Inside Access: Philadelphia Flyers End of Season Presser - Chuck Fletcher & Alain Vigneault

The Philadelphia Flyers 2020-21 season didn't prove out as expected, as a playoff birth wasn't achieved. 

Philadelphia Flyers President and General Manager Chuck Fletcher and Head Coach Alain Vigneault met with the media today. I did not attend today's presser, but am providing this information for Insight reader's reference. The follow transcript is provided courtesy of Flyers media relations staff: 

Can you go into the reason behind the slide this season?

 

AV: I think I have a couple of theories. After starting the season where we got of results-wise to a good start, mainly due and a lot due to we had some real solid goaltending. Our team started to play better. Our goaltending slipped a little bit. COVID hit us and after COVID, all we basically did was play games and not practice. I think this group because we’ve got veteran players, just a small group of players in that middle age frame of 27-28 and a lot of younger players. Those younger players when the game slips a little bit were not quite executing the way we need to have success. You have to practice and we didn’t have any practice time. I’m not saying that’s the reason. A lot of things happened, but I’m going to need some time to reflect on it. But I do think that played a part in our game slipping and our season going the way it did.

 

Your number one priority is probably looking for a right-handed defenseman. What would you say your number two priority is in the offseason?

 

CF: I think we have quite a few priorities. Looking outside the organization certainly we could upgrade everywhere, up front, defense. Certainly we’re going to have to take a look at our situation in goal, which has kind of been a constant struggle here for years. We have different areas we have to look at. We also need a lot of our young players to be better. I would say with the exception of Joel Farabee that the majority of our players plateaued or took a step back this year. That’s a big concern for me. Since 2014, this franchise has put a lot of time and effort into drafting and developing young players. Frankly, for us to take a step forward, we’re going to need that group of players to take on a bigger role, play better, and help us win games. We’re going to have to look outside the organization, but certainly it’s difficult to replace the whole team. You’re going to need your young players to take a step and be better. They have a big summer ahead of them. Hopefully as things normalize, this offseason hopefully it’s easier for many of these young players to skate, train and prepare more normally than maybe they were able to do last offseason. We’re hopefully that we’ll see an energized group of players come training camp.

 

When a team goes into a slide like that, someone has to step up and try to salvage the season. Because that didn’t happen, does that give you concern about the mix of players in the locker room and that no one was able to halt that for you guys?

 

CF: I think that’s something we’ll take a look at. I don’t know that I’m sitting here questioning our leadership. I thought our leaders played hard this year.  If you look at the last couple months, nobody played harder than Claude Giroux. Sean Couturier played really hard on his line, carried our team early in the season. Jake Voracek led our team in scoring again, or tied for the lead. A lot of these players that have been here a while I thought did their part. Hockey’s a team sport. Twenty players on the ice. I don’t know that one guy giving a speech in a dressing room or doing something can turn a season around. We had tough March, there’s no question. We had 17 games in that month. I’ve never been on a team that played 17 games in a month. I think I’ve been on a team that played 16 maybe once. Typically you’re playing 15 games a month, so it was tough. There wasn’t a lot of time to reset. A lot of other teams went through it. It was probably a harder time to go through when you’re struggling, you don’t have much time to practice or reset as AV mentioned. To me, I’m not sure leadership is the first thing I’m looking in this group, but we’ll take some time over the next few weeks here to look at every angle. Find a way to plug the holes we need to plug.

 

Alain, did this season cause you to think about not coming back next year?

 

AV: I came to Philly to win a Stanley Cup. I told Chuck last week or the week before when we were officially eliminated that I sort of felt like I’ve let everyone down here, from him to ownership to our fans to our players. Just after the start that we had, got the team playing better, and then like I mentioned goaltending, COVID and no practice time. I wasn’t able to put the ship back on track. I’m going to need some time obviously on a personal level to reflect on the season. Like the rest of society, it’s our first pandemic that we go through. There’s obviously some things reflecting on that we might want to change how I handled and how I did things. On a personal level, I’m going to need some time to get the emotion out of the way and analyze this properly. Another thing I did say to Chuck because talking about our young players and Joel Farabee taking strides. The difference between Joel Farabee, an American who stayed in the States and was able to train, and our Canadian players, all the ones that went back to Canada. G had a good year. More experience. Coots, in my estimation, had a good year but didn’t have a Coots-type season like he had with me last year. If I look at all the other players that went to Canada, they struggled. Whether its’ because of lack of training possibilities, lack of skating possibilities. One of my questions when meeting with the players this afternoon is what are you doing this summer.  If things stay the way they are right now in Canada, they’re going to have to make some adjustments to their summer plans. This is just our team. I can’t reflect throughout the rest of the NHL, but our team, the Canadian players that went back to Canada had a challenging time.

 

What does the coaching staff leave you with when you see the young players take a step back like this?

 

CF: That’s why, to be honest with you, I’m happy we have this experienced coaching staff. AV, Mike Therrien, Mike Yeo and Ian Laperriere, they’ve seen a lot of different scenarios during their time in the league. I’m fully confident that they’ll have the best approach on how to bring these players back. Some of it has to fall on the players. It’s up to the players to be prepared to come into camp next year. As AV alluded to, a couple of those kids that did go back to Canada, I remember speaking to them in October and November, they were having a hard time getting ice time. They were having a hard time, gyms were shut down. Some of them had some adjustments to make and were having a tough time doing the training they normally do. Our expectation is that they will be able to find a better path to train this offseason. Certainly there’s some personal responsibility for every one of us in terms of how we perform and how we do our job. Having a veteran coaching staff gives me comfort that we’re going to find the right solutions to get these players back to where we need to get them to.

