Behind the Hockey Scenes: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Behind the Hockey Scenes: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

December 20, 2022 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

(Photo - Sean O'Brien)

Introductions

Philadelphia (10-15-7, 27 points) sits just ahead of the bottom team, Columbus (10-19-2, 22 points) in the Metropolitan division of the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference. The Flyers and Blue Jackets are just ahead of the Anaheim Ducks (21 points) and Chicago Blackhawks (18 points) with the lowest point totals in the NHL.

Like Brad Larsen's squad, John Tortorella's team has been impacted by many injuries. Last summer's debate about Johnny Gaudreau led to him signing with Columbus in July. He leads his team with 33 points (10 goals and 23 assists).

Columbus leads the four-game season series with one regulation and one overtime win.

The Flyers lost 6-3 to the New York Rangers at home on Saturday night. The Blue Jackets lost 2-1 at home to the Dallas Stars last night.

Anthem - Lauren Hart - Her voice and love for the game and the fans, like that of her iconic father and Flyers' broadcaster, Gene Hart, resonates in the listener's soul.

First period

Starting goaltenders – Philadelphia – Carter Hart, Columbus – Daniil Tarasov

Wade Allison, Kevin Hayes, and Zack MacEwen returned to the Flyers' lineup.

No sustained pressure on either side through the first half of the period.

First power play went to the Jackets due to Rasmus Ristolainen with at 12:58 left in the frame. However, Travis Konecny scored a shorty (thirteenth overall goal) at 13:58 remaining to give the Flyers the first tally. Assist to Scott Laughton)

Shots: Philadelphia - 13 Columbus - 8

Score: Philadelphia - 1 Columbus - 0

Intermission – Mites On Ice, with Peanuts Christmas music equaled a crowd-pleaser.

Second period

Kirill Marchenko scored (third goal) at 5:58 into the frame. Assists to Jake Christensen and Eric Robinson.

Kent Johnson (eighth goal) put a wrister over Hart's left shoulder at 8:41 to give the Jackets a 2-1 lead. Assist to Gaudreau.

Moran Frost (sixth goal) took a pass from Cam York and snapped a wicked wrist shot past Tarasov at 10:04 to tie the game. Assists York and James van Riemsdyk.

Owen Tippett (ninth goal) worked a nifty give-an-go with Joel Farabee to the right of Tarasov on a power play to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead at 14:18.

The growth of the younger players on the roster was on display at points in this period. As Tortorella has often said, this season is about seeing what they have.

Shots: Philadelphia - 13 Columbus - 12

Score: Philadelphia - 3 Columbus - 2

Intermission – More Mites

(Photo - Sean O'Brien)

Third period

Konecny, who had that Christmas pep in his step tonight, weaved into the offensive zone and threaded a backhanded wrister over the left shoulder of Tarasov to give the Flyers a 4-2 lead at 2:45. His second goal of the night and fourteenth of the season was unassisted.

Andrew Peeke (third goal) quickly entered the zone and snapped a strong wrist shot over Hart's left shoulder to close the gap to one goal at 11:11. Assists to Jack Roslovic and Gustav Nyquist.

Columbus pulled the goalie with approximately two minutes to go. But Tippett (tenth) netted an empty-netter to seal the game. His second of the night, unassisted at 18:41 to give Philadelphia a 5-3 victory. 

Shots: Philadelphia - 13 Columbus - 13

Final Shots: Philadelphia 39 - Columbus - 33 

(Photo - Sean O'Brien)

Per the Flyers media relations department:

Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella

 

How much of a factor was it for you guys to come back in that second period? They started to get some momentum on their side, you guys answered back and take it back, but how key was that for you guys?

Are you asking me if that was a key time? When we went down 2-1? Yeah, when we answered, tied it, and then scored another one – Tip’s goal – it just swings the momentum. Didn’t give. We give up some goals. We give up a lead, but we didn’t give. We crawled back in it and found a way.

 

Was Carter okay at the end? It looked like he was slow getting up.

I didn’t notice anything. I just left the bench. I did not see. No one’s told me anything.

 

This morning we talked about the power play and how the main focus for those guys was the entries, just getting into the zone. That unit didn’t end up with a goal on the power play – I believe it was Tippett’s goal at the end – but what did you see there, them being able to keep the puck in even after the power play ended?

We still struggle on the entry. It’s at a very dangerous area right at the blue line. I thought Tip has a good game as far as retrieving pucks and battling for pucks. I didn’t even see the goal, so I can’t even comment on it. Everybody stood up, so I couldn’t even see it. It’s a work in progress as far as our power play, especially the entry part.

