Sean Couturier is back, and other Flyers takeaways from win over Bruins

When the Flyers entered a seven-game gauntlet against the top teams in the Eastern Conference, many thought the sky would fall in.

With a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins on Saturday, they are now 2-2-1 and have five out of six points over their past three games. All five are critical for the Flyers, with teams making a charge for their playoff spot.

“They will be, from here [on] out, the rest of the way, every win will be the biggest win, because we need them all,” Travis Konecny said when asked if this is the biggest win of the season based on timing and opponent.

» READ MORE: Flyers persevere for 3-2 win over Boston Bruins

Here are four quick hits from the Flyers’ win against the Bruins.

The Flyers captain returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for two games and played a solid game in which he and his linemates, Olle Lycksell and Noah Cates, controlled play and kept the puck deep in the offensive zone. As Flyers coach John Tortorella noted, “They [checked] well tonight.”

According to Natural Stat Trick, Sean Couturier’s line finished with 12 shot attempts at five-on-five, while allowing just three for the Bruins. Their puck possession led to the Flyers’ power-play goal, as Cates drew a high-sticking call near the Boston net while the line controlled play down low.

As for Couturier himself, he said with a laugh that he felt “fresh.” He finished with one shot on goal, two hits, won four of the eight faceoffs he took, and when he did make a mistake, he recovered quickly.

Couturier set up Lycksell for a tip-in chance 13 minutes, 38 seconds into the first period. In the third period, he held the puck, cut to the middle to draw the Bruins’ defense, and dished it to Scott Laughton, leading to Lycksell getting another chance in front.

“I just tried to come back to the basics, play a little more simple hockey, and let the game kind of come to me,” Couturier said. “I thought our line did a pretty good job of creating some forecheck, some momentum, a couple offensive chances, so yeah, I thought overall, the whole team, great effort.”

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Back in December, Tortorella said that Konecny had a “great engine.” And before the team started its morning skate in Minnesota in January, some of the Flyers formed a train and Konecny jumped to the front as he came onto the ice.

Exactly. He is a key driver in the Flyers’ game, and that was once again on display on Saturday afternoon.

Konecny hit the 30-goal mark for the second straight season thanks to a pair of goals. Although he said it was “awesome” and he’s “happy” to reach the milestone, the main focus is on the end of the season. But his individual game has still impressed his teammates.

“I found that, from what I knew before, a great competitor, really good at getting under a team’s skin, kind of playing with a fine line, right? ... For TK, he’s got that skill in that abrasiveness and for him, it’s really helped our group,” said Erik Johnson.

“He plays hard and two big goals for him tonight and, obviously, 30 [goals], so that’ll maybe be a team dinner or something.”

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With the Flyers’ blue line hit hard by injuries, Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning have stepped in and haven’t missed a beat. The two kids, who were late-season call-ups and entered the game with a combined 27 NHL games ― Attard had 24 of those ― have been a steady pairing, and have showcased a chemistry that was developed in Lehigh Valley.

Yes, they do make mistakes at times, but they know how to recover. Ginning gave the puck away to Jake DeBrusk in the third period on a spin move under pressure inside the Flyers’ blue line, but stayed with it to break up DeBrusk’s pass attempt to a wide-open David Pastrnak in front.

As Laughton said when he gave the dog mask to Ginning as part of the Flyers’ postgame victory ritual, “I thought this guy calmed it back there.”

Both Attard and Ginning saw time on the penalty kill. Attard finished with 16:30 of playing time with seven shot attempts (four missed the net, including a wide-open chance in the second period), two hits, two blocked shots, and an even plus-minus; Ginning played 16:37 and had three shots on goal, four hits, one blocked shot and was plus-1. Their play has impressed the bench boss.

“The young kids, I don’t see any nerves. Mistakes are made, mistakes are made by their D too, but they go back out and play,” Tortorella said.

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Johnson was a trade-deadline acquisition from Buffalo and has seamlessly stepped onto the Flyers’ blue line. The 36-year-old played 16:10 and had three hits and one blocked shot, and made several key plays. In the second period, he raced back on a Bruins clearing attempt that did not connect and used one hand on his stick to chip the puck away from Jakub Lauko, a guy 12 years his junior. It started a rush the other way for the Flyers.

Then, with the Flyers up 1-0 and 34 seconds left in the period, the Bruins were looking to set up in the offensive zone when the puck got to Hampus Lindholm at the blue line. As he skated in, Johnson went down and Lindholm wound up for a shot but instead tried to pass to Pastrnak. Sprawled on the ice, the veteran blueliner blocked the pass and then swiped the puck away with one hand on his stick to spring Laughton, who was robbed by Linus Ullmark’s glove.

“He’s great. ... I don’t think you guys realize how big of a play that was because there was a breakdown and you know how dangerous their team can be. It was huge,” Konecny said.

“When I got here the first time, I felt super welcomed and kind of felt like I had been here for a while already,” Johnson said.

In reality, it’s only been 15 days and seven games. Tortorella has seen improvement in his play as each game passes.

“Coming to a new team, all that comes with it, and then right in the middle of where we’re at, I thought it went slowly but I think he’s feeling more and more comfortable,” Tortorella said. “[He] had some big blocks tonight. He’s a veteran pro, really good guy for the locker room. And he’s long, he’s in the way, so each game I think he’s gotten better. So it’s really important in the situation that we’re in.”