The Flyers are ‘building something special’ as they rack up wins. Here’s how they’re doing it.

DENVER ― Are the Flyers officially a wagon?

Coach John Tortorella would probably tell you very sternly to put those thoughts on hold and not get too far ahead of yourself because it is a long, grinding season with highs and lows.

In fact, after the team’s 2-1 overtime win on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he said, “We’re doing all those things that we have to do, so we’re just going to continue doing that and see where it all goes. We could play really good games and lose some games too. But I just don’t think we get too up and down. We’re just kind of static as far as how we feel about it.”

But how can you not get optimistic? The Orange and Black are rolling as the winners of three straight and collectors of points in four. And they have only lost four times in their past 12. That’s a big green checkmark on the wagon train.

» READ MORE: 3 big takeaways from the Flyers’ 4-1 win against the Coyotes

After the final buzzer across the NHL sounded on Thursday night, the Flyers were also sitting in a postseason spot, albeit based on points — and would face the New York Islanders with home-ice advantage. They sit just a smidge outside on points percentage if done by divisions and wild cards. But if you wanted to get funky and go straight on points percentage, they’d be in at No. 8 and would dance with the New York Rangers.

Let’s leave that part of the wagon on hold for the time being; although, it’s fair to say no one expected the words “postseason” or “playoffs” to be dancing in Flyers fans’ heads this season, let alone into December.

The deciding factor here is a stud roster. The Flyers do not have a bonafide superstar. They do not have that one guy who can be counted on to turn it up and lift a squad on his shoulders with one swing of the stick.

But, maybe, they don’t need one.

It’s one of five reasons this team may just be the team to get you in a Philly mood.

Owen Tippett sat at the microphone at the practice facility in Voorhees recently and succinctly summed up the Flyers’ vibe.

“I think we have a tight group. We’re all pulling in the same direction,” he said. “Makes it fun coming to the rink every day and I get a sense that guys want to be here.”

The Flyers are having some fun, as evidenced by their 14-10-2 record, and when watching their aggressive play and cohesiveness on the ice. From a penalty kill that has gone 38-for-40 since Nov. 11 and has an NHL-best seven shorties this season, to every player — outside of recent call-up Olle Lycksell, who played a little over 6 minutes in his season debut on Thursday — laying his body on the line to block at least one shot.

» READ MORE: Flyers’ penalty kill dominating with blocked shots, solid structure

Having guys putting themselves in front of a solid rubber puck for the betterment of a team does something to a group. This team, with an average age of 28, is playing for each other. It’s a coaching strategy that has helped countless teams win when maybe they didn’t have the best lineup; “Miracle on Ice” quickly comes to mind.

As the win total climbs, and some fans bemoan a worse draft pick, Tortorella has spoken out about building a winning culture that can one day lead to the end goal.

Yes, the Flyers are rebuilding right now, but as the bench boss again said following the team’s 4-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, it’s about “finding a way to win.” That mentality, of fighting through adversity and gaining confidence between the boards with wins, teaches way more to a group whose core is expected to be donning orange and black for a long time.

» READ MORE: Young Egor Zamula trying to learn from his mistakes with the Flyers

Maybe that’s the beauty of the start to the season — they have no pressure to do, really, anything.

You could probably count on one hand how many pundits thought this team would do more than win a handful of games. And now they’re tallying up the W’s in a number of ways — from blowouts to comebacks to overtime thrillers. The Flyers are already almost halfway to their win total from last season (31) and still have 60 games to go.

“We’ve worked a lot on coming together and building something special and guys are buying in and we just got to keep building, start believing in ourselves,” Sean Couturier said postgame in Phoenix. “I think we’re out to try to prove people wrong and there doesn’t seem to be much pressure on us. So, I don’t know if we’re just naive or young, but we just go out and play hard and aggressive hockey and, yeah, I think we’re building something special here.”

Speaking of Couturier, having the veteran back in the lineup has not only helped solidify the forward group but also has allowed Tortorella and assistant coach Rocky Thompson to consistently roll four lines.