 

You’ve talked a lot the last few weeks about the fact that you’re building something here. A game like this where you have a lot of the 25 and younger guys step up – TK, Tippett, Frost, Cam – does that make you excited for what this could be down the road?

As hard as it’s been to eat all the losses – for coaches, it’s hard – they’re the ones that play. I can imagine how they feel. There have been some good things going on as far as development, as far as individual players, and also our team concept. You got to hang your hat on somewhere or you’ll lose your mind. Those are the things we’re trying. We’re trying a little “small victories” as far as where we’re coming as individuals. I’ve seen players get better each game. I’ve seen our backend get better. Cam York – minor leagues worked. Lappy and those guys, that whole situation that you guys were pissing and moaning about when we sent him down – worked. Cam comes up and is trying to make a difference. Those are the things we’re trying just to build on and hopefully – 50 plus games here – hopefully we just get some consistency and maybe some results.

 

With Konecny, has he entered the point where you trust him in any situation – power play, shorthanded, up a goal, down a goal?

You see how I use him, so I trust him. I’m always looking for him. He does some crazy stuff at times. We need to work with situational play with him, but you’ve got to be really careful of how – he’s just a reaction type player – you got to be really careful how you coach him because I need to let him go. Teach him a couple things along the way, but I need to let him go because that’s when he’s at his best.

 

Have you seen the positive progression in the areas you need him to be better in?

Yeah, I think he’s cognizant – at least he tells me that before he goes out on the next shift. He’s a bundle of energy and I love that about him. With a bundle of energy, there’s going to be some crazy stuff that happens. I don’t want to overcoach him. When we get to being a team that is competing in big games, playoffs and all that, when we get there as a team, hopefully at that time, he’ll lead the way as far as situational play. He’s still a pretty young man in this game. I’m hoping he leads the way as far as understanding some of those things when you’re in those key type of situations.

 

What did you think of Wade Allison’s game? I think he missed about six weeks, and what did you think of Hayes’ game tonight too?

I’m not giving up Hayesy’s game. I’m not going to have the Kevin Hayes update. You guys are trying to pit him against me and me against him, which is so ludicrous. So, I’m not giving you any update on Kevin Hayes. Ally, straight ahead, had some good bangs. I think he probably played ten minutes. I can give you a better assessment when I watch the tape.

 

Going back to Konecny, he scored the first shorthanded goal of his career tonight. You’ve had him paired up with Scott Laughton on the penalty kill. What have you liked about that duo, not just from a penalty killing standpoint but also their ability to try to create some offense?

I don’t think he’s killed here before. At least that’s what he’s told me, which is shocking. I’m not criticizing the prior coaching staffs, but I just think he’s so good. I had Cam for six years. Him and Cam are very similar – they anticipate so very well as a penalty killer. That’s why they end up with scoring chances in those types of situations. Willing to block shots, their quickness to pucks – listen, he’s a key guy. As I said, I look for him in every situation and deservedly so.

 

You talked about how Cam York, since he’s come back up, he’s trying to make a difference. Are you kind of seeing the same thing with Morgan Frost, especially over these last few games?

Yeah, he’s growing. He scores another goal tonight. I think we put that line together and I think James has kind of steadied those two kids. I watch him tonight. I see him carry the puck more instead of just getting rid of it. I think the big part of his game is carrying the puck, bringing people to him, so he can make plays. For a big part of this season, he was just getting rid of the puck. I think he feels more confident. When you start getting some points and you score a couple goals with those offensive guys, that’s what happens. This is a big time for his career. He has a chance to show or not show. He’s going to get the opportunity throughout the rest of this year and I think he’s trying to cease it here.

 

We talked a lot about positives at times in losses and how that’s important to focus on, but you have two wins in your last three games. Is it still important to get results throughout this process?

Everybody wants results. You can’t minimize that. We always are preparing to win a hockey game. Players, that’s all they want to do is win. I have to, as the head coach of the team, understand some of the situations that some guys are in and where maybe we get overwhelmed at times. I got to make sure I keep patience as we’re building. Because we’re building. As you’re building, when you approach each and every game, you want to win. It’s my job and my coaching staff’s job to make sure we handle ourselves the right way. Players just want to play and win. We have to control circumstances and how we coach them when we’re not getting the results.

Inside Access: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Calgary Flames

Pregame

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Calgary Flames

Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

January 5, 2019

Game Time – 1 p.m.