 

You’ve mentioned about doing things differently based on things you learned this year. Is there a silver lining that since you didn’t have the practice time that you learned about the way the players process the game and how they need to be coached?

 

AV: There’s no doubt that knowing your players more is beneficial. You know what makes them tick. You know what can help them and what’s not going to help them. At the end of the day, what I need, Chuck can’t give me. Society can give me though. I need a normal season. I need people to go out and get vaccinated, so that we can have a normal season next year.  I’ve been here two years and we haven’t had one of those. I want guys coming into camp, having trained in a normal way in the summer. I want to go through a normal camp. I want to go through a normal season that’s 82 games worth. I want to go through normal playoffs where you play in front of your fans. You feel the energy. You feel the passion. You go on the road, tight knit group. You try and win on the road. Chuck can’t give me a normal season, but society can if we do our part. Hopefully we can all get there for next year.

 

If you had to pinpoint the most glaring hole on the roster, what would it be? Do you think you can address it during the offseason?

 

CF: We’ll certainly try. We’re going to take time here over the next month to meet with our group. We’ll analyze everything between now and then. We’ll have good meetings. Look, we finished 31^st in the league in goals against. I’d say the last 15, 16 years for this franchise, we’ve had a tough time keeping the puck out of our net consistently. Since I’ve been here, we were 27^th in the league defensively, I believe, my first year. Last year, we climbed to 7^th and this year we fell to 31^st. It’s clear that when you give up the number of chances and the number of goals we did this year, you’re going to have a tough time winning hockey games. We need to improve our ability to keep the puck out of the net and everything that goes with that is what we’ll look to do this offseason.

 

Where do you see the improvements that Carter Hart needs? How is he medically?

 

CF: The second part, I believe he’s fine. He’s been on the ice a few days. I think he’s basically back to full health. In terms of the first part, I’m not a goalie coach or a goalie expert. I don’t know that that’s for me to speak to. I think Carter’s no different than a lot of 22 year-old individuals. Every walk of life, whether you are in college, working or in sports, he’s a young man that’s finding his way. We’ve asked a lot out of Carter. He’s a precocious talent. He’s climbed the ladder very quickly. This year didn’t go the way he had hoped, the way we had all hoped, but there’s a lot of talent there. I think our expectations is that Carter will make the adjustments necessary and come back, be the goalie we all want him to be and that he expects to be. He’s a top-end talent. It’s a tough league, but he’ll make the adjustments he has to make and he’ll return to form.

 

How much did the goals against average accumulate over time weigh down the offense?

 

AV: There’s no doubt it was a very challenging season in the aspect that we were chasing most of the games. At the end of the day, that’s on me, it’s on team preparation. The players have their responsibility also in the sense that they have to get in themselves in the right mental state to go out there and be able to execute and make the right plays.  Our starts made it very challenging. Always chasing the game is a challenge. When you score the first goal, I think the percentage of you winning that game are over or close to 75 percent. In all aspects our offense sort of dried up towards the end there. Our defense as much as we improved from the beginning, we weren’t giving up as many shots or scoring chances. We just had a hard time keeping the puck out of our net as a team and then our offense dried up. At the end of the day, it led to the season that we had.

 

Why do you feel like you will be able to make the changes needed this offseason when you haven’t been able to make them in the past?

 

CF: Well, we’ll see.  We’ll have to look at a few different areas to improve, but I anticipate there being some players available. We’ll have to go out and see if we can add the right player. Certainly last offseason, we looked at a lot of different options. Some cases didn’t break the way we’d hoped and in some cases it wasn’t the perfect fit for the type of player we were looking for. We’re going to have to be creative and find a way to improve where we can.

 

Can you give a medical update on the players? Also, do you know which players are going to the World Championships?

 

CF: I really don’t know on either as of right now. Our players will continue doing their medicals later on today and doing some imaging today and tomorrow. We’ll have a better answer on that with respect to offseason surgeries probably over the next few days. I don’t have a full update yet on the World Championships. I know some players were still mulling things over as the season came to an end. Hopefully we’ll have a better idea on that too as we meet with the players over the next day or two.

 

Is Nolan Patrick’s season a product of being away from the game for a year and not being able to get into a rhythm? Also, is it a concern that his tentativeness will be tough to overcome down the road?

 

CF: I think on a positive front, Nolan was able to physically get through this season. After missing the 18, 19, 20 months, whatever it was of not playing, I think it’s a positive that he was able to complete the season. He took some big hits. He played. From that standpoint, that’s something he can build off of. He wasn’t fully cleared to play until just prior to camp. He’s one of those players that I’m not sure had a normal offseason. Personally, I believe there’s another level to his conditioning and strength he can get to as he can train. I think he wasn’t skating the same, particularly in back to back games. You could see a drop-off in his skating. I do think there’s some things that could be improved just by being healthy and having a normal summer. I think we’ll have a better feel where Nolan’s at into next year. Our expectation is that he has a great summer, gets a little stronger, and gets a little more explosive. Comes into camp in a type of condition that he wasn’t able to achieve this year. That in turn will allow him to play the game in a higher level.

 

What did you see from Nolan this year? Was he worried about getting hit in the head?

 

AV: I didn’t know Nolan from before. He didn’t play last year. The only thing that I can really say is that there’s no doubt that he had a challenging year. Positively, like Chuck mentioned, was the fact that he was able to play the whole year. Hopefully with a season under his belt and a normal summer of conditioning, training and skating, he comes back next year. He’s a good player for us. This year there’s no doubt was very challenging.

 

How differently do you assess this season compared to a normal season with all the situations due to COVID?