The center missed almost two years, and the second anniversary of his last NHL game before undergoing a pair of back surgeries is approaching in 10 days. But with the way he is playing, you wouldn’t guess he missed one game, let alone 135.

“My back feels great. It’s not even in the back of my mind anymore,” Couturier told The Inquirer recently. “I’m glad it’s behind me. It was a year and a half, two years that I was just really always thinking about it, overthinking it at times. Now that I feel good and can just focus on myself and playing hockey, it feels great.”

» READ MORE: Keith Jones interview Part 2: Matvei Michkov, Flyers’ timeline, and a message for the fans

In 24 games this season, the 2020 Selke Trophy winner has 18 points and has once again established himself as a key cog on the ice, the bench, and in the room. As Travis Konecny said after his two-goal outburst against the Coyotes — including one off an offensive zone set play with Couturier — his buddy has “demanded” the winger show maturation and, with just a look, can let the 26-year-old know when he gets off his game.

A known puck possessor who can recover a puck as well as he can protect it, he has also reestablished himself on special teams. He recently moved from the right flank to the net-front on the power play and will see his penalty-killing minutes rise with Noah Cates on the shelf with a broken foot. But he’s also played a critical role in extra sessions — scoring twice in overtime along with a shootout game-winner.

At any point during the team’s game on Thursday night, you could have looked up and seen a Flyers defenseman below the hash marks — in the offensive zone. Cam York made the most noise, driving deep into the Coyotes zone to help set up a sweet Joel Farabee backdoor goal off a pass from Cam Atkinson. He then deked Jason Zucker before cutting through the left circle for his fourth goal of the night.

» READ MORE: Tyson Foerster’s found his scoring touch, but that’s no longer all he provides the Flyers

It’s what Tortorella wants to see from his blueliners. As he stressed before the team hopped a flight to Colorado for Saturday night’s meeting with the Avalanche, “That’s how we play. We have to play that way.”

It can be a tightrope at times. When the defense steps up and the forward group does not cover, it can lead to chaos, which was evident in the team’s 3-1 loss to the Rangers on Black Friday. But when it is clicking, it provides another layer to the Flyers’ transition game, their play in the offensive zone, and can put opponents on their heels.

“You always want your D-men that kind of jump in the play and create those odd-man rushes,” Couturier said. “Teams reload hard now and take pride in coming back hard, so you need those extra guys to jump in.”

And what happens when those odd-man rushes go the other way? The Flyers’ last line of defense has stood tall. The duo of Carter Hart and Sam Ersson have been playing solid hockey between the pipes.

Hart is 8-6-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average, sixth-best among goalies who have made at least 10 starts, and is tied for 10th in save percentage at .916. When he has struggled, his teammates have lifted him and put a few on the board; the Flyers have only been shut out twice this year and have two shutouts, one by each goalie.

As for Ersson, the rookie netminder bounced back from a dreadful October — 0-1-1 with a 5.91 GAA and .760 save percentage — to earn a mention for November’s Rookie of the Month. The 24-year-old went 4-2-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average and .926 save percentage and has kept it going with a win in his lone start thus far in December.

» READ MORE: Flyers alumni game roster includes Eric Lindros, John LeClair, and Mike Richards

They are a big reason the Flyers have the ninth-best goals-against per game (2.73). It’s a big shift from last season when they had the 10th worst (3.37). In addition to the goalies, Tortorella credits the entire team for the drop.

“I think we understand our coverages, I think we’re more consistent with it,” he said before the game at Arizona’s State home rink. “We’re willing to block shots, which is a huge part of defense; I know everybody hates hearing about blocking shots, but it’s a huge part that brings in the room, the camaraderie in the room.

“... And I do think our shift into transitional offense, and playing fast and stretching has put other teams in situations, we’re playing in their end a little bit more. I don’t know what all these analytics [say], I don’t pay attention to them much, I don’t know what they say. I watch our team and I think we are on the attack more and taking pressure off of our D and our D-zone coverage.”