VOORHEES, N.J. - The Flyers spent Friday trying to reset the tone after a rough stretch and some pointed words from within their own room.
Following a loss in Washington and a scheduled day off Thursday, the team gathered for a pre-practice meeting before hitting the ice for a demanding session at the Flyers Training Center. The work was aimed squarely at the problems that have shown up during the club’s three-game winless run, a skid that has left Philadelphia at 3-8-4.
Coach Rick Tocchet said the message was built around the need to respond when opponents start to push.
“It was a game review but we always try to have a message,” Tocchet said after practice. “We just have to understand when a team makes a push, we have to push back.
“It’s not that we didn’t. I’ll be honest, the video today was ‘want the puck.’
I didn’t see a lot of guys want the puck. A guy would have the puck and we didn’t have enough support.”
The conversation around the team’s recent play sharpened after Sean Couturier called it “soft” following the loss to the Capitals. That comment drew attention in the room, and Tocchet addressed it directly Friday.
“I don’t view us as a soft team,” Tocchet reiterated. “Sometimes it looks like we’re shy going into certain situations. Stuff that we have to deal with, adversity, expectations.”
Nick Seeler said the veterans were echoing that same concern.
“I think if we can get back to how we played the last month of last season, sticking together and then playing for each other in general, it’s going to benefit us,” Seeler said. “That’s where we’re coming from.”
He added that the team needed to take the meeting and the practice as part of a reset.
“We’re a team here, we’re in it together,” Seeler said. “We had a great meeting.
Had a really good practice, worked on the things we needed to work on. Addressed the things I think we needed to address.
Now we move on and go from there.”
Noah Cates also pointed to the leaders’ message and the need for the group to stay steady through the rough patches.
“We’re solution-based here,” Cates said. “The coaching staff does a great job with the video. Showing us details we can improve.”
Couturier’s and Seeler’s comments from Wednesday night landed with the team, Cates said.
“We definitely heard from the leaders,” Cates said. “We just can’t be fragile.
This game is hard, it’s messy. You have to play hard, bounces happen, for and against.
So you just have to roll with them and back each other up. Just not being fragile and playing for each other.”
The grind of the schedule is also part of the picture. Tocchet noted that four games in six nights can be a lot for young players, and Porter Martone even told him after the Washington game that he didn’t have his legs in the first two periods.
“That’s where you have to change your game a little bit,” Tocchet said. “Sometimes a neutral shift is good. Overall I think we have to deal with adversity and expectations a little bit better.”
Friday also brought positive injury news. Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett both practiced, with Konecny wearing a no-contact yellow jersey. Tocchet said Konecny could be in line to play Sunday at home against Utah.
“They’re more day-to-day, so it’s getting close,” Tocchet said. “Hopefully they get a couple good days of practice (including Saturday, then whether they come to me or the doctor says they’re ready to go. . .”
Even with the no-contact designation, Konecny still mixed in during the drills, especially later in the session. Tocchet said having him back on the ice matters for a team leaning heavily on younger players.
“Having a veteran in there does help,” Tocchet said. “We’re asking a lot from the young guys; big roles for the team early in their careers.
I think we have to take it easy on them sometimes. Can’t put all the pressure on them.”
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