VOORHEES, N.J. — Now that April is upon us, one can only wonder what direction the Flyers are marching.
Ideally, this is the time when teams want to be gelling, winning and getting healthy all at the same time.
Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol can’t comfortably check off all of those boxes, but collectively, the Flyers appear to be maneuvering in the right direction.
“Every day brings a little different and new challenge,” Hakstol said. “Our guys have played confidently over the past few months. I think we have cleaned our game up and that’s important. You’ve got to narrow things in, especially at this time of year. It gets harder and harder.”
Overall, the Flyers' 5-6-4 record to close out March doesn’t exactly have them steamrolling toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but prior history suggests that 31-day stretch drive doesn’t provide any compass for how far the Flyers advance into the postseason.
March records
2007-08: Finished 8-3-4, advanced to the Eastern Conference Final
2009-10: Finished 6-7-3, advanced to the Stanley Cup Final
NHL
2011-12: Finished 11-3-2, lost in the second round
2013-14: Finished 9-3-2, lost in the first round
2015-16: Finished 9-3-2, lost in the first round
“You know when you play well, and you know when you don’t,” Jake Voracek said. “You can see it from above, you can see it from TV, you can feel it from the bench. I think we’re playing well over the past couple of weeks and I think it’s a positive sign.”
The Flyers feel they’ve turned the corner approaching the final week of the regular season with a 4-0-3 mark (11 of a possible 14 points) over their last seven games, all while starting three different goaltenders during that stretch.
“It’s a positive thing to look at. I think the first period in Colorado (Wednesday) was the best period of the year,” Voracek said. “Some tough buildings to play in over the last few weeks and we’ve found a way to get the points. Obviously, we’re not in the playoffs yet, but we’re in a pretty good spot.”
With the Bruins looking to secure home ice advantage and the best record in the Eastern Conference, Sunday’s game against Boston will have the look and feel of a playoff game, with the Flyers' final three regular-season games all coming against teams out of playoff contention.
“I’d say it’s the best team in the league since December,” Voracek said. “I’d say it’s a big challenge for us. I think we played a pretty good road game there a couple of weeks back. It’s going to be a tough one. We know how stacked they are in the lineup.”
For a team that ranked near the top of the league defensively during the Tim Thomas-Tuukka Rask years, the Bruins have transitioned into the league’s highest scoring team this season, averaging 3.5 goals.
And this could be the best indication of what we’ll see from the Flyers for the remainder of this season.