The Philadelphia Flyers are in the thick of one of those stretches that can define a season-for better or worse. After a six-game skid, a brief three-game stretch brought five points and a glimmer of hope.
But that spark has dimmed quickly, with the Flyers now on another three-game losing streak. And with just three games left before the Olympic break, the clock is ticking on a team that’s rapidly slipping down the standings.
Right now, the Flyers sit 7th in the Metropolitan Division, 14th in the Eastern Conference, and 24th in the NHL overall. That’s a far cry from where they were just a few weeks ago, when a playoff berth felt more like a probability than a pipe dream. But in a league where momentum can be as fragile as a one-goal lead, slumps like this one can snowball fast-and that’s exactly what’s happening in Philly.
Still, amid the frustration, one voice has grown louder-not just in the locker room, but on the ice. Travis Konecny, the Flyers’ alternate captain, has been doing everything he can to drag this team back into the fight.
Since the January 8 matchup against Toronto, Konecny has racked up 13 points in 11 games, including eight goals. In a lineup that’s struggled to generate consistent offense, he’s been the spark plug-and often the lone bright spot.
Konecny’s production hasn’t come without mistakes-he’ll be the first to admit that. But what separates him is accountability.
He’s not just showing up on the scoresheet; he’s owning the moments that don’t go his way. That’s the kind of leadership that doesn’t always show up in the box score but means everything in a locker room trying to stay afloat.
After Thursday’s loss to the Bruins, Konecny didn’t sugarcoat the situation.
“It’s frustrating. I have been through this so many times, I am tired of missing the playoffs,” he said.
“That’s kind of all I look at right now. I just want to get points for the team.
We have to figure something out.”
And he’s not wrong to feel that way. Since his NHL debut in the 2016-17 season, the Flyers have only made the playoffs twice.
They were bounced by the Penguins in the 2018 quarterfinals, and in the 2020 bubble, they made it to the semis before falling to the Islanders. That’s not the kind of track record a player like Konecny wants to be tied to, especially when he’s laying it all out there night after night.
There were a few silver linings in the Bruins game-shot volume, physical play-but moral victories don’t count in the standings. Konecny knows that. Still, he tried to find something to build on.
“Try to take the positives whenever you can,” he said. “I am going to look in the mirror.
[Dvorak] and I, we’ve been playing good, we’ve been scoring goals, but we’ve also given up [goals] too. If you ask him or me, we’re going to say if we can limit those, then that really helps the team.”
That kind of self-awareness is what you want from your leadership group. And according to Konecny, that accountability is shared across the board.
“I bet all of the leaders would say the same thing. It starts up top, and we have to figure it out.”
When asked what he could say to rally the team, Konecny pointed to the postgame conversations happening behind closed doors.
“There were some guys who spoke after the game. I think everyone knows where we are at. We just have to execute.”
Execution, of course, is the name of the game. And Konecny isn’t shying away from his own missteps-like on Boston’s second goal, when he admitted to a costly mistake.
“There are mistakes all over the ice, but if you ask any of the leaders, it starts with us. Their second goal (Zacha), I made a mistake there, and you know, you can’t be doing that game after game. I think we all have to look in the mirror.”
It’s a brutally honest assessment from a player who’s clearly fed up with falling short. And it’s the kind of leadership that can either galvanize a locker room-or go unheard if the rest of the team doesn’t rise to the challenge.
With three games left before the Olympic break, the Flyers are at a crossroads. The postseason is still within reach, but the margin for error is shrinking fast.
If they’re going to turn this thing around, it’s going to take more than just Konecny carrying the load. But make no mistake-he’s doing everything in his power to keep the door open.
Now it’s up to the rest of the roster to walk through it.