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Flyers Face Another Test In Next Round Of Back To Backs

By Benjamin Gabrych

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 13: Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers battles for the loose puck after a faceoff with Evgeny Kuznetsov #92 of the Washington Capitals on November 13, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Capitals went on to defeat the Flyers 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 13: Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers battles for the loose puck after a faceoff with Evgeny Kuznetsov #92 of the Washington Capitals on November 13, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Capitals went on to defeat the Flyers 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia Flyers will face another in their next two games this weekend.

It’s safe to say that the Philadelphia Flyers have exceeded expectations with their recent play since the start of November. After coming off of two embarrassing losses to the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins to end the previous month, the Flyers have now earned a point in every single game since, moving up to third in the Metropolitan Division in the process. More recently, the Orange and Black have had to face off against some of the top teams the NHL has to offer, playing the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals. They passed that test, walking away with five of the possible six points during that span, but will have another coming up this weekend.

Philadelphia has its third straight round of back-to-backs to finish out a week, as they’ll hit the road to take on the Ottawa Senators on Friday and head back home to play host to the Islanders on Saturday. This set of games, on the surface, pails in comparison to the last three they’ve had to play but don’t be fooled, because they’re just as important in measuring how good the team might be this season.

In years past, especially during the Dave Hakstol era, the Flyers would usually play up or down to their competition instead of just taking care of business against an inferior opponent while challenging a team with more skill. If this is truly a different squad, Philadelphia has to defeat the Senators handily and at the very least, put on a better effort against the Isles than they did in their first meeting of the season. Do they have to utterly dominant Ottawa en route to a 7-0 blowout? No, but I’d like to see something along the lines of a 4-1, 4-2 win while controlling play through most of the contest.

Philippe Myers Making An Early Impact With The Flyers. light. Trending

The Flyers have already shown the ability to skate with some of the league’s best clubs, so I’m not *too* worried about how they’ll fare when the Islanders come to town, though it’d be nice to see a bounce-back performance. The real test will be against the Sens, and hopefully, Philadelphia will put that problem of the past behind them and earn their 11th win of the year when all is said and done on Friday night.

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