Philadelphia Flyers’ success is no surprise to them

Joel Farabee did not perceive the negativity.

As he walked into Philadelphia Flyers coaching camp final September, he noticed a locker room that had turn into much more tight-knit over the summer season. He noticed key gamers like heart Sean Couturier, now their captain, and winger Cam Atkinson lastly wholesome once more. He noticed a coach in John Tortorella who demanded effort each recreation — the final man you’d anticipate to lord over a last-place season.

But the Flyers had been successfully counted out in preseason predictions. Their .457 factors proportion in 2022-23 was seen as a harbinger of tough seasons to return. And it wasn’t coming simply from media or followers: Crew administration had candidly communicated that the Flyers have been rebuilding and never a Stanley Cup contender this season.

However that is not what Farabee noticed earlier than the season. That is not what a whole lot of his teammates noticed both. They usually weren’t completely happy about what they felt was disrespect from the remainder of the NHL.

“We simply got here in with that F.U. perspective,” Farabee informed ESPN. “Simply seeing all of the media, and everybody else, having us within the backside 5 or backside three within the league, no matter it was, I feel it simply fueled a fireplace and motivated us to stay it the doubters.”

By means of 57 video games, the doubters have been caught. The Flyers are third within the Metro Division with a 30-20-7 file (67 factors), attempting to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the primary time since 2020. As an alternative of tabulating their lottery odds, as many anticipated, it is their playoff odds which are getting essentially the most consideration: a 76.8% likelihood of creating the lower as of Thursday, in accordance with Stathletes.

“There was a chip on our shoulder from the start of the 12 months. Folks have been all the time saying that we have been alleged to be one of many worst groups within the league,” defenseman Sean Walker stated. “As soon as we began to win some video games, we felt like we may very well be profitable this 12 months. After which we began really doing it.”

TO A MAN, the Flyers say that coaching camp was the place the assumption began. The staff had misplaced a couple of veteran gamers within the offseason, together with trades that shipped out heart Kevin Hayes and defenseman Ivan Provorov. Expectations have been low for what was seen as a rebuilding marketing campaign.

However Tortorella believed they may very well be higher than that, and it began with staff chemistry.

“For me crucial a part of our summer season prior [to the season] was our locker room. You would see early on that our locker room was collectively,” he stated. “It is simply one thing you are feeling. It is laborious to clarify the way you see it. There is not any analytic for it. It is simply your intestine and the way you watch how they act.”

It is one thing veteran defenseman Marc Staal skilled as one in all a handful of latest faces on the Flyers this season, signing in Philadelphia after serving to the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Ultimate.

“Once I acquired right here, guys already had a extremely good tradition and an excellent room and everybody enjoys one another’s firm,” he stated. “We’re capable of push one another whereas nonetheless preserving one another accountable and having enjoyable on the similar time.”

“I knew the projections of what the Flyers have been alleged to be. I did not actually imagine after I noticed it,” Staal continued. “I checked out their lineup; they have been getting gamers again, good goaltending. I used to be similar to, they don’t seem to be far off, and that is been confirmed that over the season.”

The phrase “perception” is heard loads across the Flyers. It is a mantra from Tortorella, a catchall phrase that refers to all the pieces from need to win to confidence that success might be achieved.

“The phrase ‘perception’ is large for us. We’re not a staff of stars, and we definitely haven’t got issues discovered right here as the start of our means of rebuilding this. However perception brings in a whole lot of good issues,” stated Tortorella, in his second season with the Flyers and twenty second as an NHL head coach. “If in case you have the trouble and you’ve got the mindset that we will do that collectively, you may keep aggressive on this league.”

However sooner or later, perception is not sufficient. There must be proof of idea to strengthen it.

For the Flyers, that got here early. They began the season 3-1, together with wins over the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers. Then got here an additional time loss on the Dallas Stars and a good 3-2 loss on the Vegas Golden Knights. The wins did not begin arriving en masse till November, however these early efforts have been fortifying.

“I feel that first highway journey, going into Dallas, Vegas [and playing other] high groups, we have been proper there,” Staal recalled. “We had some huge wins, actually shut video games, and I feel that began to form of construct like, ‘Hey, we’re aggressive each night time. We’ve got an opportunity.'”

ONE THING EXPECTED to be a disadvantage for the Flyers might need really helped bond the staff: the shortage of true star gamers. Certain, Travis Konecny has 27 targets and Couturier is taken into account one of many higher two-way facilities within the league. However as Tortorella stated, and Farabee reiterated, it is not a staff of stars.

“Clearly we’re a kind of teams the place it takes all of us to win video games. We do not have the one man that is going to attain 4 targets and win us the sport. It takes everyone, and it is each night time,” Farabee stated. “We go into each recreation believing that we will win the sport, so I do not suppose we overanalyze too many issues. I feel the benefit of our group is we form of simply go on the market and play. We compete actually laborious. We’re laborious to play in opposition to. I feel when you’ve got these attributes as a staff, you give your self an opportunity to win each night time.”