 

CF: It was really challenging. Maybe some teams handled it better than we did. I think of the 28, 29 players that were around our team this year, counting the players on the taxi squad, 20 players over the course of the last five or six months had COVID. We got hit pretty hard at various times. Some players seemed to come back stronger. I give Giroux a lot of credit, Voracek. Some of these guys came back and seemed to get better. Other players seemed to struggle. Other players got hit in November and December right before camp, which wasn’t ideal for coming into a shortened camp in top shape. Every team had to deal with it. We did the best we could. On a personal level, I will not be tired of living the protocols every day. They were necessary but it seemed like we spent an awful lot of time making sure that we were following protocols and doing things right, trying to keep people safe and healthy versus managing your team. It was necessary. It was so important that we played hockey this year. It was great from a league standpoint that we were able to play hockey. There were definitely a lot of challenges.

 

What is your level in confidence with Carter Hart being the guy going forward? Should he be one of the Canadians that need to stay state-side in the offseason?

 

AV: My level of confidence in Carter is very high. He’s a good young man. He probably went through the first time in his life, his career, adversity. You have to go through adversity to get better and to grow. He’s gone through that. He’s playing the toughest position in hockey. He’d only played a small sample, a couple of games his first year, twenty-some what. A lot of those games, meaningless in the sense that the team was out. Last year, played and had a good season. He was real good at home, improved on the road, then we went into the bubble. He played well for us there. This year, he got off to a good start and then it became challenging. He faced some adversity. I think that adversity is good. It’s going to make him better. He’s still a very young player playing a real tough position. With the right mindset, the right attitude and the right work ethic moving forward, he’s got all the capabilities to become a real solid goaltender. Now he’s got to go out and prove it.

 

Are you saying that if we don’t have normal conditions for next season that you won’t be back? Or are you saying that if there are normal conditions, you definitely will be back?

 

AV: No, I came to Philly to win a Cup. I believe that last year we took positive strides. Its’ not always on the upswing. There’s ups and downs to win a Cup. You just look throughout history, the Tampa Bays and the Washington. To get to the ultimate goal, there’s some struggles and there’s some adversity. We’re going through some. It’s going to make us better. It’s going to make our group better. I haven’t changed my mind that I can accomplish my goal. We can all accomplish our goal because Chuck has the same goal I have. Ownership has the same goal. Our fans have the same goal. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and that’s what were going to do. We’re going to take a little down time here. This has been a challenging year. We’ll get right back at it here in the next little while and make sure we’re better next year. I’m just stating that I’d like to coach the Flyers in a normal year. With everything going on in the world, I don’t want to make it sound like I’m complaining because it’s been hard on everyone. I would really enjoy coaching the Flyers in a normal year and in a normal setting.

 

In training camp, you said that making the playoffs was non-negotiable. How much does that bother you that you didn’t make playoffs?

 

AV: There’s no doubt that it’s very hard to take. Like I mentioned, I feel like I’ve let people down. I’m going to regroup, analyze and come back better next year. It didn’t go the way we anticipated. It’s adversity. If adversity can help Carter Hart become better, adversity can help Alain Vigneault get better. Adversity can help the Flyers get better. Maybe the Flyers have been through a lot of that in the last little while, but it’s our job, Chuck and I, to get these players to play up to their full potential. That’s what we’re going to do starting next year.

-----End of transcript.

(On a personal note - I've been credentialed since 2011. The Flyers media relations staff has been and remains first class. My thanks to everyone for their consistent professionalism.) 

Inside Access: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Winnipeg Jets - February 22, 2020

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Winnipeg Jets

Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

February 22, 2020

Game Time – 1 p.m.

Pregame

Philadelphia Flyers (34-20-7, 75 points)

Winnipeg Jets (32-25-5, 69 points)

Starting goalies: Flyers – Carter Hart. Jets – Connor Hellebuyck.

Other pregame tidbits – Philadelphia lost 7-3 to the Jets in Winnipeg in December. Today's game is the final contest of the season against this Central Division opponent. Brian Elliott started that game, surrendering six goals before he was replaced by Hart, who handled third period duty.

This is the final contest before the National Hockey League trade deadline. Philadelphia in the best position to qualify for the playoffs in a number of years. Head coach Alain Vigneault's influence is noticeable, as he and his veteran coaching staff, including new additions Michel Therrien and Mike Yeo, along with holdover Ian Laperriere, have combined to produce 200-foot stability.

The Flyers aren't an elite team. They could use another impact forward and defenseman. Their goaltending situation is stable, but hasn't produced a standout to-date. So, it's fair to put Philadelphia near to the top 10, if not at that mark, in the League.

Philly's fourth-best NHL home record is good, but they'll need to prove better on the road down the stretch to convince hockey loyalists that they are playoff ready. The Flyers are 5-2-2 in their last nine road games, which is an improvement, as the team is 14-15-3 away from the Wells Fargo Center overall this season.

The Jets enter the tilt on a three game winning streak in fourth place in their division and in the seventh playoff position in the Western Conference.

On a personal note...

The transformation of the interior of the Wells Fargo Center is nearing it's completion, as Steve Coates was telling me while we were heading toward the press elevator on the event floor prior to the game.

Coates joined the Flyers broadcast team in 1980, following his professional playing career. He worked on the television side for a number of years before becoming a part of the team's radio broadcast, along with Tim Saunders, in 2014-15.

Coatesy, which is the fond nickname everyone knows him by, has sustained a long career off the ice due to his affable nature. His love of the game and hockey sense is detectable to all who listen to him during broadcasts, or have the opportunity to talk to him in person as I have on multiple occasions.

First Period

Quick start, with Scott Laughton (11th goal) lifting a puck over Hellebuyck's left shoulder at 2:06 into the period. Ivan Provorov raced down the left side boards, tipping a short pass to Laughton. Justin Braun also received an assist.

Laughton got his second goal of the period (12^th goal) as he crossed over in front of the net and potted the puck past Hellebuyck, while a number of players were in and around him. Braun received the lone assist.

