Flyers’ penalty kill, hoping to build off strong performance, one of the keys against Boston

The Flyers’ much-maligned penalty kill helped them get a point with their strong play in Thursday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Islanders.

The PK was 3 for 3, including a five-minute major on Samuel Morin, as the players denied entries, limited scoring chances, and even had three high-quality, shorthanded scoring opportunities of their own.

“We had some big kills, and I think we were able to get some momentum out of it,” captain Claude Giroux said after Friday’s short practice in Voorhees. “Everybody was doing their job.”

» READ MORE: For Flyers, it’s win in regulation vs. Boston or start building for next season

The job will be more difficult Saturday afternoon against visiting Boston, which is a staggering 10 for 20 on the power play in seven games this season against the Flyers -- a big reason Boston has won six of those contests.

“We know Boston has a good power play, but we’re going to be ready for them,” Giroux added.

Coach Alain Vigneault was encouraged by Thursday’s PK performance.

“We’ve been trying to do that since Game 1, and it just hasn’t materialized,” he said. “It just seems every time we have a breakdown or a misread, it hurts us. [Thursday,] we were able to put it together. I believe that will be a step in the right direction. We’re really going to be tested. We really haven’t done a good job of penalty killing against Boston.

”We know exactly what Boston is trying to do, and so far we haven’t done a good enough job.”

Overall, the Flyers’ penalty kill is 29th (73.5% success rate) in the 31-team NHL, while Boston’s power play is No. 8 (24.1% success rate).

Each month, the Flyers’ alumni will donate a custom-built bicycle to a special-needs child in the area. Each bicycle costs about $5,000 to build, and alumni members are appealing to fans and corporate sponsorship partners to assist in offsetting the cost via donations.

The initiative is called “Building Bikes, Delivering Dreams,” and the donation page is https://flyersalumni.net/deserves-a-bike/

Jeremy Swayman, 22, an Alaska native who made 40 saves in a memorable NHL debut to lead Boston to a 4-2 win over the Flyers Tuesday, will make his third straight start Saturday. He is 2-0 with a 2.01 GAA and .947 save percentage. Brian Elliott, 36, will start for the Flyers. ... Charlie McAvoy, Boston’s No. 1 defenseman, is expected to miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Vigneault said he has had both COVID-19 vaccines and he believes his coaching staff and players who have wanted the vaccine have also received it. ... The Flyers loaned forward Tanner Laczynski from the taxi squad to the Phantoms, and defenseman Derrick Pouliot was recalled from Lehigh Valley to the taxi squad..