Flyers claw back before falling in overtime to Kings, drop fourth straight loss

The Flyers did not get the memo about the early start on Saturday.

Adrian Kempe and the Kings got out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period with two point-blank goals, and the Kings nearly made it 3-0 just seconds later, until an Andrei Kuzmenko goal got called back for offside.

But from that point on, the Flyers got their legs back. Trevor Zegras brought the team within one on the power play under a minute into the second period, and Travis Konecny tipped in a point shot from Rasmus Ristolainen seconds into the third period to tie the game. But in overtime, Konecny hit the post on a breakaway opportunity against Darcy Kuemper, and then Quinton Byfield and the Kings capitalized shortly after on the other end.

“We made some good plays, had a couple bounces that easily could have went in,” Konecny said. “I’ve got to put it away there in overtime.”

» READ MORE: Flyers takeaways: Travis Konecny is ‘tired’ of losing, Sam Ersson’s struggles, and one bright spot from Boston

The Flyers may not have left Saturday’s game with two points, continuing their four-game losing skid, but it wasn’t all bad.

After going down 2-0 early, the Flyers killed two consecutive penalties late in the first and then drew a power play of their own, which helped build momentum heading into the second period.

“We play the team game,” said Rick Tocchet. “We can’t afford to play our own game. We just can’t. It’s not an individual sport. We have too many guys that — they don’t mean to do it, but they have to understand we have to play a certain way if we’re going to compete. We did in the second or third, and we cleaned stuff up.”

Defenseman Nick Seeler said he didn’t think the overall game plan for LA changed in the second, but the team failed to execute on that game plan in the first.

After the first intermission, he said, the team regrouped.

“Our process was there, and I thought we started forechecking, and their guys got a little tired from the pressure we were putting on them,” Seeler said.

Tocchet said he thinks the team is dealing with nerves, leading to some of the issues early in games. The Flyers also haven’t had as much practice time as Tocchet would like, but they will have multiple opportunities to practice next week before the Olympic break.

But someone who’s helping the Flyers set the emotional and physical tone for each game is Konecny, who scored the game-tying goal and nearly had the game-winner.

“He’s trying to do the right things,” Tocchet said. “He’s getting open, he’s sprinting. He’s getting those goals. That’s what I’m trying to get these guys to understand. Get to those areas quick. There might be some sticks and bodies. You’ve got to get inside. I call it racing to get inside. [Konecny’s] racing to get inside.”

After the Flyers’ loss in Boston, Konecny was frank that he’s sick of losing, and just wants to make the playoffs again. Picking up at least one point in the standings Saturday was important, given where the Flyers currently sit with 58 points in the Metro division.

With the top three teams, Carolina, Pittsburgh, and the Islanders, starting to separate themselves a bit from the pack, it’s more important than ever that the young Flyers roster stays composed and mentally prepared to fight for a playoff spot.

“I just don’t want these guys to get bummed out because we lost,” Tocchet said. “We did some good things without the puck, and that’s what we have to do.”

Trevor Zegras played his second game in a row at center, playing primarily with Bobby Brink and Matvei Michkov. Playing center, the position he was drafted by Anaheim to play, was always in the Flyers’ plans for Zegras, but as the season has progressed, he was moved back to the wing, and at least in the early goings, he thrived in that role.

“I think we were moving our feet without the puck tonight, which was great,” Zegras said. “I thought [Brink] was awesome away from [the puck], getting over the top of people, and when guys are doing that stuff and you’re getting turnovers, that’s where the skill comes out.”

Early into the second period, Zegras scored his first goal in seven games on the power play on a feed from Brink. The goal was Zegras’ first point since a two-assist night in Utah on Jan. 21.

Zegras said the thing he felt most comfortable with from game one to two back at center was his face-offs. He won five of his eight draws on Saturday.

“Face-offs are the big one,” Zegras said. “I wasn’t great in Boston. Obviously, I’ve been talking to [Sean Couturier], because that’s something he’s really good at. It’s something I’m always working on, for sure.”

» READ MORE: Flyers thrilled to get Dan Vladař back as they try and finish strong before the Olympic break

Konecny pointed to face-offs more generally as a key issue in the Flyers’ slow starts, including on the Kings’ first goal of the game, and in overtime.

“The linesmen, they’re kicking a lot of guys out, and especially like D-zone draws, which are hard, when you’ve got one guy in there and then I lose that one, and then it ends up in the back of the cage,” Konecny said.

Brink, who played primarily with Zegras, ended up taking five draws, losing four of them.

Aleksei Kolosov was recalled from Lehigh Valley and backed up Vladař against the Kings after Samuel Ersson was injured in Thursday’s loss to Boston... Lane Pederson was re-assigned to the AHL.

The Flyers return to Xfinity Mobile arena on Tuesday (7 p.m./NBC Sports Philadelphia) to take on the Washington Capitals.