The Philadelphia Flyers (15-20-5, 35 points) entered the game in last place in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division. The team was also tied for last place in the National Hockey League with the Ottawa Senators and the Los Angeles Kings. The Calgary Flames (25-13-4, 54 points) were in first place in the Western Conference's Pacific Division. The team was also tied for second place in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Las Vegas Golden Knights.

The Flames beat the Flyers 6-5 in Calgary on December 12, 2018. Today is the second and final game of the season series.

Today's forty-first game of the season represents a disappointing halfway point, but more importantly the unmasking of the organization. Chuck Fletcher is now the General Manager, with Ron Hextall being relieved of his duties in November. Then, head coach Dave Hakstol was dropped weeks later, which caused the elevation of Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon to the interim head coach slot.

The lack of enough effective players turned this campaign into something like the 2006-07 season. However that era quickly brought a bounce-back to next season's deep playoff run and the 2010 Stanley Cup appearance.

On a personal note...The pregame meal on the Event Level dining room always provides the opportunity to talk with a wide variety of people who are connected to the game in one fashion, or another. Today, I had the opportunity to share brunch with a Korean War Veteran, who, like my own dad (in Vietnam), served his country. These men represent the reason why the casual freedom of a hockey game can be taken in on this rainy, early-January day in 2019.

Thank you isn't a two-word cliché. It represents our culture's maturity, in that people rightly see what so many great military people sacrificed to make America unique in modern world history. That point isn't rationally debated.

On a much lighter note - President Paul Holmgren was seen in the halls on the press level. Gritty was later spotted, meaning that his services have been retained during this season of change.

First Period

Carter Hart started in goal for Philadelphia. David Rittich was in net for Calgary.

Only six total shots on goal, through the first five minutes and fifty seconds of the afternoon tilt. Yes, it wasn't overly compelling.

A “Let's Go Flyers” chant was heard with around nine minutes remaining in the period. It's lack of velocity reflected a deflated fan base that knows this, in all likelihood won't be another Cup-winning year.

While Fletcher's track record is sound. He'll need to make a series of wise trades leading to the Trade Deadline in February and then follow that with impactful free agent signings this summer. In contrast, these analytical thoughts are not ones that are rampant among Flames' writers.

And then...the rather full crowd's cheer pulled this scribe's eyes from the keyboard, as Travis Sandheim potted a puck past Rittich at 12:10. Ivan Provorov and Jordan Weal got the assists. It was Sandheim's fourth goal of the season and it came on the power play.

Post-Christmas and New Year's, the Wells Fargo Center's stands were filled with plenty of people. Talk of empty seats earlier in the year weren't applicable today.

Travis Konecny's frenetic energy is fully evident when the full ice can be seen. He should remain a keeper for this team. He, along with Hart, Claude Giroux, Provorov, and Sean Couturier comprise what is (or should be) the team's core five.

Shots – Flyers 13, Flames 11.

Second Period

Johnny Gaudreau tied the game at at 8:51 with an even strength goal, his thirteenth of the season. Assists to Sean Monahan and Noah Hanifin.

Credit to the Flyers for hanging with one of the better teams in the League. They can secure at least a point, or more with a full-period effort in the third.

Shots – Flyers 25, Flames 21.

Third Period

Konecny, referenced earlier, glided into the offensive zone, took advantage of a Flame's misplay, and buried the puck into the net. Rittich was ten feet away the crease, in the left side faceoff circle, and was attempting to corral the puck. It was the Flyers top right winger's (in this game) tenth tally of the season, coming at 5:57, and was unassisted.

Matthew Tkachuk (his nineteenth of the season) wristed a shot past Hart at 15:43. Assists to Sam Bennett and Hanifin.

Flyers have rarely set up in the offensive zone during the entire game, or haven't been there for many rebound shots. So, they were fortunate to have led so late in the game.

Into OT both teams go.

Overtime Period

At 1:59 into the free hockey frame, the Flyers' flaws exposed, as Flames scored to win game. T.J. Brodie scored his fifth of the season, with the assist going to Tkachuk.

The breakdown in this extra period revealed what happens when Philadelphia has less bodies on the ice and can't compensate for errors, such as the one Jordan Weal made when he turned over the puck in the offensive zone and the Flames took it the other way to end the game.

Final shot total: Flyers 34, Flames 32.

Final score: Flames 3, Flyers 2.

Next up the Flyers host the St. Louis Blues, who started today only one point ahead of Philadelphia in overall points (36-35). That game will be played Monday.

