On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers (3-6-1) executed their best performance this season. A shutout of the Boston Bruins, 2-0, at the TD Garden Arena was not the likely outcome.
Though it is not an excuse, the Flyers schedule is rough. Philadelphia competed in three back-to-back series during the first ten games. A trial by fire, two of those back-to-back series took place in the last five games.
John Tortorella has his lineup playing their best hockey as of late. A win versus the, at the time, undefeated Minnesota Wild and the shutout against the Bruins moved the Flyers out of last place (7th) in the NHL Metropolitan Division based on point percentage (35%).
One critical point made by Tortorella was about finding a balance between being positive and remaining honest about how bad certain facets of the game are. At times, Philadelphia abandoned even-strength structure, the forwards were too hairsplitting on the attack, and defensively, there was not enough cohesion to help the goaltenders. Lately, a few players helped keep the Flyers in the fight. The team is slowly refining, and it began with noticing what needed improvement and taking accountability.
“We have to balance trying to be as positive as we can to help us get out of this, but also be as honest as we need to be as far as how bad some things are. That’s the tightrope I’m walking right now because there are some things going on that are just unacceptable. But, you can’t keep beating your team down. We had a very important meeting this morning, and showing some good things that are going on, but a lot of it is not to the standard of the way we do things.” – John Tortorella; 10/29/2024
Philadelphia began the 2024-2025 campaign with a 1-3-1 record. Travis Konecny, Jamie Drysdale, and Owen Tippett earned their flowers during the first five games, but as the season marches on, the Flyers present a larger sample size. Which skaters are improving their stock as the team improves to 3-6-1?
Honorable Mentions: Morgan Frost, Bobby Brink, Emil Andrae, Rasmus Ristolainen, Sam Ersson, and Drysdale.
Travis Sanheim
Travis Sanheim was the best defenseman in the lineup for Philadelphia, dating back to the home-and-home series with the Washington Capitals, the loss at home to the Montréal Canadiens, and the win in Boston. Overall, he averages ~24:00TOI in addition to 3G, 2A, 12SOG, 2PIM, 5GV, 3TK, 4HIT, 11BLK, and a penalty drawn versus Matt Boldy.
His take-home performance came at home versus the Canadiens. Sanheim was the equalizer to Nick Suzuki in the first period. Then, after a three-goal second period from Montréal, Sanheim scored another before adding an assist in the third.
- 24:49TOI, 2G, A, 3SOG, GV, BLK
“Last year, the reason we were so successful; it was five-man units, one after another, every line. We had an identity, [and] we were working hard. Other teams knew that. Maybe that’s part of it; teams are aware of our success that we had last year in doing that. Just getting back to the basics, we need to simplify. We just need to put our heads down, go to work, get to the dirty areas. Last year, we were throwing pucks from awkward angles, you’re getting those extra rebounds, and [we’re] just not seeing that right now. It’s something that we got to change pretty quickly because the way we’re going, it’s not a good path.” – Travis Sanheim; 10/27/2024
Sanheim said the above quote following a 4-3 loss to the Canadiens, but if you notice what Sanheim pointed out about the Flyers, Philadelphia overhauled those facets before the puck dropped against the Bruins. The tilt in Boston centered around defense, to which Sanheim continued his strong push over the last five games.
Sean Couturier
Sean Couturier crossed a milestone threshold in his NHL career versus the Wild. He began the scoring in the first period, notching his 500th career point. Furthermore, Couturier finished with five points in the matinee, including a hat-trick.
- 17:31TOI, 3G, 2A, 5SOG, GV, HIT, BLK, 78.5%FO
“I was getting some chances lately. The puck just wasn’t going in. You have those nights sometimes where everything seems to go in, and [the] puck finds you. Just like those rebounds, they seem to pop right at me every time. Those are nice, and you got to take advantage of those.” – Sean Couturier; 10/26/2024
Through the first five games of the season, the Flyers averaged 2.6 goals scored. Tortorella preaches cohesiveness, amongst other areas of improvement. Sanheim mentioned a simplification and a return to basics. Couturier, versus Minnesota, broke through because of his presence at the crease, making himself available below the hash marks. As a marginal improvement, Philadelphia stands at 3.2 goals scored in the recent five-game average.
Overall, Couturier averages ~18:12TOI with 3G, 2A, 13SOG, 3GV, 3TK, 8HIT, and 6BLK over the last five-game stretch. In his game, puck possession is massive. Lately, Couturier wins an average of 63.7% of his faceoffs, and in addition to earning more possessions, he drew three penalties over the span, putting the Flyers on the man advantage. Philadelphia has the 13th-ranked powerplay in the NHL, only .9% removed from cracking the top ten (Carolina Hurricanes).
Noah Cates
Noah Cates helped steady the five-on-five game for the Flyers lately. He is a fourth-line winger not always included on special teams. Due to that, Cates must accentuate his minutes with sturdy play. During the home-and-home with the Capitals and versus Montréal, Cates was one of the more underrated skaters in the lineup for Philadelphia.
Similar to Couturier, Cates is very valuable in terms of puck management. Cates had his hallmark performance in Washington.
- 13:39TOI, 4HIT, BLK, TK, 66.7%FO, and drew a penalty against Nic Dowd
Cates saw a dip in minutes versus Minnesota but notched an assist to complete the hat-trick on an empty-net goal by Couturier. Immediately after, Tortorella put Cates back onto his scheduled workload, and Cates remained steady versus the Canadiens. In this five-game span, Cates averages ~11:48TOI with an A, 2SOG, a penalty drawn against the Capitals, 11HIT, 2BLK, GV, 4TK, and a 60.1% success rate in the faceoff circle.
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