MONTREAL _ The Flyers led the NHL by compiling 24 points and a 10-2-4 record in a hectic November, giving them just their fourth 10-win month in the last decade.
That's the good news.
The better news: There are areas in which they can improve, and they won't play 16 games in any other remaining month this season.
That'll be the goal as the season progresses and they jockey for a playoff spot.
As for equaling a franchise record for points in November, they did it by grinding out victories, by getting superb work from their penalty killers, by quickly grasping Alain Vigneault's 1-2-2 system, and unlike in recent seasons, by rarely taking a period or two off.
But mostly, they did it by getting outstanding goaltending from Carter Hart and Brian Elliott, The Kid and The Old Pro.
It was a month in which the Flyers, now 15-7-5, scored two or fewer goals in seven of their 16 games, but their goalies bailed them out.
Hart and Elliott both made clutch saves at the most opportune times.
"They've been keeping us in games and giving us momentum," defenseman Ivan Provorov said after making a length-of-the-ice dash and scoring a Bobby Orr-like goal, lifting the Flyers to a 4-3 overtime win Saturday in Montreal. "We know that they're behind us, and we're confident if someone makes a mistake, they'll be able to help us out."
