As Midpoint Nears, Ron Hextall Assesses Flyers' First Half, Looks Ahead

As the Flyers restart their schedule tonight in St. Louis, general manager Ron Hextall is pleased with the progress the club has made as the midpoint approaches.
 
The Flyers are eight points behind Metro Division leader Columbus, which has three games in hand on them, but with 44 points they're holding down the second wild card.
 
Tonight's game is the first of three out West for coach Dave Hakstol.

"We're in the middle of the battle," Hakstol said. "It's what you do from here on in. We're in a decent spot. We've got to keep building and getting better."

Consistency is the key there, according to the GM.
 
"We're happy where we're at, but we've got a lot of work to do," Hextall said. "We've got to become a lot more consistent. In the last month, we were really good. Before that, we weren't as good. We're looking for consistency in the second half."
 
The Flyers went on a 10-game winning streak that began in late November and ended in mid-December, before closing out the pre-Christmas break 1-2-1 as they appeared exhausted having played 36 games over 69 days.
 
After this road trip, the Flyers play 12 more games in January, of which 11 are against Eastern Conference opponents - seven vs. divisional foes.
 
The Flyers need to gain some separation from teams behind them, while focusing on finishing among the top three in the division to guarantee a playoff spot without having to gamble on a wild card like they did last season.
 
"It's important not to give back the ground that we've gained," Hextall emphasized. "That's the biggest thing. Yeah, we've gained some ground the last month and a half ... we have to keep pushing here. That's hockey."
 
Traditionally, the Flyers don't respond well coming off four- or five-day breaks. And they tend to take a slide at this time of the year when they head back out West.
 
Hextall wants the club to bear down on this road trip and return on the winning side of the ledger.
 
January is a very odd month. The Flyers have an NHL-mandated four-day break in mid-January (all teams are getting bye weeks), then there's the All-Star break - three days - at month's end.
 
"Every team has a break," Hextall said. "The thought process is, you go on the road. Who knows? We need to come out of this trip with some points and get back playing good hockey."
 
One aspect of play that will be critical in the second half is special teams. Hextall said after last season he wanted to see a major improvement in that department, especially, on the penalty kill.
 
During the winning streak, Joey Mullen's power play was No. 1 at one point, but it's since fallen to sixth because of an 0-for-15 skid over the last six games, which contributed to the end of the streak.
 
Ian Laperriere's penalty kill, however, has steadily improved, moving to ninth overall before the break but checking in Wednesday at 13th. 
 
The Flyers had killed off 16 power plays in succession before giving up two goals in their 4-0 loss at New Jersey before the break began.
 
Most, not all, clubs that go deep in postseason finish among the top 10 in special teams play and that's what Hextall is looking for from this group.
 
"It's huge," he said. "Every goal that goes into your net - it's so hard to score goals, nowadays - that's another goal you have to score to win. When you have a good penalty kill, it's huge. Not only the goals that don't go in your net, but also the momentum it creates.
 
"Special teams are a big part of the game. They are a lesser part as you get into the playoffs, but in saying that, they are still a big part. We have to continue to be focused on that and our power play has to get back to where it was."

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