RALEIGH, N.C. _ The NHL schedule makers have not been kind to the Flyers.
The team just finished a stretch in which it played five games in seven nights and three sets of back-to-back games in a 17-day span.
"It's something we've talked about, just wanting to build good habits," coach Dave Hakstol said after the Flyers (4-5-1), despite showing fatigue, rallied and defeated Carolina, 4-3, on Sunday.
Now they get ready for yet "another set of back-to-back games: Wednesday against visiting Detroit and Thursday in Brooklyn against the New York Islanders.
That's four sets of back-to-back games in the season's first three weeks.
"It's a lot of games, but that's a good thing," said captain Claude Giroux, who says the action gives the team a chance to get into a rhythm.
Giroux has certainly found his rhythm. He has 12 points and entered Monday tied with Edmonton's Connor McDavid for the NHL scoring lead. The shifty center has matched a career high with points in nine straight games and has at least a point in every game except the opener, a 4-2 win in Los Angeles.
Giroux was the only Flyers forward to score Sunday as they got goals from defensemen Brandon Manning, Radko Gudas and Shayne Gostisbehere.
Manning, who scored the game-winner on a short-handed goal with 12 minutes left, has been the team's most pleasant surprise. He has two goals and seven points _ as many points as he scored in 56 games last season _ in the first 10 games.
Manning played well in last season's playoffs, "and this year he just picked it up again," Giroux said. "That was a big goal for us, obviously. He's got a good attitude on him, and he battles out there."
While Manning (team-high plus-6) has exceeded expectations, rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov (team-worst minus-8) is going through the expected growing pains.
Prorovov, 19, said he hasn't been surprised by the play on the NHL level and that he is "just trying to get better each game."
By playing in his 10th game Sunday, Provorov's entry-level contract started, meaning he will likely stay with the Flyers all season. He could still be returned to juniors, but the first year of his contract would be burnt.
Players can be sent to junior hockey, or in some situations the American Hockey League, prior to playing a 10th game and delay the start of their contract. Players still can be sent down after playing their 10th game but it would waste the first season of their three-year contract. And in the case of players sent to junior hockey, they can't be recalled until their team's season ends.
"You can always get sent down," Provorov said. "I mean, you have to show your game and prove that you belong here."
