Flyers focused on putting together ‘60-minute, consistent effort’ coming off a long road trip swing
The Flyers pieced together a successful 2-1-2 road trip, earning a point in four of their five games. They hope to continue that momentum as they face the Oilers at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday.
The Flyers pieced together a successful 2-1-2 trip in New York and Western Canada, and capped it off with a comeback win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
“I thought that was probably the most 60-minute games we’ve played,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “There’s some really good stuff, there’s some stuff that we’ve got to clean up, but I thought the guys handled it really well.”
After starting the trip off with a third-period collapse against the Rangers on Nov. 5, the Flyers earned points on the four remaining games on the trip, including one of their best efforts of the season in an overtime loss to an elite Edmonton Oilers team on Thursday
» READ MORE: Denver Barkey, Matvei Michkov help Flyers rally from two down, finish road trip with 4-3 win in Columbus
Sometimes, a long road trip can serve as a reset, an opportunity for the team to get right after a rough swing. It can also be a good opportunity for the team to bond and come together. The Flyers lauded their strong team chemistry that helped drive a playoff run last year, but the team’s tough start this year exposed cracks in that foundation.
“It’s a close group,” Tocchet said. “Eighty-four games, you’re going to deal with stuff that happens. There’s 24 guys in the locker room, it’s a close group. A lot of guys go to dinner, there’s eight or nine guys at dinner in Columbus. I know it’s blown out of proportion, but it is what it is, and we’re dealing with it, and they’re doing a [heck] of a job dealing with it.”
Coming off a long trip, on the second night of a back-to-back, the Flyers have another tough matchup on Sunday against that same high-flying Edmonton team that Tocchet said is “mopping the league up.”
But if the Flyers want to have hope of turning their season around, they know they need to keep tapping into those better full-game efforts now that they’re back home.
“I think we knew we were a resilient group from last year, and I think we’re starting to show it a little bit more, game-by-game, right now,” Denver Barkey said when asked what the team learned from the road trip. “I think we’re just putting forth a good 60-minute, consistent effort. There’s less ups and downs, and we’re staying in structure more, playing fast, playing north.”
Breakaways
Oliver Bonk will sit on Sunday. Tocchet said Bonk was healthy, but “needed a reset.” With Rasmus Ristolainen’s return, Bonk had been demoted down the lineup after a strong start to his rookie campaign. … Barkey, who scored two goals in the win over Columbus, is out with an illness. Cole Knuble will draw back in the lineup.
