VOORHEES, N.J. — There are a variety of reasons you could point to as to why the Flyers have a modest four-game winning streak.
Superb goaltending by Steve Mason. That would be a strong reason right there.
Ten different goal-scorers. That’s the secondary scoring depth the Flyers had been lacking much of the season.
Greatly improved defensive play. There’s far fewer odd man rushes and chaos in front of the net. Quality scoring chances are down. That’s a sign of better five-man defensive play, for certain.
Here’s one more thing to add to the list: a better breakout attack by the Flyers.
When clubs leave the zone with the puck cleanly, they generate offense and greatly reduce the number of counter-attacks, and cut down on quality chances against in their own zone, not to mention getting trapped there.
“We’re trying to communicate and make simpler defensive plays,” said defenseman Nick Schultz. “The first guy, a lot of times, just absorbs the hit. He can’t really hold up forecheckers. It’s just guys communicating better and making little plays. Ultimately, guys have to get back quick for the puck. The quicker you get back, you get a half-second more and can make a better play. We’re trying to work on that and being cleaner. You spend less time in your end. Get on the attack.”
NHL teams that have outstanding puck-skating defensemen will often have them skate the puck to the hash-marks, then release to a forward already in motion toward the red line. That’s the perfect concept for a breakout.
With a more competitive balance among teams right now, many clubs are dumping pucks on the forecheck and pressing hard to retain the puck in the offensive zone with full pressure.
The Flyers' defensemen often release the puck to a forward on the half-wall and he in turn either skates, looks for a breaking winger, and hands it back to his net to a defensemen, then releases up ice.
What the Flyers have been doing more of lately, with better success, is asking their centers to drop back down, curl in and get the first pass from the defense, then outlet to someone else if a lane isn’t clear.
“We’re trying to get guys back,” Schultz said. “The D that stands up. If I stand up and my partner is the center going back, then I kinda come back to the front end and it ends up going out the weak side, that forward has to get down low. That is why you see our weakside D, our net front D a lot of times — when teams forecheck they try to cut the ice in half. They try to squeeze you on the one side. So a lot of times, we’re looking to try and get the puck to that weakside D and come out the other side.”
Most teams press with an overload to one side to cause a turnover. The Flyers are asking their centers to drop down farther into the defensive zone to get the puck while also asking their wingers not to both abandon the zone at the same time for a stretch pass.
Puck support is the key to a clean breakout when the opposition is trapping or if numbers are against you on the breakout.
“Most teams press over and try to turn puck over,” Schultz said. “Our wingers' jobs on breakouts is to get lower and our centerman is down there coming underneath. When they get it, sometimes they are passing it back toward our net and not necessarily up because our center is below and the weakside D is below. It helps us come up with speed. Come up with five guys where we are not so spread out.”
And that’s another reason, as Mason would tell you, why he’s seeing fewer turnovers directly in front of him and why the Flyers aren’t giving up goals off own-zone turnovers.
When it doesn’t work, the defense is a bit more confident now that Mason, who is 5-0 (one no-decision) over his last six outings, will make the save.
“I don’t think you necessarily want to relax,” Schultz said. “We have that confidence in him that he’ll make the save. It’s nice knowing if something happens he is there and playing extremely well.”