Saddled with a five-game (0-4-1) winless streak and headed into a two-week break in their game schedule, the Flyers had to have Saturday night's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the worst way.
Although their offense continued to struggle, the Flyers found a way and came away with a 3-2 win at the Wells Fargo Center.
The last thing the Flyers wanted was to sit around during their respite (due to the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament) from the slate with bad feelings on their minds.
The Penguins were playing without two of their best players, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but still put up a good fight.
Samuel Ersson gave another strong effort in goal for the winners and he was assisted by his teammates who blocked a season-high 34 shots.
Now Ersson and the gang have some peace of mind going into the break.
"A big moment for sure, maybe get a bit of swagger back in our group," Ersson said. "The last weeks have been a little tough for us. New guys coming in and stuff like that. This was big for us, just to get a little momentum. Feel good about this game going into the break. Rest up and get after it (after the break)."
A rather unique play led to the Flyers' go-ahead goal in the second period.
Garnet Hathaway chased a loose puck skittering down the ice with Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang in hot pursuit. Penguins goalie Joel Blomqvist skated out to try to clear the puck but the attempt bounced off Hathaway's leg and back into the Penguins' net at 12:26.
Like Ersson, Hathaway said this win meant a little more because of circumstances. Nobody wanted to go home with a bad taste in their mouths.
"Maybe for the subconscious mental aspect, it feels good to get two points against a team we're going to have to play two of the three games when we get back," Hathaway said. "They were right above us in the standings, too. I think guys now step back, recover mentally and physically. We haven't had a break like this in a long time. Keep up the speed and hit the ground running when we get back."
Then, in the third period, with the Flyers about to go on a power play, Travis Konecny fired a point shot which nicked off the stick of defender Noel Acciari past Blomqvist.
That turned out to be the winner because the Penguins scored a controversial goal by ex-Flyer Kevin Hayes at 5:42 of the third period. Officials initially waved off the attempt, saying the whistle had blown. But after review, the call was reversed.
The pairing of Konecny and Scott Laughton worked well together throughout the first period, including a goal by Laughton at 1:44 for a 1-0 lead.
Konecny led the initial attack, then found Laughton cutting toward the net. The center slid a shot through the five-hole against Blomqvist.
Andrei Kuzmenko, recently acquired from the Calgary Flames, recorded an assist on the play for his first point as a Flyer.
Pittsburgh tied the score at 1-1 at 4:19 of the second when Erik Karlsson fired from below the right circle and sent a shot over goaltender Samuel Ersson's left shoulder into the net.
In post-game comments, coach John Tortorella said that even though the Penguins had played the Rangers the night before, they were the quicker team. But no doubt a Flyers' season-high 34 blocked shots helped the cause.
The defense pairing of Nick Seeler (six) and Jamie Drysdale (four) led the way.
"It's Seels' game and it's turned into Jamie's game, he understands what he has to do at his position, too," Tortorella said. "I just like some of the things Jamie did with the puck.
"And it's a game where everybody blocked shots (14 players in all had at least one). Jamie's found his game, he's improving."
Getting a point in his first game as a Flyer provided a good feeling for Kuzmenko.
He hadn't seen game action in over a week so he admitted a little fatigue.
"I hope in the future, next game, I have a little bit better feeling," he said. "Good team, everyone support me this moment, I like it."
Kuzmenko said he will work on his conditioning over the break to get ready for the Flyers' next game on Feb. 22 vs. Edmonton.
Tortorella added: "You can see his skill. Has an enthusiasm about him. Played 18, 19 minutes (18:53) and did some things with the puck."
Prior to the game, Tortorella said injured defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was making progress from an injury he recently suffered and gave the impression he should be ready to go after the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament break . . . The Flyers get the next 10 days off, then resume with three days of practice (Feb. 19-21) before returning to action on Feb. 22 with a home game against the Edmonton Oilers . . . The Flyers blocked 16 Pittsburgh shots in the first period while the Penguins had just one block.