Flyers weekly observations: Wait, are the Flyers actually good again?

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Three games, three wins, and boy, does this feel totally different than a few weeks ago.

The Flyers are rolling into next week on a season-high three-game win streak following a 3-0-0 week. They close out their five-game homestand next week against the Panthers on Tuesday, the Devils on Thursday and the Lightning on Saturday.

Some observations from a week that have us feeling that … perhaps the Flyers are good?

• The Flyers are such a frustrating team because they're either really good or really bad. There's no in between. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what this team's identity is.

This was a really good week. The scoring is back, the defensive play is tighter and Brian Elliott has been superb. They were pushed but pushed back. They did what good teams do.

That's the question we're looking at right now: Are the Flyers actually good?

They can score — their 57 goals are sixth in the NHL and had 14 in three games last week.

Even without James van Riemsdyk, they have scoring depth — it's not coming from one line.

The defense and goaltending have drastically improved — just six goals allowed last week.

They have an NHL-most 11 points since Oct. 30 and the second-most goals with 25, behind just the Lightning (26).

It's tough to say if the Flyers are actually good. But we can say that the Flyers are not actually bad. Most of us overreacted, and I was among them. We were wrong.

• Want to look for a reason for the Flyers' turnaround? Look no further than all-time Flyers great Claude Giroux, who's quietly on pace for a 106-point season.

Giroux capped off a monster week with three points on Saturday to become the Flyers' fourth all-time scorer at 699. It was also Giroux's 50th career three-point game.

Check this out: Giroux had three goals and eight points in three games this week. He also has 11 points during the Flyers' six-game point streak.

Yet, Giroux still somehow catches flak from a certain pocket of this fan base. Giroux is an all-time Flyers great and we're lucky to watch him play. The best part? He's only getting better.

• The Flyers' goalie situation is always a touchy subject, but we have to praise Elliott's turnaround. He's really come into his own, playing calm hockey in net and making big saves when the Flyers need them. That's more than what he was doing earlier in the year.

With Saturday's shutout, Elliott now has a shutout streak of over 120 minutes. He's locked in right now.

• Thursday's 5-4 overtime win over the Coyotes was the most impressive win of the week. Saturday's 4-0 blanking of the Blackhawks was as perfect of an effort as you can draw up, but that's a game the Flyers should have easily won.

The Flyers returned home from a highly successful four-game West Coast trip and usually, the first game back home, the compete level takes a while to develop. But the Flyers were ready to play with two goals in the game's first seven minutes.

The impressive part, however, was how they didn't fold after facing adversity on home ice. They went up 2-0 on Arizona and then surrendered four straight goals. They were pathetic in the second period.

But they came out swinging in the third period, scored two goals and then won in overtime. It was the character win that this team has lacked this season. Dave Hakstol deserves all the credit for it. He had his team ready to play.

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