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A little more than a week after he played his last game as a freshman at Michigan State, Porter Martone<\/a> scored the overtime goal that pushed the Flyers past the Boston Bruins<\/a> and into the playoffs on Sunday \u2014 at least for the time being. <\/p>\n It was more than his first goal as a professional. It was a statement goal for the franchise.<\/p>\n No matter what happens in their last five games, the organization\u2019s trade-deadline gamble has paid off. The Flyers ignored pressures to tank for a better draft pick because their postseason prospects looked poor. Instead, not only have the Flyers, with a scintillating core of youth, played meaningful games for a month, they have reached the top of a mountain most considered unattainable. <\/p>\n They occupy third place in the Metropolitan Division entering Tuesday night\u2019s game in New Jersey. Even if they slide back a bit and miss the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season, they\u2019ve given the team a taste of meaningful hockey and they\u2019ve rewarded veterans who have endured a half-decade of irrelevance.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s important to be around a winning culture, you know?\u201d said captain Sean Couturier<\/a>. \u201cI guess it\u2019s fine rebuilding, tanking, whatever you want to call it, but when you don\u2019t win, it\u2019s hard to learn how to win. You can\u2019t just linger for years at the bottom of the standings and, after four or five years being in the bottom, to just all of a sudden be top contenders, I think it\u2019s important to put yourself into these situations, these big, meaningful games, and guys get experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Maybe they learned that from the team that shares their building.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Tyson Foerster\u2019s improbable return from injury has given the Flyers\u2019 playoff hopes a lift<\/a><\/p>\n When Martone scored his goal, Xfinity Mobile Arena exploded. These days, the barn is more electric than it has been in years. <\/p>\n Martone is the latest object of the love affair between Flyers Nation, first-year coach Rick Tocchet<\/a>, and a collection of imperfect, plucky young players like rookie forwards Denver Barkey and Alex Bump<\/a>, and, of course, enigmatic star-in-waiting Matvei Michkov<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tocc, like GM Danny Bri\u00e8re<\/a> and president Keith Jones<\/a>, is an adored Flyers alum. None was especially adored a month ago, when, at the deadline, the Flyers mainly stood pat.<\/a><\/p>\n Despite having won just six of their previous 20 games, they decided not to trade big-name defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. They made other, largely cosmetic moves, but with about a 7% chance of making the playoffs according to Money Puck, they bet on themselves.<\/p>\n That percentage grew to more than 53% on Sunday. The Flyers are 11-4-1 since the deadline. <\/p>\n Did Bri\u00e8re feel relief? Validation?<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t about validation for what we did,\u201d Bri\u00e8re said Monday after posing with the rest of the organization for the annual team picture. \u201cBut yes, it was a gamble.\u201d<\/p>\n Bri\u00e8re had gotten a fresh haircut two days earlier in anticipation of the photo session. As he leaned against the wall of the tunnel that leads to the ice, his impish grin gave him the appearance and air of a mischievous schoolboy who was telling a harmless fib.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we did \u2014 it was thinking about what we want to do, and, as we\u2019ve said for years now, we want to try to build a team that\u2019s going to be able win for years to come,\u201d Bri\u00e8re said. \u201cTo me, what we\u2019re going through right now is awesome, experience-wise, for our guys to go through. Very important.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Porter Martone\u2019s fast start with the Flyers was forged in Michigan State\u2019s gym: \u2018The best decision I ever made\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Obviously, the four youngsters mentioned above haven\u2019t been to the playoffs, but neither have players like Trevor Zegras<\/a> and Jamie Drysdale<\/a>. Owen Tippett<\/a> played a minor role in six playoff games in 2021 with Florida, but that was his first full NHL season. Now, he leads his team with 28 goals.<\/p>\n Nine of those goals have come in his 21 games since the Olympic break, which just preceded the trade deadline. Michkov, who reported to camp out of shape, spent the break working out, and he\u2019s got 14 points and is plus-1 since the break; he was minus-7 entering it. Backup goalie Sam Ersson<\/a> is 5-1 in his six starts since the break. Ristolainen struggled through two injuries before he joined the Finnish team for the Olympics<\/a> and was minus-4. He\u2019s plus-11 since.<\/p>\n Tocchet spent the break simplifying his system so his younger players didn\u2019t have to think so much, which has led to faster play and fewer mistakes.<\/p>\n The Flyers got another boost when 24-year-old winger Tyson Foerster<\/a> returned. Foerster\u2019s 25 goals were second on the team last season, but he missed four months this season after upper-body surgery and was considered done, but he came back Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting Martone signed and getting Foerster back,\u201d Bri\u00e8re said, \u201cthat was like adding on at the deadline.\u201d<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t completely inactive March 6. Wing-heavy, he shipped Bobby Brink<\/a> to Minnesota to take a chance on former first-round<\/a> defenseman David Ji\u0159\u00ed\u010dek, sent veteran Nic Deslauriers to Carolina to chase a Stanley Cup, and claimed workman center Luke Glendening off waivers.<\/p>\n They hoped Foerster would return. They knew they\u2019d get Martone, too, as long as his Spartans lost early enough in the NCAA Tournament<\/a>. Martone joined a team reluctant to fire the puck, but he\u2019s already got 20 shots in four games, which is about twice as many as Tippett averages.<\/p>\n Things have fallen the Flyers\u2019 way.<\/p>\n Columbus has won once in its last eight games, and its only win was in Philly. But the New York Islanders are on a four-game slide, with a home loss to the Flyers on Friday, and they fired coach Patrick Roy on Sunday. The Flyers\u2019 90 points are tied with Ottawa for the final wild-card slot.<\/p>\n