5. Couturier roars out of the gates.

Flyers captain Sean Couturier looked very close to his old self — the two-time Selke Trophy candidate (and one-time winner), 70-plus point version — over the season’s first nine games. Apart from posting nine points (two goals, seven assists), Couturier set a tone for embracing the box + 1 zone coverage system in the defensive zone. Unfortunately, Couturier left Monday’s game in the first period with an undisclosed injury that Tocchet said came from getting struck by an errant Noah Juulsen shot. Hopefully, he’s back quickly.

6. Penalty kill has been stellar.

The Flyers killed 33 of 37 penalties in October (89.2 percent) to rank fourth in the league heading into the final day of the month. Sometimes there’s an adjustment period under a new coach. However, the Flyers’ PK hasn’t skipped a beat with Todd Reirden now at the helm of the team’s penalty kill. If there’s any issue to correct, it’s the penalties themselves. The Flyers have had to play shorthanded an average 3.7 times per games. That’s too much, ranking as the sixth most-penalized team in the league.

7. Standing up for teammates.

There’s a difference between penalties that arise from defending a teammate versus minors that arise from not moving one’s feet or misreading a play and taking a desperation penalty. The close-knit Flyers roster has done a commendable job at having each other’s backs. It hasn’t just been the stalwarts like Nick Deslauriers, Nick Seeler or Garnet Hathaway. Even the likes of Zegras, Michkov, Foerster, Rodrigo Abols and Nikita Grebenkin have answered the bell on behalf of teammates at different times.

8. Power play shows progress.

The Flyers power play has been a sore spot for most of the 2020s. New assistant coaches Yogi Svejkovsky and Jay Varady haven’t completely turned the tides yet. However, the power play (6-for-30, 20 percent) has recently shown signs of coming around. The puck movement has been better, even when the team doesn’t score. They’ve worked a couple set plays successfully, too. The unit with Cates, Brink, Foerter, Zegras and Cam York has become the PP1 unit of late, starting out power plays. One area of needed course correction: the Flyers allowed two shorthanded goals (plus a near goal that hit the post and stayed out) over the first 10 games.