With wins over the Lightning and Predators, the Flyers ended what had to be considered a quality road trip on Saturday in Nashville. The team had been getting quality scoring and even better goaltending from Carter Hart, but on Sunday, Philadelphia ran out of steam. Or at least it appeared so after suffering a 3-0 shutout loss to the 1-6 Sharks
When John Tortorella addressed the media following the contest, he didn’t mince words and frankly, he shouldn’t have. However, it wasn’t as much what he said as it was what he did in Sunday’s game. Flyers forwards Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny spent the entire third period of the game on the bench in a winnable game for the Flyers and that alone spoke volumes. Both players were on the ice for two goals against from San Jose and while not directly responsible, there certainly was some carelessness with the puck and passive defensive zone play from the veterans. To put it mildly, the team – short on talent and healthy bodies – need a lot better from two players expected to produce nightly.
This was an opportunity for John Tortorella to instill some of that accountability he had so often preached in training camp, as it likely embarrassed the two players and placed much of the uncomfortable attention on the rest of the group to pick up the slack as many of the younger players and bottom of the lineup types got extended ice time. It’s sending a very stern message to the entire group; play the right way or don’t play.
Here’s Konecny on the benching:
Quick Hits
- On Saturday night in Nashville, forward Joel Farabee notched three points (one goal, wo assists) in the Flyers win.
- The Flyers have received quality goaltending to start the year, as Carter Hart and Felix Sandstrom posted .969 and .917 saves percentages, respectively, this weekend.
- James van Riemsdyk left Saturday’s contest against the Sharks early with an apparent hand injury as he went to defend a play at the blueline. He did not return to the game and the club has yet to provide an update on his status.
- The Flyers honored Oskar Lindblom Sunday night with a touching tribute video package during a TV timeout reminiscing on his time with the club. Lindblom saluted the fans and his former teammates in a brief emotional moment, as the crowd cheered the former Flyer on. It’s still an amazing feat seeing Lindblom continuing his NHL journey after beating his Ewing Sarcoma diagnosis. The 26-year-old has three points in seven games with his new team.
What’s Next
The Flyers won’t return to action until Thursday when they host the Florida Panthers for a 7:00 puck drop.
