Flyers takeaways: Denver Barkey’s work on the improving power play remains a bright spot
Barkey's deployment in the "bumper" position has unlocked the Flyers' power play of late. He scored his first goal of the season from there in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to Minnesota.
Not much has gone well for the Flyers to start the season. Even in one of their better games of the year, against one of the NHL’s best teams, the Flyers started slow and lost 4-2.
But surprisingly, one of the things that has started to pick up is the much-maligned power play. The Flyers have found a good mix on the top power-play unit, thanks in part to moving Denver Barkey into the “bumper” spot, or the high-slot position in front of the net.
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Since returning from the injury that sidelined him to start the year, Barkey, 21, has been deployed on the power play in that spot, and it’s resulted in an immediate uptick in production.
“Barks does a hell of a job in the middle supporting, which is honestly the biggest difference that I’ve seen personally,” winger Trevor Zegras said postgame. “Any 50-50 battle, he’s right there to help and support, and he’s such a smart player. He’s able to get it to that next guy, which just relieves a lot of pressure.”
The Flyers have only converted on 16.7% of their power plays this season, but the unit has been much better lately. Since notching their first win on Oct. 17, the Flyers rank 15th in the NHL and are converting at a 25% clip (7-for-28) on the man advantage, including Barkey’s goal from Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota.
On the third-period power play, Barkey had two high-danger chances. He didn’t quite get the shot off on the first one, but on the second, he cleared the slot before jumping back in the open lane and burying the pass from Porter Martone for his first goal of the season.
Before this year, Barkey had never really played in the bumper full-time. During his time in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights, it was actually Flyers defenseman Oliver Bonk who filled that role. But Barkey has always been a relentless worker and hard on the forecheck, which serves him well in his new role, drawing opponents out of the slot to create passing and shooting lanes.
“Underrated guy on the power play,” coach Rick Tocchet said of Barkey on Oct. 23. “His bumper position, he might not actually get on the score sheet sometimes, but he’s kept plays alive, he’s kept — the retrievals — pucks in play, which we had difficulty with last year. I would give him a big credit on the power play, what he’s doing.”
Before settling on Barkey, the coaching staff tried Martone and Travis Konecny in that spot on the top unit. Martone is a better fit along the wall where he can use his shot, even though he rang one off the post from there on Tuesday.
Barkey is also trying to adopt a shooting mentality, he said. He’s growing more comfortable in the bumper spot with each passing game, and said that while his first chance didn’t set up well for a one-timer, he’s trying to keep taking advantage of each opportunity.
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“Trying to shoot more, have that shooting mentality, and that’s when passing lanes open up,” Barkey said. “When I’m thinking shoot, that’s when the lanes open up. I’m focusing on that, just getting the puck towards the net when I’m in that area. It’s a dangerous, dangerous area that you can beat goalies in, so focusing on getting to the right spots, and then when I get it, just get it on net, catch it, pick my head up, and just put it towards the net.”
After years of a lifeless power play, the current top group of Barkey, Zegras, and Martone, with Jamie Drysdale at the point and Matvei Michkov below the net, has developed some chemistry and is already becoming a real weapon.
The Flyers will hope Barkey, and the man advantage as a whole, will continue to fire as the team heads out for a five-game road trip beginning Thursday in New York against the Rangers (NBCSP).