As Laughton moved up the ice later in the period, thoughts of a natural hat trick and one occurring in one period, in this case the first came to mind. A brief internet search revealed that the Great One, Wayne Gretzky had 50 (FIFTY) hat tricks in his career, including ten hat tricks in the 1981-82 and another ten in the 1983-84 season for the Edmonton Oilers. Mike Bossy had nine hat tricks in the 1980-81 season for the New York Islanders. Different era? Sure. Incredible performances regardless? Yes, without debate.

The Flyers last natural hat trick occurred on January 16, 2019. Sean Couturier scored two in the second and one in the third against the Boston Bruins in a 4-3 home win.

Shots Flyers – 12. Jets – 10.

Score: 2-0, Flyers.

Second Period

Flyers only had two shots through just over ten minutes of a lackluster period for both teams. Jets had ten shots, with no real threats.

Konecny took a shot off what appeared to be his sternum that resonated throughout the building. He doubled over and slowly glided toward the bench, where he remained bent over for a few minutes. However, a video review showed that he was hit in his left hand.

Couturier (19th goal) took the puck and back away from the net toward the face off circle, before he wristed a shot into the net, over Hellebuyck's left shoulder at 14:15. Assists to Jake Voracek and Matt Niskanen.

Josh Morrisssey (4^th goal) took a slap shot, over Hart's left shoulder, while falling to his knees at 18:04. Assisted by Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers.

Shots Jets – 15 Flyers – 4

Score: 3-1, Flyers.

Third Period

Patrik Laine (26^th) blew a power play slap shot past Hart at three minutes into the period. Assists to Neal Pionk and Blake Wheeler. Robert Haag was in the box at the time with an interference penalty.

After avoiding disaster through heavy pressure and then killing off a power play a few minutes later, Tyler Pitlick (7^th) scored a one bounce pinball shot, with assists to Justin Braun and Haag.

Third period shots: Flyers – 14 Jets - 4

Final shot total: Flyers – 30 Jets – 29

Final score: Flyers – 4 Jets - 2

Next up - The Flyers host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Postgame Quotes

Responses to media scrum questions, postgame in the locker room and at the press conferences of both head coaches:

Philadelphia Flyers RW Scott Laughton

How are you feeling after that one?

What one?

A little beat up?

Yeah, it was a good win. Always fun to play an afternoon game here, I think. It was a good win for a club, and we will continue to move forward.

Was Brian (Elliott) laughing with you on the bench?

He was good all night. I always look to him when I score. He always has a smile on his face. Good to see there.

How much does it mean to have a game like this one?

It was big. We came out and got a lead early and rode it all the way to the end of the game. I thought we had a better job of closing gaps and not giving them as much space in the third. I thought in the second we weren’t really giving our D support, so we had a tough time getting out of the zone. Other than that, clean game I guess and continue to move forward.

Have the goals of the team changed now that you are only 3 points out of 1^st place?

Day by day. I think we just continue to grow as a team. Wherever we finish, we finish. Take it day by day, continue to grow and try to get wins. We are at home a little bit this month, so continue what we have to do at home.

How badly did you want that 3^rd goal?

Pretty bad. I don’t know if it touched Wheeler there, but I talked to Raffy and he said he was going to try to find me. Obviously it didn’t go in, but it happens.

Winnipeg Jets W Blake Wheeler

Looked like you guys did a number of things well tonight, generating chances. Did you feel that the momentum shifted at all in the third period, or how did you see this one play out after you guys got it to 3-2?

I think we played a pretty good hockey game. The bounces didn’t go our way tonight, obviously they’re a good team in this building. It was tough for us to get those. We weren’t very opportunistic tonight, I guess would be the right way to put it. They had a couple bounces go their way around the net. You go down 2 in this building, it’s tough. We fight back to 3-2 and then a bad bounce on the fourth one.

Theory at all on the slow starts, 7^th game in a row you guys have been scored on first. Efforts there obviously, but tough to play from behind with that much regularity?

We just won three straight, we were 4-2 on the home stand, 5-2 overall in our last 7. So if anything, it’s worked well for us.

What didn’t maybe work well tonight then?

I think we played a pretty good hockey game. I think we had a difficult time sometimes moving the puck up the ice, but outside of that, I thought our forecheck was right. For the most part we were trying to make plays with speed. Spent some time in their zone, had some chances and that was basically my first answer. I don’t want to take away from a good game that they played, but sometimes when two teams are playing well, it’s a matter of that bounce of the puck here or there. They cashed in on their chances, they played well tonight.

Philadelphia Flyers G Carter Hart

Did you feel pretty much locked in, especially for the second period on?

They made sure they didn’t get too many second opportunities and a lot of big blocks. The one in the first period Braun blocks a shot on the line and then we go down and score. That’s the hockey that we’ve been playing lately. It’s sometimes not always pretty, but it’s effective and the guys are really buying in right now.

Talk about playing at home. You’ve been on top of your game when at home.

I just prepare the same as any other game. We for sure love having the fans support us and when we’re not playing well, they get on us and let us know about it too. We just prepare the same as any other game no matter who we are playing.

What did it mean to see Oskar.

It’s great to see him, I haven’t seen him in a couple weeks. I’m sure he was happy to come to the rink and see the boys and all of us are happy to see him and he’s looking great.

Philadelphia Flyers C Sean Couturier

Kind of similar to that first Columbus game. Not your best, but you got a win. How big is that?

I thought the first was either way. It was tight. Second, obviously we didn’t play too good. We gave them a lot of opportunities. I thought the third we kind of took over. We had some great goaltending when we needed today. Hartsy was big today, making saves, making it look easy. That obviously helps us out front. We have to stick together through those tougher times and find a way to win.

