in a two-goal game.

Last but certainly not least, the Flyers received excellent goaltending from Carter Hart in the Boston and Tampa games and from Brian Elliott in between. None of the combined three goals against in the round-robin were of the type where a goalie realistically could have made the save. The Boston and Capitals goals were deflections (in the latter case, a double deflection) and Tyler Johnson's power play goal in the Tampa game was scored from the near slot.

3. Coaching experience and structure.

On a day-by-day basis during training camp, everything was mapped out with daily progression in mind; starting with conditioning, then pace, then systems refreshers and physical competitiveness. There was a bit of good fortune involved, too, in that the Flyers did not have any lengthy absences of players during camp.

Within the round-robin, Vigneault and his staff managed the matchups very well, even in the two games where the opponent had the last line change as the designated "home" team. Additionally, Vigneault's usual candor in assessing both individual execution and team performance remained firm over the course of camp, the exhibition and the round-robin. Everyone on the team understands that there is no time to rest on one's laurels.

As a head coach who has taken two teams to the Stanley Cup Finals, five-time Jack Adams finalist Vigneault has impressed upon his team that the stakes only get higher and higher. Continual improvement is the only way to handle the adversity that is part of any playoff run, and come out victorious on the other side.

Speaking of continual improvement, here are three areas where the Flyers will need to get better in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and, hopefully, beyond:

Power Play: At some point or another, the Flyers will probably need their power play to lift them to a couple victories within a series. Philly went 0-for-11 in the round robin, and struggled in particular in going 0-for-6 against Washington. In the Tampa game, they coughed up a shorthanded breakway to Alex Killorn and were bailed out by Hart.

First-line scoring: None among Couturier (who did have a pair of assists in the Tampa game), Giroux or Voracek scored a goal in the round-robin. The second line had a big game against Washington (two goals for Laughton, three assists for Hayes, two assists for Konecny) and more of that will be needed. It's a big help to get goals from the bottom-six and the defense corps but, at some point, a team's top offensive players need to convert their chances if the team is to get enough goals to win a series.

Close-outs: It's not uncommon for a team trailing in the third period, especially by two goals, to heavily press opponents on the forecheck in an effort to climb back on the scoreboard. Although the Flyers never relinquished a lead in any of the three games, they have room for improvement over the latter part of the third period against Boston and about 12 minutes out of the third period against Tampa; being a little more efficient when there are clearing opportunities and chances for controlled exits from the defensive zone. The third period against Washington, where the Caps were held to a mere four shots, was a good example of not giving a trailing team even a sniff at a potential comeback.