The Flyers got something they desperately needed Saturday night: a win, and maybe a reset.
After the team snapped out of its franchise-worst 0-6-3 start with a 3-1 victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators at Xfinity Mobile Arena, Rick Tocchet walked into the press room with the game puck in hand and tossed it to Jason Myrtetus before he began his postgame remarks.
"What a speech today," Tocchet said.
Myrtetus, a longtime Flyers broadcast presence and a lifelong goalie, had spoken to the team after morning skate at Tocchet’s invitation. He also happens to be publicly battling colorectal cancer, and the message clearly landed with the room.
"It's a different level," Tocchet said. "But still, talking to Jason, there's a message there...
"And I just felt after he left, there was a little bit of a pause or like [a] silence as guys were getting dressed. You could tell it was a message to the guys like, 'Hey, you should be happy.
We're in the NHL, we're playing a game.' We're asking for effort.
This guy's going through stuff that.. I can't imagine what you're going through."
The content of the speech stayed private, but the effect was obvious. The Flyers came out with their best effort of the season and finally got their first win, while Myrtetus kept handling his usual game-day duties in the middle of his own fight.
That win also came with a fitting piece of team hardware. Sean Couturier presented Myrtetus with the Flyers’ internal player-of-the-game prize, orange boxing gloves created as a nod to the 50th anniversary of "Rocky."
"A Philly legend, a fighter, underdog story," Couturier said in the clip released by the Flyers, as he handed them over for Myrtetus to put on.
The message from that room is going to carry some weight in the near term, because the Flyers still have plenty in front of them. The injury list is growing, and the Colorado Avalanche come to town Monday night.
Tocchet didn’t miss the chance to joke about Myrtetus’ impact, either, when asked whether he’d need to keep coming back for more speeches.
"He's gonna be head coach now," Tocchet cracked. "Some people will be happy."
There were also some roster shuffles around the edges as the Flyers tried to patch together the lineup. Hunter McDonald was called up from the Phantoms on Sunday night, while Helge Grans and Jack Studnicka were sent back to Lehigh Valley.
Cam York was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 8.
Then came another wave Monday morning, with forwards Cole Knuble and Alex Bump added to the mix after Tyson Foerster blocked a shot off his right wrist and spent the rest of Saturday night favoring it, and Couturier also got banged up. Knuble and Bump are expected to play against Colorado, while McDonald is “a possibility,” according to Tocchet.
Knuble had a strong case to stick out of camp after being the Flyers’ most effective forward in the preseason, but numbers pushed him out. Now he gets another chance, and the hope is that he can bring a steady checking presence to a bottom-six group that has needed it badly during this early-season slide.
Bump’s path has already been a little more winding. He made the team, was sent down after three games, and struggled out of the gate.
Since then, though, he has scored seven goals in five games with the Phantoms, including back-to-back two-goal outings against Springfield over the weekend. That earned him another call, and now the task is to keep the same direct, wall-banging, shoot-first style that made him hard to ignore during last season’s playoff push.
Saturday also gave the Flyers a look at something that could be worth revisiting. Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone were the drivers behind the deciding two goals, and both looked like the club’s best players. For two young forwards, 21 and 19, that matters.
Their line had Noah Cates in the middle, which might not look like the obvious setup for two highly skilled wingers on paper. But it brings to mind an old hockey blueprint from the late 90s, when Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya did their damage for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim with Steve Rucchin doing the defensive heavy lifting at center.
That is not to say Michkov, Martone and Cates are a carbon copy of Selanne, Kariya and Rucchin. They are not, and the Flyers still need a true elite center sometime soon. It’s also not a declaration that this is some perfect permanent solution.
What it does suggest is simpler: two creative wingers can be let loose when the center takes care of the hard defensive work. Michkov even joked after last season that his plus/minus improved once he was paired with Cates, and right now Michkov is the Flyers’ leading scorer while the chemistry with Martone is starting to show.
History doesn’t repeat exactly. Sometimes it just sounds familiar.
In Other News...
Flyers Suddenly Face A Cam York Problem On Defense
Cam Yorks absence has quickly become a real lineup issue for the Flyers, who had to adjust their blue line after the defenseman landed on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 8. York was hurt in the game against the Ottawa Senators, and the move leaves Philadelphia shuffling its defense while trying to keep some stability early in the schedule.
To cover the gap, the Flyers brought up Hunter McDonald from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and made corresponding moves with Jack Studnicka and Helge Grans, sending both back to the AHL affiliate. For a team still sorting out its defensive mix, the next question is how long it can manage without York and what the ripple effect will be on the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Linked To Proven Scorer But The Price Could Sting
The Flyers have a winger in Owen Tippett who naturally draws attention when teams start hunting for proven scoring help, and Montreal is one of the clubs being mentioned as a possible fit. Shaun Starr and Marco DAmico have been discussing the Canadiens' interest, pointing to Tippetts ability to finish chances and the way his age lines up with where Montreal is trying to go.
What makes the idea more complicated is the cost. Any move for a scorer with Tippetts profile would almost certainly require real assets coming back the other way, and that is where the conversation starts to get tricky for a team trying to build thoughtfully rather than chase a quick fix. For now, it remains only a speculative link, but it is the kind of rumor that keeps a Flyers name in the center of the market. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Win Eases One Problem While A Bigger Roster Concern Grows
The Flyers got a needed lift in their win over the Senators, and some of the credit went to the young talent that has been pushing harder for a bigger role. Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone helped drive the offense, a reminder that even amid a messy stretch, the organization has some promising options bubbling up as it tries to steady the lineup.
Still, one win does not clear the larger roster issue hanging over the club. Philadelphia is dealing with being shorthanded and may need more movement to patch the depth chart, even after already bringing Hunter McDonald up to help the blue line. With trade chatter still hovering, including the possibility of Travis Konecny being moved at some point, the Flyers remain in the familiar spot of trying to balance immediate survival with longer-term decisions. [Read more 🡒]