So far this season, the Flyers have shown they are capable of playing very well against the better clubs in the NHL, just as they were last season.
Five of six points from Tampa Bay, Chicago and the Rangers are proof of that.
Yet the Flyers were pretty good last season against playoff clubs, like those above.
It was the dregs of the NHL that caused the Flyers issues. They were 14-15-9 overall against non-playoff opponents (at the time of play).
Even more relevant, they were 0-7-5 against such clubs down the stretch when the Flyers were trying to scratch out a wild-card berth and failed.
The Buffalo Sabres come into the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday very much resembling a non-playoff opponent (again) while the Flyers are coming off an emotional shootout victory over the Rangers.
This week will offer a very good indication whether the Flyers really are any different under Dave Hakstol than they were under Craig Berube with two games against Buffalo and one against New Jersey, two lesser clubs that the Flyers have struggled in recent years to earn points against.
Just don’t try selling that, "playing down to your opponent theory" to Hakstol.
“You focus on the right things,” he said. “I don’t want to guard, so to speak. I want to know what the opportunity is and what we have to do from our perspective to do well and take advantage of that.
“That is the mindset in front of us. What do we need to do to go out and get that job done.”
Forget last season, he said. Past history doesn’t count.
“It’s important to know where you are coming from,” Hakstol said. “It’s important to know where you are. The combination of those things allow you to get where you want to be. We know about the past.
“It’s just not something we need to talk about or discuss. It’s definitely not something that we’re going to dwell on. It’s about the present and what you have to do to be successful right now.”
Buffalo is eighth in the Atlantic Division, yet has a nice core group of younger players, including Ryan O’Reilly and last year’s No. 2 overall pick in the NHL draft, Jack Eichel, who is no stranger to Hakstol.
When Hakstol was at North Dakota, he coached against Eichel’s Boston University Terriers during last April’s Frozen Four.
BU won, 5-3 in Boston. Eichel scored two goals and added an assist.
“He’s impressive,” Hakstol said of Eichel, who has three goals for Buffalo this season. “A very impressive young player. He is very dynamic with the puck.
“With the puck, he plays faster than he does without the puck. He has tremendous acceleration to his game. Very good maturity to his game for a young guy.”
Asked about that UND-BU game, in general, Hakstol replied, “Ended our season.”
Long time coming
According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Flyers’ 48 shots Saturday against the Rangers are the most they’ve had against them since April 6, 1978, when they had 50 shots in a 3-0 win at the Spectrum. Seventeen of the Flyers’ 18 skaters registered at least one shot. The only player who didn’t get a shot was Brandon Manning.
Loose pucks
Claude Giroux’s shootout winner against the Rangers was his 19th overall in 53 attempts (35.8 percent), while Sam Gagner scored his 20th career goal in 63 attempts. Gagner and Giroux are both 2 for 3 against Henrik Lundqvist in shootouts. ... Sean Couturier, who took a head shot from Zac Rinaldo in Boston, has not skated since last Friday. He appears to be concussed which is not surprising, given the incident. ... The Flyers' lines and defense pairings were the same on Monday. That implies both Vinny Lecavalier and Luke Schenn will be healthy scratches against Buffalo. ... Goalie Michal Neuvirth took practice but remains on IR till Thursday. This is a salary cap move because Jason LaBarbera is here and will back up Steve Mason.