Do you feel your line is starting to really click?

We are creating stuff. Maybe not finishing as much as we would like, or getting extended o-zone time, but I think we are smart enough to figure it out and get going. Obviously, you saw it both ways when we aren’t finishing, I’m sure it will come.

AV said Oskar is here. Did you get to talk to him?

Yeah, he looks good. It was awesome seeing him. He’s going through a lot, and we are there for him. Anytime we can hang out with him, it is always nice.

How important are the other 3 lines?

Yeah, I think we have some good depth this year compared to the past. Different guys are stepping up in different moments. That is what you want. When you make a playoff run or go deep, usually the depth players, role player guys have big impacts on games, and we need everyone every night. That is the kind of team we are.

Philadelphia Flyers RW Tyler Pitlick

What did you think of the way Scott Laughton played tonight?

He was great. He came out flying and got a couple of big goals for us right away. He played great all game.

What was the key for your line?

I think it was just playing simple, getting pucks in deep, skating hard and doing simple stuff and the plays open up.

All the lines have produced, what does that do to the team? AV’s trust in bottom two lines increasing?

Yeah, for sure you can see it at home and on the road. You can’t get the matchups as much on the road, so we just try to role 4 lines and whoever gets whoever, it is what it is. He is trusting us to go out there and play the right way and get the job done.

What was it like to see Oskar today?

It was great. He looks great. We are all very happy for him. Things are going good, so we are happy they are going that way.

Philadelphia Flyers D Justin Braun

Feel good to be back?

Yeah, that was a good way to come back after a little sickness. Not the prettiest of outings I’ve ever had, but you’ll take them.

Did this feel like the Columbus game where you aren’t at your best but still find a way to win?

Yeah, I thought at first, we were all right, pretty even matched. They came out in the second and took it to us a bit. In the third we woke up and we outshot them pretty good and out-chanced them. I think that was huge. We didn’t want to fold going into the third, and we locked it down.

AV said Oskar was here, what does it mean to see him?

It’s awesome. That smile you know. He is a great guy to have around, just brightens your day. The fact that he is doing well and able to come to the rink to see the boys is just fantastic.

Was it a surprise?

Yeah, I didn’t know he was coming today. It was awesome. It always cheers the boys up to see him.

Winnipeg Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice

Paul, after you get down two goals, did you see more of what you liked from your hockey club as this one went on this afternoon?

We gave up a goal on the first shot just off a misread. But at 1-0 through the first period, I liked our chances better than theirs. I mean at two, I liked our second an awful lot. And then we get behind it a little. They got a big long flurry there and cracked two posts. Which the problem was that it’s an offside play, so that was coming back.  I think we needed to get the puck to the net a little differently. I think that some of our best opportunities, we didn't get to the net. We missed and other than that, I’m not going to complain about the game.

Is it difficult though when you get down one or two or three?

It’s difficult when you get down one. When you get down three, it's real difficult. That's a problem, you’re in behind it for sure. Like I said, we came out of that first down. We don't like the first one because it's a read. You don't want to get on the power play and get a shot blocked and now they come out of the box and the timing goes against you on that one. But other than that fact, I didn't think we moved some pucks as clean as you'd like to. And they're going to say the same thing, because we knocked a bunch down their end of the ice, it was pretty even.

Was neutral zone an issue again tonight?

A different look. A lot of stretching in their game. So on the times that we held it right, we countered back, so it looked really good. And the time we couldn't hold, we had a problem.

What did you see from that top line?

There is your line, right? They were they were good. They had opportunities, good puck control. They released it when they should, didn't over handle it. They were our best, probably the best line on the ice.

Decision to make on Connor back-to-back or going LB [Laurent Brossoit]? Would you have a sense of this game at this point?

Not yet. Wait, Wade will talk to him, see how he’s feeling. We put ourselves in a position to do it if we want to go back to back with him. Doc will talk to him and see how he’s feeling.

Winnipeg Jets RW Patrick Laine

Patrick, you and your team had a lot of opportunities but couldn’t get more than 1 past Carter. How did you see this one play out?

Yeah, we had a sleepy start. We knew that they were going to come hard right out of the gate, especially here. So they score 2 right in the beginning, so it was a rough start. After that I think we played better. The second we were controlling the game. In the third we had a couple mistakes and it was a tough loss.

What was better by your club in the second?

I think it was try to play simple. Try to get as many pucks to the net as we can. Try to create some O zone time and that is where we are going to win games, if we are going to win. I think that was one.

You haven’t had the first goal in a while. Is that a concern?

It would be fun not to be down right away every game. That is something we need to work on, to get the opening goal. It can’t be just that. We can’t just give up if we end up giving up the first goal. We still have to battle back and hopefully score a couple. Two wasn’t enough this afternoon and we have a new chance tomorrow.

What do you think of what your GM has done?

I think hopefully they will bring a lot of energy to the locker room and on the ice. I think we have made some good moves for the team, and something we need for the playoff push we are in right now. Hopefully, we can spark this team, get a couple in a row and make the playoffs.

Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach Alain Vigneault

“mentions about Oskar*

Big smile and I knew he was coming tonight. I just saw him after the game, he smiled and looked beautiful. It makes everybody feel good when he comes around and there is no doubt that we’re all behind him and his teammates are obviously checking up on him on a regular basis and so is the whole staff but to see him live is beautiful.

Is this one like what you spoke about the other day in that winning when you’re not exactly playing the best.

I thought in the first period it as a little sloppy on both sides and in the second they had a real strong push. When you look at their top two lines, they are big skilled, fast, lines so they were tough to handle in the second but I thought in the third once they made it 3-2 on their powerplay goal, we played the best we played all night. When the game was on the line, we played the right way, we make the right plays defensively, we made the right plays with the pucks and we were on our best when the game was on the line tonight and I thought that was a real positive sign.