Postgame Quotes

Responses to media questions after the game:

Philadelphia Flyers D Ivan Provorov

Does a loss like this kind of define what’s happened the first half of the year, you guys played 50 minutes of good hockey and then something seems to just not go right?

Yeah, honestly I’m not sure what happened, we were playing well, I think we sat back a little too much after the five minute mark and gave up a goal.

Was that pretty frustrating on the guys in here?

Yeah, we keep having the lead and then all of the sudden we just give up goals and end up losing in overtime or at the end of games. It’s frustrating, but we have to learn from it and move on.

Carter Hart, what have you seen from him so far, this in anyway wasn’t his fault?

He’s a great player, great goalie, battles hard, and he’ll only get better for now.

You guys have had so much of the same story, this being the halfway point of the season is this one game where you can turn the page and say forget the first 41 and focus on the rest?

I don’t think we’re waiting for the 41^st game for the mark to just turn the page, we’re trying to turn the page, sometimes it takes longer than you want, but we’re sticking with it and we’re going to continue to work. 

Philadelphia Flyers C Travis Konecny

You guys played a lot with the lead, did it just feel like there was a lot less pressure when you were in that scenario?

“Obviously we want to play with the lead, it’s a lot easier that way. It’s hard chasing games and it’s tough on us as well. We played a pretty solid game tonight.”

[Inaudible question]

“I think we know what it is, I don’t really know right now. It’s tough because like I said, we’re playing good hockey. It just seems like teams are just scoring on those one opportunities that they’re getting. It usually doesn’t go that way, but that’s just the way it’s going for us right now. It’s happened two times to us. We keep going back, we’re playing really solid games, I think tonight was one of our better ones.”

Flyers D Travis Sanheim

For as much you played in that game with the lead was it hard, these days, to even feel good about that?

Yeah, it’s obviously pretty frustrating. Felt like we had control most of the game. A couple breakdowns and that cost us the game.

The way that we talk about offensive opportunities, where it’s if you’re getting them and one bounce here or there it doesn’t go your way, do you feel like the opposite on the defensive side now? Where you make one mistake and it ends up in the back of your net?

Yeah, kind of feels that way lately. Because they’re not giving up a ton and yet you have one breakdown and it’s in the back of your net. They have their players on the other side, and they capitalize with their opportunities.

First half of the season and today, does it seem like a game like this sort of typifies the frustration of you guys play a good game for 55 minutes and then something goes wrong?

Yeah, it’s kind of been the course where first half we play the majority of the game pretty well and do a lot of things well yet, we end up on the wrong side of things.

Flyers C Jordan Weal

Did you just lose it there on that last goal?

Oh yeah, it bounced. Just bounced on me, plain and simple. Gotta be a little harder on that though, bear down make the right play.

Does it feel like with any simple little mistake that gets made, it ends up blowing up in to a goal against?

That seems like what it’s been like the past couple weeks now. Something little happens and it just snowballs in to a goal against. We got to play smart 200-foot hockey if we’re going to get out of this and that wasn’t it.

How hard does that make it mentally to really kind of delve in to the x’s and o’s and really look at a game and try and take away positives from it? If any little thing becomes a big thing.

Well I think we’ve gotten better at it. If a guy makes a mistake out there, because it’s going to happen it’s hockey, we’re really backing the guys up. There’s a couple of plays out there where guys had great back checks and stole pucks. TK comes to mind there, that’s just helping your team mates out and that’s what a team is for. We’re starting to get better at that, but got some room to go, just got to eliminate those little things that are shooting ourselves in the foot.

Philadelphia Flyers G Carter Hart

Considering the job that the guys did in front of you on the Monahan, Gaudreau line, do you feel pretty comfortable with the way you were able to see the puck and the chances that they were getting, not being the grade A all alone out front?

“Like you said, we did a good job of limiting their chances. Shut down their top line for most of the night. It’s disappointing to come out with a result like that. I thought we really battled hard tonight and the guys really wanted to win. It’s tough when you come out with result like that.”

What was clicking in your game tonight that wasn’t the last time?

“I was seeing the puck, I felt comfortable, I wasn’t overthinking things and just stuck to my game.”

How difficult were the days after that Carolina game?

“I think after that night happened you just put it behind you the next day and move on.”

Did you know Tkachuk was there on the second goal?

“Yeah, it was a good shot above the pad. It was definitely a savable puck for sure.”

Philadelphia Flyers RW Dale Weise

Dale this being the half way point of the seasons, kind of the craziest first 41 games you’ve seen?

