Registering a goal and an assist apiece, Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost led the way for the Flyers in a much needed victory at home against Toronto. Let’s wrap on the game that was for Philly:
Team Defense
Over the last few games, the Flyers attention to detail in the defensive zone has been lackluster to say the least. In this game, Philly kept a lot of the potential Leaf attackers to the outside, at least until the game started to open in the latter half of the second period into the third.
It was a good effort, considering the Flyers were down three defensemen and Sean Couturier.
Speaking of whom…
Tortorella vs. Couturier
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Flyers captain Sean Couturier was benched for this game. John Tortorella offered little to no reason as to why the player spent the game in the popcorn suite other than “he needed to show more.”
I’ll cut to the chase here; I don’t think Couturier has been poor enough to warrant being pulled from the lineup. Has he struggled offensively? Definitely. There’s no disputing that at this point, his last 30 games have been awful. However, I still see Couturier as a quality player away from the puck, which to be honest, has always been his best asset. In that way, he always helps a team.
In a merit based system, Couturier has more than proved his worth this year. After returning from two back surgeries, he began the season producing like the Sean Couturier that won the Selke Trophy in 2020. He has since hit a wall.
Tortorella’s decision, I’m sure, was a shot across the bow to the entire team and not just his captain. It is, however, a high-wired act meant to provoke and can backfire if not used properly or too often. As we’ve seen in countless cases leaguewide, coaches have lost their teams’ players and jobs for similar.
Moreover, it was a puzzling decision by Tortorella to not even meet with the media to discuss the choice to sit Couturier after practice the morning of the game. For a coach that demands his players have thick skin, he sure seemed to have thin skin on this topic. Was he worried of a poignant question that he rather not discuss? Was it less about Couturier’s play and more about another issue that arose between the two? Couturier’s words were particularly telling.
In any event, the Flyers needed to win Tuesday night. Hopefully, this win was not at the expense of a repaired locker-room culture the Flyers have said to have corrected.
Did You Know?
According to NHL Stats, Sam Ersson has now joined Sergei Bobrovsky (28), Antero Niittymaki (23) and Brian Boucher (20) as the fourth Flyers rookie netminder in the last 30 years to record 20 or more wins in a single season.
On Deck
The Flyers return to action on Thursday, when they head to Carolina to face the Hurricanes, 7:00 p.m. puckdrop.
