VOORHEES, N.J. >> Through the Flyers’ first 15 games has run one sturdy thread. They are playing hard. They are improved. They come to life in the third period.
“I think,” Wayne Simmonds said Wednesday, after practice at the Skate Zone, “we have played consistently.”
The elements would suggest that. The record, though, would argue just the opposite.
For despite all their apparent late-game grit and suggested improvement, that will be a 7-6-2 record they will drag into the Wells Fargo Center Thursday night for a 7 o’clock game against the Chicago Blackhawks. And since they have neither won nor lost more than twice consecutively, that makes them inconsistent where it most matters.
“That’s fine,” Simmonds said. “It’s early in the year. We’ve played 15 games. We have a young team. We’re going to continue to get better as we go along. That’s where we are at right now.”
Since 7-6-2 that is a pace unlikely to yield a playoff spot, the Flyers may already be at a tell-tale turn. In the next 28 days, they will play 14 times. In the next 49 days, they will play 21 times. And that is often enough that when the flurry settles, the players and the season no longer will be as young.
The Flyers will have other moments to define themselves. But the one they are about to encounter could be their best.
“For sure,” captain Claude Giroux said. “I think looking back at the end of the season and the position that we’re going to be, we’re going to be looking back at these 21 games. It’s a tough schedule for us, but we embrace it and we have to accept the challenge and be ready to play every night.”
The Flyers seemed ready to play three games ago in Chicago, but were stifled by goalie Corey Crawford and fell, 3-0.
“I remember that game very well,” Giroux said. “We played a very solid game. We had a lot of chances, and the goalie played a pretty good game. We have to get pucks on net and make them defend. And I think if we play the same way we played in Chicago, we’re going to be in good shape.”
Such has been their attitude through an entertaining if choppy start; they have convinced themselves that they are much better than their record. Already, though, the burden has grown. For if they are playing as well as they can play and still only win-some-lose-some, then they risk exhaustion.
“I think we’ve been good,” Simmonds said. “It was a tough start. A tough schedule. And I think we’ve done a good job handling it.”
It was borderline unreasonable for the NHL to send the Flyers on a four-game Western Conference swing before playing a home game. It’s one reason why the 7-6-2 start does have a certain glow.
“The game we played in Chicago, I thought we played really well,” Simmonds said. “I actually firmly believe we were the better of the two teams, but sometimes you don’t get the bounces. Crawford played unbelievable. We couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net.”
That’s kind of how they keep a hockey score. But the Flyers believe they are better than their record. Fortunately for them, they will have the opportunity to present 21 fresh exhibits of evidence.
“If you look at the results, we have to be more consistent,” Sean Couturier said. “But I think overall we are playing some pretty good hockey. The last game, we out-shot Colorado, but came out with just one point. Obviously, it’s a little disappointing. But I think if you look back at our last three or four games, there was a big win in St. Louis. In Chicago, I thought we deserved a better result. And Toronto was a good road win.
“But we’ve got to find a way to start finding some wins and get on a little roll here.”
