Rick Tocchet is using this week’s extra practice time to attack some worrying trends with his Flyers

Standing in the hallway outside the visitors’ locker room at American Airlines Center after his team got trounced by the Dallas Stars on Saturday night, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet offered some insight about the coming week.

“We’ve got some practice time here, and we’re going to have to really work on some two-on-two and three-on-three battles I think it’s going to be the majority of the four days,” he stressed with the Flyers’ next game not until Thursday when the St. Louis Blues, who they just beat 6-5 in a shootout on Friday, visit (7 p.m., NBCSP).

That’s just what the Flyers did on Monday in Voorhees.

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Behind the scenes, the team watched video,” on how we can be better and kind of just get back to how we were playing at the start of the year, plus improvements,” defenseman Jamie Drysdale said.

But for many players, like Drysdale, watching on video only takes them so far. They need to put it into action.

“Get a feel for it,” he said. “It’s all comfort. It’s all feeling, feeling your gaps, feeling the pressure, feeling your reads, things like that. So we got the best of both here, and it was a good day.”

On the ice, after splitting into two groups to focus on rush coverages, the Flyers converged onto the main sheet for five-on-five, three-on-three, and two-on-two drills.

It was physical, with Matvei Michkov getting into it with Adam Ginning and then taking a few cross-checks from Noah Juulsen as he went to the net. Captain Sean Couturier described it as “grinding” practice with a focus on winning battles.

And it was competitive, as noted by Tyson Foerster’s reaction after scoring during a two-on-two small-area game. After colliding with his partner Travis Sanheim — they were both OK — the winger stuck with it and scored on a wraparound between the left post and the skate of goalie Dan Vladař. His teammates in the black jerseys cheered too.

“I love them,” forward Travis Konecny said about having an intense and spirited practice. “It was getting a little competitive, little chippy. I think we need it. It’s good. I think you get in that competitive mindset … [and] everyone’s bringing the intensity. Guys are leading the right way, competing, doesn’t matter who you are out there, you’re just setting a good example for the next guy, the next rep.”

The Flyers have started slowly too often this season, trailing in 12 of the 18 games they’ve played, including the last five. That has forced them to chase games pretty quickly. Tocchet said on Monday that he’s “a trend guy” and is focused on stopping a bunch of trends he’s seen from his group.

“When trends hit, that’s when you’ve got to attack it. So these three days were attacking the trend. Too much containment,” he said of his team playing too passively and not stepping up on the opposition defensively.

“Not enough support of the puck. And then, backing it at the blue line — it’s not just the defense, it’s a five-man thing — so it’s just been a trend the last three, four games, and we have to stop it."

Juulsen thinks these types of practices can help the Flyers get “into the battle right away,” as does working on things through small-area games. USA Hockey is a big proponent of playing small-area games as they increase puck touches, competition, quickness in decision-making, and battles.

It helps the next generation focus on that while working in small spaces. It helps the older kids, too.

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“I think the majority of the game is like, won and lost in those little battles,” said Konecny. “There’s the flashy open ice stuff that you get on the highlight reels, but it’s probably the play, two plays before, whatever, that actually allowed that to happen. I mean, a lot of the time, it’s kind of what is the difference for some guys to even make the NHL, is just those little battles and being good with your stick and learn[ing] how to do that stuff.

“Yeah, it’s difficult. Because that’s why the teams that win the Cup every year, they’re the best at good sticks, details, winning those little battles.”

Defenseman Cam York had a maintenance day, with Tocchet adding that “He’s fine to play. … He could have practiced, but I felt two days, try to help him out get over what he’s got. It’s a little minor thing, nothing major.” … Defenseman Oliver Bonk was on the ice for the start of the practice, skating with the orange team on the second sheet of ice. It is the next step for the 20-year-old, who just turned pro and is dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him from participating in both the rookie series against the New York Rangers in early September and training camp.