Rick Tocchet switches up Flyers’ lines again ahead of visit from defending Stanley Cup champs
The Flyers enter Saturday seeking their first win, and, as Travis Sanheim put it, they're "going to have to figure it out pretty quickly, or it’s going to get out of hand."
Two games into the season, the Flyers have scored twice and allowed 10. They have been outshot, 41-22, on average and have spent just 37% of their time in the offensive zone, below the league average of 40.4%.
Things aren’t great at either end.
Coach Rick Tocchet said Saturday morning that they “need some guys to be able to hold pucks and make a play” and that several players need to move their feet and play more disciplined. It’s apparent via the eye test that the team is a step behind. According to NHL Edge stats, the Flyers rank 26th in max skating speed, led by Carl Grundström’s 21.82-mph burst in the season opener.
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They have not had a player reach 22 mph, despite hitting above that mark 97 times last season when the league average was 86.
Although it’s two games into the season and still 82 more on the slate — beginning Saturday against the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m., NBCSP), the Flyers know that while they played better Thursday, it’s still not good enough.
“I think sometimes you come in thinking that it’s just going to be easy, and you get humbled pretty quickly in this league when you aren’t on your A game, and I think you’ve seen that through the first two games,” defenseman Travis Sanheim, who, along with his partner Rasmus Ristolainen, has scored the Flyers’ goals this season, said Saturday.
“We’ve got a lot of games coming up here against a lot of good opponents, and we’re going to have to figure it out pretty quickly, or it’s going to get out of hand.”
The easy thing is to point out what has gone wrong. The harder question is how to fix it. After Wednesday’s rout, the team simplified some things on Thursday, and Tocchet liked the uptick in puck possession in earning a loser point. But as forward Owen Tippett added Saturday, going back to basics is key, as is knowing when to make the right play at the right time.
“If you look at the last two games, even this preseason, execution hasn’t been great,” Tocchet said. “Like an 18-foot pass, passing into the guy skates and puck possession. That’s making plays. We want guys to make plays. We expect certain guys, even with a guy on you, he should be able to make a play. We’re not getting that play. So we’re looking for more of that.”
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The numbers aren’t great either. According to Natural Stat Trick, among the 10 teams that have played two games, the Flyers are last in shot attempts (64), Corsi For percentage (34.21%), expected goals for (1.92), scoring chances (22), and high-danger chances (five) at five-on-five. They also have given up the second-most high-danger chances (26), with only the New York Rangers, who have 26 themselves, giving up more (28).
To help right the ship, Tocchet has switched up the lines for a third straight game. Trevor Zegras will center the speedy Tippett and Grundström; Alex Bump is now alongside Sean Couturier and Noel Acciari; Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak will skate with Matvei Michkov on the top line; and Porter Martone is moving down with Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster.
The bench boss is trying to find the puzzle pieces that fit.
“You could always say you could flush those games and stuff, but I think for us, there’s more of learning lessons and kind of take the negatives and positives from the game,” Martone said.
“Just continue to learn from them and come in today with morning skate with that attitude that we got a lot better. We know what we have in this room. We know we’ve got in this group. So it’s what we do with it. And just come here and compete tonight. That’s all we could ask for.
Breakaways
Defenseman David Jiříček will make his season debut on the third pair with Nick Seeler and, per Tocchet, should see some time on the second power-play unit, despite Cam York taking recent reps. Jiříček played in the Flyers’ season finale in April after being acquired from the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline for Bobby Brink. … Joseph Woll will be back in net for the Flyers after making 41 saves in the Flyers’ 3-2 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. … Forward Denver Barkey skated half the morning skate in a noncontact jersey and half in a contact jersey. “I think it’s the first time he’s switched jerseys,” Tocchet said. “A little more contact, so when that happens, obviously get closer and closer. So hopefully he’s a possibility this week.”