You’ve moved Scott Laughton around, scores two goals tonight. What have you learned about him and his versatility and his importance to this group?

I thought he played one of his best games tonight, the 200-foot game real solid defensively and both our first two goals are his line, driving to the net, going hard. Him going to the net on the second one, Pitlick stopping there. They did a lot of right things and got rewarded for it and he blocked a couple of big shots. You need your team to do that and he obviously did that tonight.

What have you seen from the top line? It seems as they are building towards an exploding game.

I expect this from our group, and I’ve said this many of times that teams that improve during the season are the ones that get in and we are improving. We are getting better and, in that line, those three veteran players are playing the way that you have to play to win and to win against good opponents in tight games. I thought when the game became 3-2, we didn’t get tight, we played and that’s what you got to do. We were on our toes; we were checking when it was time to check and we made some real good plays with the puck.

Are you able to point out where you are finding balance in your former lines as you have now?

This rotation right now is permitting me to play a good four-line rotation, to have a good pace. In the third in the last five I went down to three a little more. For the most park we do have good balance. The fourth line with Raffi, Bunny and Q when they get the puck deep and they get on the forecheck they are tough to handle.

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(My photo - Overhead shot from press level, pregame.)

Let's connect on Twitter @SeanyOB and on Facebook.

Inside Access: Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers - December 23, 2019

Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers

Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

December, 23, 2019

Game Time – 7 p.m.

Pregame

The Philadelphia Flyers (20-11-5, 45 points, fourth in the Metropolitan Division)

The New York Rangers (17-14-4, 38 points, fifth in the Metro.)

Starting goalies: Flyers – Carter Hart. Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist. Hart's .912 save percentage was just a tick below the sure-shot Hall of Famer, Lundqvist's (.913), as the game began.

Other pregame tidbits – Sellouts aren't standard. Subjective opinion about the change from the Ed Snider era to Comcast ownership abound. However, the lack of playoff appearances this decade and no progress made in the post-season in recent seasons is the arguable lead reason why less fans are in the seats.

However, the team is hardly hurting and the arena looked mostly occupied for this special Monday night, Christmas-themed game.

This projects, cautiously, as a playoff year. Make a number of post-season runs and many tickets are likely to be sold and used.

On a personal note...

The transformation of the interior of the Wells Fargo Center is nearly complete. The main concourse and upper level concourse areas have video screen menus above the vendor stands. Retaining Bubble Hockey was wise, as this is a timeless classic. Food prices are up, but seem to be comparable with prices at other pro sports venues. Balcony level ring, which allows fans low-cost ticket access to see games is a great idea.

Tim Saunders offered some good-natured assistance upon my arrival to the stadium. Early birds flock together, as he and Keith Jones know. Two true professionals, who represent the still-open nature of hockey guys as the 2010's are set to giveaway to the 2020's.

Taco Night is a favorite among many, as a cordial Wells Fargo staff member told me at the pregame staff/media meal. She, along with so many others in the building, comprise a top shelf group of employees. That's surely not luck, as an arena of this size operates through thoughtfully executed planning.

The press level is nicely redone, with the tribute wall to Gene Hart rightfully still welcoming all media members, scouts, and other approved guests.

First Period

Good puck control by the Flyers in the later part of the period. Some penalties on both sides.

Philadelphia notably killed off a 5-3 during the frame. Steady team D and Hart's consistency prevented any scoring from the Rangers, who were solidly out-shot. Would the opposition have entered the intermission up by a goal in recent years? Yes.

Lundqvist was Lundqvist on the other end.

Shots: Flyers 12 – Rangers 8.

Second Period

Rangers didn't like how the first period went and came out shooting, topping the Flyers 9-1 in this statistical category in the first five-plus minutes.

Jesper Fast scored is sixth goal of the season for New York at 6:44. It was a short-handed marker.

Flyers 0-4 on the power play through nearly 33 minutes of action. Only four Philadelphia shots though this point in the game as well.

Rangers fought off late pressure, with Lundqvist stand strong until Travis Sandheim (third goal of the season) put one past him with 1.7 seconds left in the period. Assists to Justin Braun and Travis Konecny. The Flyers skated off to a loud ovation and hopes for the third period, with possible Christmas cheers (sorry, it was obligatory) to come.

Shots: Rangers – 14. Flyers – 7.

Third Period

Kevin Hayes ripped off a slap shot, that soared over Lundqvist's left shoulder and into the the top corner of the netting at 7:31 into the period, for his tenth goal of the season. Assists to Joel Farabee and James van Riemsdyk. Flyers' head coach Alain Vignuealt's task turned into encouraging his boys to apply pressure, while also keeping the Rangers at bay.

Travis Sandheim likely iced the game with a rebound shot through a crease that Lundqvist had to move out of in order to stop two Flyers shots. It was his second goal of the game and fourth overall at 15:49. Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux earned the assists.

And then, just hours before Christmas Eve day, Kevin Hayes also scored his second goal of the night and eleventh overall. Assists to van Riemsdyk and Braun.

This was a statement game, with some old school center ice skirmishes just moments after the Hayes tally.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel then capped the torrent of goals by scoring his first National Hockey League goal with less than a minute to go (officially at 19:20 of the third). Sandheim and Jakub Voracek had assists.

Shots: Rangers – 13. Flyers – 11.

Final shot total: Rangers - 35. Flyers - 30.

Final score: Flyers – 5. Rangers – 1.

Philadelphia now ranks third in the Metro, fourth in the Eastern conference in points. The Flyers have the sixth most points (47) in the NHL.

