Flyers find their way back into playoff race

PHILADELPHIA-- Three weeks ago, the Philadelphia Flyers might have found a way to lose this game.
Lately, though, they've been figuring out how to end up on the other side of that thin line and have climbed within striking distance of a Stanley Cup Playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

After two sloppy periods, the Flyers dominated the Detroit Red Wings in the third to pull out a 4-3 win at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.
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The Flyers trailed 2-1 and 3-2 in the second period but took the lead when Sean Couturier scored 5:57 into the third. Sure, the Red Wings looked tired after winning Tuesday against the New York Islanders. But the way the Flyers finished the game, holding the Red Wings to four shots on goal in the third period, has them feeling pretty good heading into their final two games before the Christmas break.
"When you get a little bit of momentum, that's a big difference-maker, and I think that's what we've been able to push towards here in this last stretch," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "It's a very slight difference, but it makes all the difference in the world."

The difference has shown in the results for Flyers, who are 15-12-7. Since losing 10 in a row (five after regulation) from Nov. 11 to Dec. 2, they've won seven of their past eight. They've jumped from eight points back to within two of the Islanders for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
That doesn't seem nearly as daunting.
"There's a lot of hockey left to play. We know that," said Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who had three assists Wednesday. "So we can't be looking at the standings [and] be like, 'We've got to win the next one.' It's about building your game. When we were six or eight points off a playoff spot, we just went game by game and just focused on how we can build and keep getting better as a team."
The Flyers were 8-11-7 following a 3-0 loss at the Boston Bruins on Dec. 2 that pushed the losing streak to 10. During a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 28, Wells Fargo Center was filled with chants of "Fire Hakstol!"
But general manager Ron Hextall stood by his coach, stating firmly during an interview on NBC Sports Philadelphia's "Philly Sports Talk" on Nov. 29, "Dave Hakstol is our coach and he's going to remain our coach."
The Flyers players were well aware of the changes that can come from a losing streak like the one they were going through, but they took some confidence in the belief Hextall showed in their coach and in them. A 5-2 win at the Calgary Flames on Dec. 4 shifted their negative energy in the other direction and started a six-game winning streak.

"In this league, even in this city, the pressure of winning is everything," goaltender Brian Elliott said. "It comes down to a business sometimes. I think from top to bottom we did a good job of just keeping everything internal and focusing on what we need to change things around. We talked it out and we changed some things systematically, and we had that belief throughout the whole organization that we can do it."
The Flyers are determined to not let the momentum shift back the other way. They learned a tough lesson last season about how a team can lose focus after a winning streak.
They were 19-10-3 with 41 points after a 4-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 14 last season that pushed their winning streak to 10 games. They were third in the Metropolitan Division but went 1-5-2 in their next eight games and never got back on track, finishing 39-33-10 and missing the playoffs by eight points.
"I think we maybe got a little bit complacent after those 10 games, kind of got away from what was making us successful," defenseman Andrew MacDonald said. "Sometimes when it comes off the rails, it's kind of tough to put it back on. We found that out the hard way last year and we certainly don't want that to happen again."
The Flyers were the first team in NHL history to fail to qualify for the playoffs in a season when they had a winning streak of at least 10 games. Now they're trying to make the playoffs during a season when they lost 10 in a row.
The 2009-10 Boston Bruins were the last team to qualify for the playoffs in a season when they went at least 10 games without a win, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

It won't be easy in the Metropolitan Division, where the Flyers are tied for sixth place with the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who have played one more game. Last season, it took 95 points to qualify for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and it appears the number will be similar this season.
The Flyers are on pace to finish with 89 points.
"In terms of the playoff race, you can make a pretty good prediction of a number you have to get to in terms of points," Hakstol said. "We've kept the focus on ourselves. We know where we're at. It's important to know where you're at and where you need to get to, but you still have to have that shorter-term focus [on] the small areas you can get better in, and, most importantly, the things you can do to gain points in any one game. It really comes down to that."