Porter Martone has made an instant impact, and his Flyers teammates say they’re not surprised
Martone picked up the first point of his NHL career in his home debut on Thursday, an assist that deflected in off Travis Konecny. He also had a whopping nine shots on goal!
Travis Konecny says he knew Porter Martone would be a great pro before he’d even been drafted by the Flyers.
Konecny and Martone (and Tyson Foerster) played together at the IIHF World Championships for team Canada last spring. Martone was the only junior player on a team full of NHL players, but you’d never have known it, Konecny said. So it’s come as no surprise how well Martone has adapted to the NHL just two games into his career.
“The way he plays, he’s not a risky player,” Konecny said. “He reminds me of [Foerster] honestly, like, the way he just plays north. He gets in on the forecheck hard. He’s a big body around the front of the net, and he gets in good shooting areas and finds ways to get shots off, so I’m not shocked.”
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On Thursday, Martone recorded the first point of his NHL career in his home debut, a primary assist that deflected in off Konecny. It took a challenge and a long video review, but it was ultimately confirmed.
That point was the result of the work Martone had been doing to put shots on net. He had a team-high nine shots in his 18-plus minutes of ice time, and, at five-on-five, the Flyers outshot the Detroit Red Wings 16-2, and created six high-danger chances while allowing none against, according to Natural Stat Trick. His aggressive shooting is something coach Rick Tocchet wants to see more of across the board.
“[Martone] just gets the puck on net,” Tocchet said. “[Red Wings goalie John] Gibson made some really good saves, then he puts one on the net again and we scored. That’s something we’ve got to really work on with this team, is we’ve got to hit the net. It’s really frustrating.”
In just two games, Martone already has 14 shots on goal, six more than any other Flyer over that stretch. Those opportunities have come from all over the ice, with three of his attempts coming from inside the slot, four from outside in the circles, and one even from the neutral zone. “I feel like I could have scored a couple,” Martone said of the chances he’s gotten over his first two NHL games.
Martone’s individual expected goals number was 0.70, third behind Konecny and Luke Glendening, according to Natural Stat Trick. Over the course of his debut game in Washington, Martone got more and more comfortable after taking an early delay of game penalty.
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“I think I found my game, and continued to keep on playing,” Martone said. “I just did the things that make me successful. I was trying to come in here and just give a jolt to this group, and help them try to win games. It’s unfortunate we haven’t got one yet, but it’s a big response for us tomorrow.”
The Flyers are still on the outside looking in in the playoff race — they are two points out of the wild card and three back of third in the Metro — and are putting Martone right into the fire. The No. 6 overall pick last June will be a huge part of the team’s future, but he’s already making an impact as part of their present.