Before the 2024-2025 season, John Tortorella felt the challenge on the road would be good for the Philadelphia Flyers (1-3-1). The campaign began in Vancouver, traveled through Calgary and Edmonton, and finished in Seattle before returning home to the Wells Fargo Center.
“I want the season to start. I just want to see where we’re at, see some of the crap we’ll go through, some of the ups and downs in a season; I think that’s when you find out about your team.” – John Tortorella; 10/4/2024
Throughout the road trip, the Flyers competed in a couple of lengthy tilts against the Vancouver Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers to varying results. Sam Ersson earned the only win in a shootout against the Canucks, and each start by Ivan Fedotov soured in regulation against the Calgary Flames and the Seattle Kraken. In Philadelphia, Vancouver returned a receipt with a 3-0 shutout.
Those tidbits only portray what the box score tells. Every team has a ton to work on this early into the season. The Flyers have strung together a couple of solid periods but have yet to be the dominant team in any contest. Except for the home opener, Philadelphia maintained a baseline of at least three goals scored, sometimes playing catch-up and, other times, taking an early lead and failing to close out an opponent.
A difference between this roster compared to a season ago is the efficiency of special teams compared to even-strength scenarios.
“Five-on-five, we’re disjointed. We’re not developing a whole bunch, and you’re always worried about everything when you lose hockey games. We’ll just keep on working at it.” – John Tortorella; 10/17/2024
During the road trip from Vancouver to Seattle, a minimum of nine penalties were committed between opponents, sometimes reaching as high as eleven. Due to that, there is an over-exertion of the powerplay and penalty kill units. Disjointed hockey does not allow for a proper game flow, and Tortorella could not maintain a read of what his lineup could accomplish at even strength. Matvei Michkov (2G, 2A) and Morgan Frost (3A) lead the powerplay scoring, and all of their points come from the man advantage. Those two had credible chemistry coming into the season but typically are at their best when the numbers favor the Flyers.
But, the powerplay is converting at a 22.7% rate. While that is an egregious improvement from the worst in the NHL a season ago (and in franchise history), another problem surfaced. On home ice, Philadelphia welcomed a change of pace. There was much more room for even-strength hockey, but the Canucks controlled the game. The Flyers took wide-angled shots, missed defensive assignments, and because of some lineup toggling, they underperformed at the faceoff dot.
“It’s coverages. We work on our coverage and show tape practically every day, but you’re going to make mistakes. Laughts [Laughton] is anticipating a play down the wall on the first one, where he should be in the middle. It’s pushed out to the slot. They’re coverages. We’re going to keep working at it and trying to get better.” – John Tortorella; 10/19/2024
Kevin Lankinen blanked Philadelphia. The first five games came full circle with Vancouver, and a point to take home was how the Flyers were unprepared at even-strength after disjointed hockey seemed to be why they could not find a rhythm. In addition to a much-improved powerplay, the penalty kill stops the opposition at an 85.7% rate. Tortorella, along with Rocky Thompson and Brad Shaw, will appreciate the improvements on special teams, but there is a need to find out who is succeeding in other facets and how to build from that foundation.
Ersson, in terms of goaltending, has a lot of pressure on him. Fedotov only competed for five periods, allowing ten goals. Comparably, Ersson allowed ten goals, too, but in as many periods (remember, he replaced Fedotov after the second intermission in Seattle).
With the puck and away from it, some players stand out with positive impressions after five games. Of course, there will be a lot to figure out, which is not a reason to sound alarms.
I placed some stock in a few players who play a credible game, not just on special teams but in the elements where the Flyers struggle. First, some honorable mentions on the radar include Michkov, Frost, Ersson, Scott Laughton, Egor Zamula, and Cam York.
Those six players do not go unrecognized in this five-game sample size.
Travis Konecny
Travis Konecny was a standout in each game versus the Canucks. But how could he without contributing a point on the stat sheet?
In Vancouver, he was the best penalty-killing forward, a valued powerplay forward on the top unit, and in a disjointed game, Konecny shined in 13:09 minutes at five-on-five. When the Canucks visited Philadelphia, he dipped on the penalty kill, then generated a prime scoring chance on the powerplay while remaining one of the better forwards at even strength (along with Joel Farabee) in increased minutes (14:49).
Execution is a trending issue for a couple of forwards, and Konecny finds himself with a high-danger scoring chance in those two games while not contributing to penalty minutes.
