Philadelphia Flyers Are Proving Their Worth in Tough Stretch

The Philadelphia Flyers came out of the gates with a whimper, with losses in five of their first six games.

But two of those losses came in a shootout, and there were certainly some silver linings to take away from the rough start.

Those linings have generated better results over the past week or so, as the Flyers bounced back with authority during a brutal three-game stretch.

After being shut out by Chicago, the Flyers traveled to Pittsburgh and then came back home for a two-game homestand against Detroit and Los Angeles.

With Ray Emery standing tall in each game, Craig Berube's squad showed heart, speed and a renewed confidence that was missing during those first six games.

The ball got rolling with a thorough dismantling of the cross-state rival Penguins, whom the Flyers always seem to play well against.

Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and the Philadelphia's defense got the job done yet again, blanketing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin all night.

Couturier was especially outstanding, as he provided a goal and two assists in addition to his shutdown defense. His defensive game has already been praised a lot in the past, but this could be the year when the 21-year-old proves that he's a true "two-way" center instead of just a defensive one.

Giroux and linemate Jakub Voracek each tallied a pair of assists in the game, and it's tough for opponents when those two are on.

Let's take a minute to look at Voracek in particular. He has been red-hot to start the season, with four multipoint games leading the way to 13 total points in nine games. That ties him for third-most in the entire league heading into Thursday night's contests.

He's also leading the league in assists with 11. Voracek is certainly a huge reason for the Flyers' turnaround, and they need him to play like this all season.

Then the Flyers came home and showed some serious resiliency against Detroit, scoring three goals in the third period for a come-from-behind victory.

Second-year winger Michael Raffl was the star for Philadelphia, as he registered his first career multigoal game.

The Flyers were outplayed for much of the game and were severely outshot (37-to-17), but the fact that they managed to hang in there and come out with a win is a testament to the team's tenacity and resolve.

Finally, former Flyers Mike Richards and Jeff Carter came back to town to play what had to be a tired Philadelphia team which was playing another game without Braydon Coburn or Andrew MacDonald.

Rookie Shayne Gostisbehere and veteran Nick Schultz have been nothing but solid in their place, and newcomer Michael Del Zotto has been a pleasant surprise as well.

The game had plenty of offense, with the two teams combining for 83 shots on goal. However, both goalies had great games and the game went to overtime tied 2-2.

Brayden Schenn provided the heroics this time, scoring on a breakaway with two minutes and 24 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Flyers another two points.

Just by looking over this synopsis of the past three games, it's easy to see the Flyers' strength: There are so many different players contributing.

Voracek has been one of the best players in the league, Raffl has been oustanding with five goals already this year, Del Zotto looks like a genius signing thus far and Emery has been great between the pipes.

These three wins have been true team efforts and Berube's squad has shown that it is capable of winning in more ways than one.

The speed is there to compete with other top squads and the offense is going to score a lot of points. Defense remains the biggest question mark, and the Flyers have been up to the challenge in the past week.

Obviously, this streak will come to a close at some point, but there are some really positive takeaways that have to leave Philadelphia fans feeling better than they did after the first 10 days of the season.

The Flyers are definitely not the best team in the league, but they can compete with the best, and that's all that matters.