New Jersey Devils coach Lindy Ruff stated the Flyers are a “laborious staff to play in opposition to” as an opponent.

“For me, they have been a extremely aggressive staff virtually each night time,” he stated. “You have to compete for all of the ice you are going to get in each zone. They’re defending nicely, and so they’re enjoying the sport fast. They’re creating some actually good alternatives.”

The Flyers are twenty third in targets per recreation (2.91) and eleventh in targets in opposition to per recreation (2.88).

What Philadelphia has excelled at this season isn’t permitting its bubble to burst. In December, the Flyers misplaced seven of 9 video games; then adopted that with 5 straight wins; then adopted that with 5 straight losses; then adopted that with 4 straight wins. Numerous peaks, a lot of valleys, however not a whole lot of panic.

The Flyers credited Tortorella for serving to them keep confidence. There was in all probability a time earlier in his profession when dropping seven of 9 video games might need led to a volcanic response from the coach. However Farabee stated that Tortorella has managed feelings nicely.

“I feel he has a extremely good really feel on the group and what we’d like versus what we do not want — when we have to possibly be yelled at a bit versus after we do not,” he stated. “I feel it is him simply realizing that it is a lengthy season, clearly you may’t be on it guys an excessive amount of. I simply suppose with how good our group is, he is actually discovered a extremely good stability on simply letting us go on the market and play and play our recreation.”

Staal performed for Tortorella with the New York Rangers again within the coach’s extra volcanic days. Though he stated the coach is “nonetheless the identical man,” he believes the 65-year-old has discovered a greater stability in his life.

“I feel his teaching model has modified a bit of bit for the reason that final time I had him,” he stated. “His assistants run a whole lot of the conferences. He is nonetheless very concerned within the day-to-day enterprise of it, however I feel he is a bit of bit extra arms off in sure areas than he was after I had him in New York.”

Tortorella stated being “arms off” generally means monitoring from afar.

“I do a whole lot of watching of the staff after they do not suppose I am watching them. I discovered loads then so far as how they’re collectively,” he stated. “You win a couple of video games early on, you get off on the correct foot. I watched how they deal with it then, and also you simply noticed it constructed. That helps [when] have some stretches the place we struggled.”

THE FLYERS HAVE FACED some uncertainty as they journey to a shocking playoff berth.

Beginning goaltender Carter Hart, who performed 26 video games for Philadelphia this season, took a go away of absence from the staff in January. He surrendered to police in London, Ontario, having been charged with one rely of sexual assault after an investigation into an incident involving Canada’s 2018 world junior championship staff. He was one in all 5 gamers charged within the case. Hart, 25, is a restricted free agent this summer season.

His absence meant that rookie Samuel Ersson and 29-year-old veteran Cal Petersen are the staff’s goaltenders going ahead.

The March 8 NHL commerce deadline might imply extra roster modifications. Regardless of their playoff place, the Flyers are nonetheless pondering forward. Pending unrestricted free agent defensemen Walker and Nick Seeler have been within the rumor mill, as has veteran heart Scott Laughton, who has two extra seasons left on his contract.

“It has been fascinating at some instances, however you simply attempt to put it behind your thoughts and take all the pieces with a grain of salt,” Walker stated. “Every little thing will work itself out on the finish of the day.”

Tortorella has stated that the staff is “not backing off in any respect so far as what we’re attempting to do with the group within the huge image so far as rebuilding,” concerning the commerce deadline.

GM Danny Briere has all however dominated out buying and selling draft picks to bolster the staff’s present playoff probabilities.

“We’re not going to make trades simply to make trades,” he stated in January, through PhillyVoice. “If there’s one thing that is smart that we really feel makes us higher for the long run, we’ll strongly contemplate it.”

Lastly, there’s the remainder of the convention. The Devils, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins are trailing the Flyers with video games in hand, and so they cannot be counted out for the third seed within the Metro or a wild-card spot.

All that stated, Philadelphia is within the driver’s seat for a playoff spot. Which isn’t the place many anticipated the Flyers can be — exterior of their locker room, at the least.

“Being the underdog, there’s nothing fallacious with that, proper?” Atkinson stated. “Personally, I have been an underdog my entire life, my entire profession attempting to show folks fallacious. There was no expectation for us. We’ve got one another’s backs. We put our our bodies on the road. You possibly can see how excited the man subsequent to you is when somebody scores a objective. It is a particular group, and it is enjoyable to be part of that.”

Particularly when it is an opportunity for a staff from Philly to stay it to the critics.

“We have all the time thought that we have been ok to be right here,” Konecny stated. “This 12 months is one other alternative to show folks fallacious, the folks that have been counting us out. It gave us a bit of little bit of motivation.”