The atmosphere at Saturday's 1pm Philadelphia Flyers game against the Ottawa Senators was cautiously hopeful. That was partly due to the fact that Ilya Bryzgalov is expected to return to action against the New York Rangers next Tuesday.
Solid team chemistry, as seen during the team's pre-game soccer warmups, has been key to the Flyers resilient season.
Sean OBrien
Sergei Bobrovsky backstopped a Philadelphia team that entered the afternoon contest with a 3-8-2 record in games that have started before 3pm this season and an overall mark of 5-10-2 mark in games that have started before 7pm.
After going down 3-0, the Flyers mounted a 3-goal comeback to earn a point by the time the final horn had sounded. Despite the eventual 4-3 shootout loss, g eneral manager Paul Holmgren's remixed roster remains positioned in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff pack.
Due to the overall progress that they have made within the last month, the Flyers may move into the playoffs with momentum. There are a variety of reasons to explain that projection, here are four of them:
Kimmo matters
After seeing the ever-classy Mark Howe just prior to Saturday's game, I happened to look in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center and saw his number 2 banner along with the other all-time franchise greats. Looking below at number 44 on the ice, it was an easy to also realize Kimmo Timonen's importance on today's team.
Carrying Eric Desjardins' torch, Timonen has become one of the Flyers blue line linchpins. He's made more of an impact than Chris Pronger, because of the length of time that he has been with the team and because of the consistency of his effort.
The 37-year-old veteran, whose career began with the Nashville Predators in 1998, is quite simply a warrior. His place on the team's all-time list of outstanding defensemen is secure.
Claude's magic
A few beautiful moves by Claude Giroux during the first period reinforced just how special this 24-year-old is and what a key part of the team's offense he will continue to be.
Having already topped his regular season career-high in goals and assists, Giroux appears ready to post more than one point-per-game in the NHL's second season.
Bryz
Give the man his due. He came over from the Phoenix Coyotes and signed a long-term, big money deal. Then, things didn't go 'humungously well' for the Flyers newest number 1 goaltender.
March has been the veteran's playful response to every harsh critic.
If 'Bryz' continues his creative crease work, he will give his newest hockey employer a chance to win every game in any playoff series. No one could ask for more than that.
Lavy
Laviolette has quickly proven to be one of the team's better head coaches, as his resilient in-game style has influenced the culture of his orange ice boys.
Every bench leader needs to aggressively navigate the course of each game and every season. This guy does that as well as anyone in the League. The person who inspired the famous 2010 postseason rebellion against the Boston Bruins, has kept his current ship steady despite continued health-related challenges.
Successful business are often led by strong managers. As the NHL's second season is soon set to begin, the Flyers have full confidence that Laviolette will keep the Flyers workplace productive.
Sean O'Brien is based in the Philadelphia region. He has written professionally for over two decades and is currently a Featured Contributor for Yahoo! You can follow him on Twitter @SeanyOBand also read his daily Sports Blog: Insight.
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