It's led to an increase in 5-on-5 goals per game to 1.79 from 1.56 last season and they're on pace for 146 5-on-5 goals, up from the 128 they had last season, which was tied for the fourth-fewest in the NHL.
The mix of centers also is almost evenly split between left-handed (Couturier, Filppula, Raffl, Laughton, Lehtera) and right-handed (Giroux, Konecny, Patrick, Weal), which has allowed the Flyers to have the best odds of keeping a center on his strong side.
"Especially with [Giroux] being a righty, that helps a lot," Couturier said. "He can take a lot of face-offs on the right side. On the left we have me, [Laughton and Filppula], a few other guys that can take draws. … Lot of guys with strong sticks and strong on face-offs. It's obviously is a big part of our team."
If the Flyers can find a level of all-around consistency similar to their face-off success, it could go a long way toward them returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing it last season.
"We are aware it's a big part of the game," Filppula said. "It's more fun to start with the puck than chase it. If you can get it form the face-off that's a big advantage."