By far, with coaches, GM’s, goaltenders, lines changing, it’s been really wild and the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.

You guys were in the driver’s seat for most of the game today, what did you see on your line going up against the Monahan line for most of the game?

I thought we did a good job on them, that line is dangerous, you don’t have to give them very much and they create a lot. I thought we did a really good job, a couple d-zone draws were they run a couple good plays there and we did a good job, it’s just frustrating. We played really well for call it 55 minutes it would be 50 and then the last 10 we’re just playing not to lose and kind of let our foot off the gas, which has kind of been the story for us.

It’s easy to take away the positives, but is there enough resiliency in the room just to get over this and start something new?

I feel like every game we’re trying to start something new, we got on a streak here we lost five in a row or whatever it is, every day we come to the rink we’re trying to start something new.   There was a lot of positives tonight. I think when you get into something like this the only thing you can do is try to look at the positives.  That’s a really good hockey team over there and we played really well, we had enough chances to win the game. I liked our power play, they had some good looks, we had good contributions from everybody, we just need to find a way to win games in the last 10 minutes. We lose a lot of games in the 10 minutes where I don’t know if anybody is doing anything that special to beat us, we’re just having mental breakdowns and we’re giving teams the game in the last 10 minutes.

Do the guys have positives like you have too, to maintain that and look at it?

Yeah, I think so, like I said we try to mentally reset every game.  That’s really all we can do at this point, you can’t really look at the standings that’s not going to do anyone any favors. We come to the rink every day, put a smile on your face, we bust to be an NHL hockey player and try to build something here the best way we can.

Philadelphia Flyers Interim Head Coach Scott Gordon

For most of that game until you got down to the overtime, what did you see (inaudible) when you it break down?

Jordan had the puck, made a nice cut to the middle, almost had an opportunity and then it came back to him and it looked like he was going to go to JVR and they closed that off. I think he had the right idea to move that puck to Ghost but I think he got it on his heels and he didn’t get all of it and it rolled on him so the rest of the story we know but it was the right play, I think he just needed to take a step towards Ghost.

This is the first half mark of the season, I know you haven’t been here that long but it seemed like today, this kind of game shows what you do, dominate for 40 minutes and then something goes wrong, would you say that that’s the frustrating part of this whole thing?

I wouldn’t say that we didn’t play well in the last 15 minutes, I thought obviously they had two power plays in the third right? So, you lose 4 minutes there but the winning goal, I think the guys were just too cautious; we backed off the initial fore-check, there should be someone steering the puck and not allowing the play to be able to get to the red line without any pressure and you know that’s not from being reckless or anything.  That’s just probably from being too conservative so we’ll talk about it tomorrow in practice and before we go on the ice.

When you talk in practice, is the message building something in game 41, you’re relatively new to the program, how do you balance you’re message from we’re building to we’re running out of time?

Yeah, well no matter what your situation is, you have to build the right things and obviously there’s a lot of good things.  Their goalie had a hell of a game and I thought defensively we did a lot of the right things. Their team loves to get the puck behind the net and find somebody open in front and we shut that that down really well tonight and that’s not an easy area to sell to your team to consistently do that because it involves playing a little more in the defensive zone for the wingers and it has to have reads and it has to have patience.  To our player’s credit, I thought they did an excellent job and that’s something whether it be that or how we play in the offensive zone or through the neutral zone, just getting a level of consistency that is happening all the time.

The power play, besides the one you scored on, where you did everything and anything you wanted to do to go to the net. A psychiatrist would say there is something to say about confidence. 

We did get the one goal. 9 shots. We had 2 power plays against us and gave 1 shot. Again you are up against a goaltender that’s playing well and you’re creating your opportunities. They are not going in. A couple power plays in the second, I didn’t think we did a good job, getting through the blue line area. That would have been the only thing I would have liked the power play to do better. 

You don’t usually see a fourth line matched up against a first line, especially a first line as good as Calgary’s. What was your thought process putting up the Laughton line against the first line?

Well, it wasn’t just them. Coots line was also out against them. I didn’t want to get consumed by one line being against the top line, or whatever you want to call it. I think the one thing that you can say about all three of those guys and what makes it hard to play against them is if they  manage the puck well, which means they’re going to get in on forecheck and going to be hard to play against. That’s not what top offensive lines like. They like to play against top lines, because they know they are going to make mistakes, turn pucks over. We have balance with that, with Coots line and with Laughts. As far as being able to have two lines you feel comfortable with. The rest you sort from there. ​

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