Five reasons the Flyers are far exceeding expectations to this point

If you tuned into the Flyers the last few seasons or listened to the national media this summer, you would have assumed the team, which had very publicly acknowledged it was rebuilding, was going to stink.

Given the Flyers finished with the league’s seventh-worst record last season, the fourth-worst the year before that, and didn’t add any major roster pieces (sorry Ryan Poehling, Marc Staal, and Garnet Hathaway), it would have been understandable.

But don’t look now ... the Flyers are 10-7-1, riding a five-game winning streak, and by points percentage currently occupying a playoff spot. While it might be a bit early to start planning the ticker-tape parade down Broad Street, the Flyers have been a pleasant surprise as we near the quarter mark — if you want them to be winning, that is — and have iced a competitive and — dare I say — enjoyable team to watch.

» READ MORE: Flyers continue to roll with 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets

Will it last? The odds would suggest the Flyers will come back down to earth a bit at some point due to roster limitations, health, and a highly competitive Eastern Conference. But for now, let’s put the tanking vs. winning debate to the side and appreciate the best hockey we’ve seen here in more than three years. Here are five keys behind the Flyers’ hot start.

It’s cliché, but the Flyers have played as a collective so far this season, with the sum far greater than the individual parts. The team has embraced a blue-collar identity under John Tortorella, as the Flyers are outworking opponents and seem to understand that is the way they need to play in order to be successful.

“To me, it’s belief. You find a way to scratch away some wins against some really good teams and you start believing that we’re doing this right,” Tortorella after Sunday’s 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. “It’s not a physical skill, it’s a mental skill. … Belief has to be the main constant.”

The Flyers rank in the 75th percentile in terms of skating distance this season per 60 minutes (7.70 miles per game), according to NHL Edge, and place fifth in the league in blocked shots with 316. Both stats point to the guys playing hard and sacrificing for one another, which was highlighted this past week when the Flyers blocked 30 shots to preserve a 3-1 win over Carolina.

While the Flyers still lack a true game-breaker, they come in waves and are getting scoring and contributions from almost everybody. The Flyers’ top scorer, defenseman Travis Sanheim (more on him later), is tied for 47th in the league with 16 points. On the other hand, the Flyers have eight players with at least 10 points, tied for the most in the league. Travis Konecny (11 goals, 4 assists) is one of 17 Flyers to have found the back of the net through 18 games.

It hasn’t been smoke or mirrors, either. In addition to outscoring opponents (plus-8 this season), the Flyers are largely outshooting and out-chancing them, too, a huge contrast to last season’s paper tiger 7-3-2 start. The Flyers rank ninth in the league in expected goals percentage (.540), 13th in shot attempts percentage/Corsi percentage (.50), and have had 52% of the high-danger chances across their games, according to Natural StatTrick.

We will see if they can sustain this blueprint over 82 games, but so far the Flyers are good money for their record and are playing winning hockey both on the ice and in terms of the analytics.

Entering the season, on paper the Flyers’ defense looked to be a major problem.

The most gaping hole was the team lacking anything resembling a No. 1 defenseman. Add the departures of Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo and the Flyers looked several players short on the blue line. Enter Travis Sanheim.

After Sanheim’s disastrous 2022-23, the Flyers tried to trade him this summer to the St. Louis Blues before his eight-year, $50 million contract extension kicked in. So far, that looks like the best trade the Flyers didn’t make, as Sanheim has been a revelation as the team’s No. 1 D-man. The 27-year-old, who put on 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason, has been an absolute horse, not only leading the team with 16 points but also ranking third in the league in average ice time (25 minutes, 57 seconds).

» READ MORE: Travis Sanheim wants to turn the page with the Flyers, in more ways than one

Sanheim has been excellent defensively, played in all situations, and is on pace to shatter his career high of 35 points. He has also been much more aggressive offensively when it comes to jumping into the play and has added more physicality and meanness to his game at the other end of the rink.

“His skill level hasn’t changed. His skating hasn’t changed. What’s changed is his mindset,” Tortorella said last month. “He’s shown us right from Day 1 that he’s going to take control. And he has done it to this point. ... Proud of him, how he’s handled himself so far.”

While Sanheim is likely more of a No. 2 long-term, his turnaround is a massive development for the Flyers, especially given his lucrative contract.

The Flyers have long craved a franchise goaltender and Carter Hart is looking the part.

After a bright start to his career followed by a pair of a disastrous seasons and then a mediocre one, Hart is playing some of his best hockey. In 10 games, the 25-year-old is 6-3 with a .919 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average. Hart ranks seventh among goalies in save percentage (minimum of nine starts) and has made seven quality starts — games when a goalie’s save percentage surpassed the league average for the season — according to hockey reference.

“He’s been outstanding ... he’s done it all year,” said Tortorella of Hart on Saturday. “I don’t worry about his preparation or where he’s going to be when he plays. … He’s been steady.

The Flyers will need Hart to play at an elite level to continue their hot start, and so far Hart looks up to the task. Backup Sam Ersson has also played well of late while deputizing for an injured and later ill Hart. Ersson is 3-1 with a .921 save percentage over his last four starts.

One of the biggest questions entering the season was whether Sean Couturier (back) and Cam Atkinson (neck) would be healthy enough to play after both missed all of last season with injuries.

The answer has been a resounding yes, as both have been key cogs for the Flyers and have looked better than anyone could have reasonably expected. Atkinson ranks second on the team with eight goals, while Couturier has 13 points in 16 games and has seamlessly jumped back in as an elite two-way center. Couturier’s start has been particularly encouraging after two back surgeries and a season and a half on the shelf, as he looks like he can still be a top-end player as he plays in Year 2 of his eight-year, $62 million deal.

» READ MORE: Inside Flyers star Sean Couturier’s 21-month journey to get back on the ice

Joel Farabee also at least partially qualifies for this category as he never quite looked right last year coming off disk replacement surgery. With a full offseason to train, Farabee looks healthy, fast, and is playing the best hockey of his pro career with seven goals, 14 points and a plus-9 rating. Ability has never been the question with Farabee, so his bright start and the decisive manner of his play is terrific news as the Flyers build for the future.

The Flyers’ offseason was billed mostly as “addition by subtraction,” but the team might have added more than it expected.

That is surely true with veteran defenseman Sean Walker, a salary throw-in from Los Angeles in the Provorov trade. Walker, 29, has been a difference-maker at both ends of the ice this season, tallying three goals and 10 points. A smooth skater who can also hit a seam pass, Walker has excelled with an aggressive approach to playing defense, and is reportedly starting to garner some attention around the league.

Among qualified defensemen, Walker ranks 14 in even-strength defense goals above replacement (1.9), 18th in even-strength offense GAR (3.1), and seventh in wins above replacement (1.0), according to Evolving Hockey. Not bad for a “salary-cap dump.”

Poehling and Hathaway have also made positive contributions, with Hathaway providing toughness and the ever-steady Poehling contributing more offensively recently after being elevated to the third line.

Lastly, Bobby Brink, while not a completely new face, has found his footing at the NHL level. Brink, who has four goals and nine points in 14 games, is far from the finished article, but the traits — vision, playmaking, patience — that made him so dominant at the University of Denver now seem to be translating to the pros. The 2019 second-round pick has been a major bright spot since surprisingly making the team out of camp.