Next up - The Flyers begin a seven-game road trip after Christmas. Philadelphia faces the San Jose Sharks (16-20-2, 32 points), starting Saturday, December 29, at 10:30 p.m.

Postgame Quotes

In addition to the quotes shown below, Vigneault also said that he's going to visit his parents, who are in their mid-80's, over the Christmas break and that he was really looking forward to that. He offered greetings to all of us as well. It was a touching moment in what has been a personally challenging December for the entire organization.

Responses to media scrum questions - Postgame in the locker room and at the press conferences of both head coaches: 

Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach Alain Vigneault

It's a big game for you, obviously. First game against a former team, when did it sort of settle into a regular game?

Once the puck dropped, I focused on getting the right matchups on the ice and focused on the game and that's what we did. I really liked our energy in that first period. I don't think we were as good in the second. In the third, Carter made some big saves at the right time and they all seemed to lead to great opportunities from us at the other end and we were able to find the back to the net on really good plays.

This is the kind of game where if you didn't watch it, you might look at the score and not think of the goalie as one of the best players on the ice.

He was the best player on the ice. I mean there's no doubt Carter tonight made some big saves. For a little while there, I thought our execution was off and he made some big saves that the goals that we had on Hank were quality chances. There’s not much he could do on any of those. I'm trying to remember all of them but they were grade A looks. Carter had some grade A looks. He made some saves but you know at the end of the day, it's good to know that we can not play our A game and still find a way to win it and that's what we did in that third period.

The number suggests that timing of the Sanheim goal was crucial because you're like 19-0 when you're leading or tied and then you're like 1-11 when you are not. Are those numbers fair?

It's a tough league to come back. I mean if you look at the numbers, there are not many teams that are coming back. There's no doubt that that goal at the end of the second period momentum wise, energy wise gave us a boost. Probably I can't speak for them, but probably hurt them a little bit and came out in the third and were able to find a way to win that game.

He said this is a special game for you, but how much do you think it meant for Kevin?

I'm sure it meant more to him than to me. I mean, he's been wound up about this game for a while. I don't know if he told you, maybe he just told it was just another game, but I know that meant a lot to him. He’s a very emotional, young man and scored two really big goals for us tonight.

Did he talk to you about playing a former team again?

We talked about… he was there last year, he knows this coaching staff. I asked him questions about if what I saw in the video was right. And he said, “Yes, this is how they play.” So, we shared that. This morning in our meeting, I definitely looked at him in front of everybody and I said: “this is a big game for me, this must be a big game for you.” And we both smiled. So, without a doubt, the first time you play against a team where you've got some good memories, and you were there for quite a bit of time, it's always an emotional and challenging game. 

Philadelphia Flyers G Carter Hart

Strong effort by this team again in the third. You guys have done very well, think about how this team has been able to kind of step it up in the third and take over when you have to.

Scored another four goals in the last five minutes of the game. It’s 2-1 up until that point. This game just kind of, runs away at the end. Last few games, found the back of the net late in the third, and that’s been huge. You get that support late in the game and take them out of the game.

And for you, how well did you see the puck tonight? Some of the saves you made, especially in the second period, kept them in the game. How well did you see the puck and how well did you see everything in front of you?

I saw it well. We did a good job, they didn’t get any second whacks or anything. We did a good job out front, boxing guys out and tying up some sticks to make my job easier.

As well as you guys have played, are you almost sorry the break is coming?

We’ve played a lot of hockey, so it’ll be nice to recharge the batteries and take some downtime, get some downtime. Make the most of this recovery time and make sure that you’re sharper and ready to go out of the break.

New York Rangers Head David Quinn

Asked Mika if anyone saw that one coming, it was pretty hard to see that one coming after the first two periods of play.

Well even the first, even most of the third I mean there is a difference between playing well and winning and right now we’ve gotta do a better job at playing winning hockey because even I thought in the third we did a lot of good things. You know it’s 1-1 and I think we’ve got great chances, good zone time and we just made it too easy for them. We sell out for offense too much and we just, it’s killing us. And our power play was obviously was, it’s really hurt us lately. Our power play with plenty of chances you got a five on three, and it’s a team wide problem. Slowing the play down and not shooting pucks.

When you get into tight games like that, it just reemphasizes the special teams?

Our penalty kill was great, we got the short-handed goal. You got a five on three you have to score, and we just didn’t and we had a few chances but every time we get it, we slow it down, we look to make a pretty play and we just… you know we’re going to keep working on it.  You know our power play has really been a problem lately.

With the power play, is it more mental or is their adjustments you need to make or is it just more mindset needs to change?

Probably both. We need to move some people around I’ll tell you that. But our mentality, we just, we get it we hold it, we stick handle it, we look for a pretty pass instead of just moving it around and playing hockey with a power play and it’s killing us right now. There are games where we’ve done a lot of good things five on five, we put ourselves into position to win, we’ve improved in a bunch of areas, but you got to win the special teams. You got to score power play goals when you got five or six a night and we didn’t do it.

You talked yesterday about, you’re trying to be in a playoff race here and this was a four-point game. Do you think your guys were thinking too much about the playoffs maybe at this point?

No. Again I liked a lot of the things we did tonight. We played a good first, a good second, and I liked our third until we just shot ourselves in the foot. It’s two to one we’re still doing good things, Mika hits the post, we get some good chances and then we give them our third goal and that’s when we got demoralized and reality set in.

Does that make it harder to swallow just what it would have meant for you guys going to break?

Yeah it does and it should, it should hurt. But hopefully we can collect ourselves the next three days and be ready to play on the 27^th.

Philadelphia Flyers D Travis Sanheim

(Inaudible)

Yeah obviously it was tied up in the end of the second and then follow it up in the third and find a way to win, it was big for us and especially going into the break.