“It takes time, but you got to think, we play with different lines every day during camp. It just takes a little time, but it’ll come. [The] priority is just getting our five-on-five game back to where it needs to be as far as moving our feet and playing fast.” – Travis Konecny; 10/14/2024
Konecny expressed that the forwards are on the same page. Tortorella used the term ‘almost offense‘ to describe what he sees in the attacking zone. One of the youngest teams in the NHL is still learning how to generate consistent offense. When things are going right, no one is getting overly excited. Struggles are understandable, but no one is excessively worrying five games into the season.
“We’re all thinking the same things. It’s just a matter of executing. A lot of it goes through me, just these little bump plays, and we’re thinking the same things, and I’m just not executing at the level I want to, and I’m sure they could all say the same.” – Travis Konecny; 10/14/2024
Through five games, Konecny tallied three points (2G, 1A). The distribution of those points features a pair of powerplay points (1G, 1A) and a shorthanded goal. At even strength, Konecny generated a couple of odd-man rushes, caused a rebound in Calgary, drew a few penalties, and created a high-danger scoring chance in Edmonton. The little details matter when five-on-five minutes are scarce, but admittedly, the top six of the forward group have yet to find a groove. Konecny is currently on pace for about 50 points (33G, 17A) in 2024-2025, but expect him to dig out of the early funk.
Jamie Drysdale
Jamie Drysdale struggled at times, but in the first five games of the season, he still is one of the better skaters on the defensive unit. It is high praise, considering he is not playing alongside Nick Seeler but Erik Johnson. Johnson admitted he has not been the veteran presence he wanted to be with Drysdale:
“I don’t think I’ve helped him [Drysdale] out well enough, honestly. Two righties, not something that’s typically a pair, but for me, I don’t think I’ve done a good enough job supporting him throughout; up and down the ice. I think I can do a little bit better [of a] job for him.” – Erik Johnson; 10/19/2024
However, Emil Andrae is back with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, indicating Seeler will return to the Flyers tomorrow when they host the Washington Capitals.
Drysdale has accelerated his game on the powerplay. Tortorella challenged him to shoot the puck more often, believing the more intelligent teams would be keen on Philadelphia driving the man advantage through the forwards. Drysdale, the powerplay quarterback, accepted the challenge and almost immediately scored against the Kraken. Away from the puck, he is learning how to defend in transition, which is still a work in progress. However, he was more conscious of protecting the blue line in the home opener.
The powerplay is putting pressure on goaltenders and defenses. A sign of that comes from a streak of four games with at least one powerplay goal. It is exciting to see one of the most substantial red flags from a season ago addressed in this sample size, as the units are still getting acquainted on the ice. Along with an overall awareness, Drysdale figures the team will continue to build upon some of the successes:
“When we get possession in the zone, we’re doing pretty well. We’re making some pretty good plays. It’s a learning process; you’re learning your groups, you’re learning pressures [of] both penalty kills. In zone, we’re pretty aggressive.” – Jamie Drysdale; 10/12/2024
In Vancouver, Edmonton, and Seattle, Drysdale was at the top of his game on the powerplay. More importantly, he answered the call when Tortorella challenged him away from the puck, improving drastically at even-strength defense against the Oilers and Kraken. The man-advantage will always be his mainstay, but overall, Drysdale is blocking shots, joining the rush in Edmonton, and not contributing penalty minutes. However, he must protect the puck and himself, which comes with more NHL experience.
Owen Tippett
Owen Tippett generates chances. Unfortunately for him, he is one of the most snakebitten forwards, not only on the Flyers but likely in the NHL. It seems that way, at least.
On the season, Tippett is on target 36.9% (17/46) of the time. He leads the team in shots taken but only has an assist to his credit when Michkov rammed his first NHL goal past Stuart Skinner.
“[I’m] taking strides the last couple [of] games. Just trying to work some things out, and I think it took a big step last game [in Edmonton].” – Owen Tippett; 10/17/2024
If Tippett is not hitting the net, it does not mean he is not engaged. He is second on the Flyers in dishing hits to the opposition, only trailing Laughton. In addition, Tippett is doing a fine job protecting the puck. If he turns the puck over, he does the work to steal another possession. Neutral and defensive areas of his game are potent, but Tippett is just too fine with his scoring chances.
Tippett shows what he can do with speed, but hockey is a game of inches, and the puck finds the post or sails far too often.
In Calgary and Edmonton, the other facets of his game shined. Tippett threw his weight around against the Flames often. He proved very relevant against the Oilers on the powerplay and at even strength. Tippett is the ‘point production does not define a hockey player’ prototype in many ways, but we all hope to see him score goals sooner rather than later.
