The last two games are good examples. In each contest, played against the same Islanders who knocked them out of the postseason this past summer, the Flyers had two-goal leads. In each one, they needed overtime to clinch two points in the standings. In both wins, the Flyers were out-shot by a large margin, and in both games they committed more penalties.
Still, a win is a win — especially against the Isles.
"It just shows our team chemistry, our connection with the coaches," said Kevin Hayes, who netted the game-winner Sunday. "They don’t panic. I feel like every time we play these guys in the playoffs and now, we’re up two and then all of the sudden we are tied. It is a resilient group. We have the right leadership in this room. Even though Coots is gone — he’s a tough guy to replace — we are still winning games. Obviously, you want to win every game 10-0, but that’s not the case here. When you go up two goals and you’re feeling good about your game and all the sudden the game is tied, it’s very easy to point fingers and start panicking and this team doesn’t do that"