You get the goal late in the second period. How much does that kind of give you guys that momentum?

Yeah I think we obviously had our chances, Lundqvist was playing pretty good and made some key stops so it was nice to break through and same thing going into the third?

Was there an extra motivated Kevin Hayes tonight?

Yeah I think so, I think we all knew he was going to be pretty fired up and ready to go and it was nice to see him get 2.

New York Rangers LW Chris Kreider

Missed Question

You give them good opportunities on the rush and they opened it up when we got down and it just got worse for us.

You played well enough to be 1-1 in the third.

It’s tough when you’re going into the third 1-0. We should be going in 1-0 and then we give up a goal with 1 second left in the second period. Then give up 5 unanswered goals. I mean, they outlasted us. They were patient, they stuck to their structure. Eventually, we give them chances. Obviously, we had a couple of posts that made the game a little bit different. But we can’t be giving up the grade A’s like that while trying to get ourselves back in the game. The team feeds off it- turnovers, and the counterattack and they are so good on the rush. That’s how we used to play with AV, our structure was tight and eventually teams would get strung out and stretched out and you get your rushes and get your looks. We hurt ourselves there for sure in the third.

Guys talked about how big this game was. How devastating is this?

It is obviously a very important game. Divisional games we call them 4 point games. We play 82 games, so we have to figure it out quickly, rebound and enjoy a couple of days here and get rested and be ready to go here down the stretch.

Philadelphia Flyers C Kevin Hayes

Did that go about as well for yourself as you could’ve hoped for personally?

Yeah I mean, doesn’t really matter personally, it’s nice to get goals but the main goal was to get 2 points tonight and I thought our power play didn’t really help us in the beginning, they kind of took the momentum there and then the team came out in the third and we’ve been good in the third all year.

Can you talk about how much this game meant to you? I know it’s one of 82 but it got to give you a little extra juice?

Yeah a little bit I mean I played there for 5 years. Like I said if it was early on in the year it would probably be a little different but we’re almost 4o games in, this is my team here and it’s nice to get the win. I’m sure I’ll text those guys after but yeah that stuff doesn’t mean anything.

Was that first goal a little bit of knowing where Lundqvist does and doesn’t like the puck?

No honestly it kind of rolled off of my stick and I was just hoping he was cheating a little bit and I went far side and I think it hit the post and went in so it was a lucky shot.

Philadelphia Flyers LW Joel Farabee

*Missed Question*

I actually felt really good. I don’t think there was any period of time where I didn’t feel good. Right from the start of the game my legs felt really good. I think they took a penalty really early so I think I missed the first shift. But, yeah I felt really good out there.

How much of a lift did Sanheim’s goal give you guys with 2 seconds left in the second, after a period that really didn’t go your way for most of it?

I think they had a lot of shots, getting bodies in front …, so I think once we did that, the goals started to come. Obviously Sanny’s goal was huge, and gave us a lot of momentum heading into the second.

Does this break allow you any time to reflect on the way the season has gone so far …?

Absolutely, you get a few days off. You can look at a few things. Right now I think our momentum is going up, so I think once we get back we just got to keep that going. We got a big west coast trip coming up, so hopefully we keep the momentum going and this will be a big trip.

New York Rangers G Henrik Lunqvist

How frustrating was that one?

It is very disappointing that is for sure. I don’t know what to say. We did a lot of good things. That tying goal in the late second was tough, but I thought we had a good focus going into the third. It has been a trend lately that when we feel like we have to score a goal, when we fall behind, we start taking chances a little too much in my opinion and it’s been hurting us a few games now. We are close. It is a one goal game. Of course, we are going to push, but when it’s 1 or 2 goals we are still in it. It is important to learn from that and not do too much. That is what happened again.

You’re on the road, simple probably works in the third.

Like I said, we were doing a lot of good things. We were creating a lot of good chances. You just have to pick your spots on when to go and when to just stay cool for maybe next shift. Hockey, you can have a lot of time in the zone, but most times you are going to get hurt when you give up odd men rushes. It is going to happen when you try to push forward and try to tie it. It got away from us a little bit.

Is holiday break coming at a good time?

It is probably. It has been a lot of hockey for everyone. We will take the break to regroup a little bit. It’s a big game, it is disappointing to lose. We were right there. Just the way it ended too, as a goalie it is tough. They took whatever they wanted the last 5 minutes there in front. It was disappointing.

Philadelphia Flyers D Ivan Provorov

AV said you were a game time decision and that in your mind there was no question you were going to play. Did you have to talk him into it?

No, I mean I came in, I felt a lot better than I did last night and I knew if I was able to play a game and contribute and help the team, I already knew I was going to play

How was the energy level during the game?

It was tough at first, but the more I was on the ice the better I felt.

Nothing catching what you had?

No I don’t think so, it was just one of those days where it’s one of those nights where you don’t feel so great and then after 24 hours you feel better.

New York Rangers C Mika Zibanejad

I’m not sure anyone saw that coming, your thoughts?

I thought we played pretty good in the second half of that first period and really good up until that 1 second left in the second period. They get the tying goal. We try to stick to our game, and they got their goal. We got a chance, I think it was 2-1 with the post and a couple minutes later they score 3-1. Tough one. Not the way we wanted to go into this break.

The margin for error is not big.

We had a real good chance of putting the puck to the net, we didn’t do that today. I don’t know. It is really disappointing right now.

Is it frustrating that you had a lot of chances in the 2^nd, do you squeeze the stick more after that?

He’s a good goalie. He had really good form in that second period. We had really good chances and it goes off his shoulder and stuff. We just have to keep getting pucks there. I don’t think we did that enough in the third and allowed them to get their odd man rushes from it. It is just disappointing.

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