Philadelphia Flyers: Danny Briere's Statement Trade of Ivan Provorov

(Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Flyers.)

Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Danny Briere made a statement with his first trade. 

He was not shy in making this major transaction during the Stanley Cup Final, albeit on an off day. The three-team deal he exacted delivered on the promise that he and others in the reconfigured front office have been making. The organization is genuinely rebuilding, was creative, and netted countable assets. 

The following is courtesy of the Flyers' media relations department: 

Hi, Danny. Just wondering about what was the timeline for this? When did you start having conversations about making this trade and specifically with Provorov and these teams?

Last couple of weeks, I've had a few different discussions on Ivan. There was other teams involved, but it really seemed like the best fit was with Columbus. The interest was really, really high on Columbus’ side. We started focusing on that a little bit more in the last couple of days.

 

Danny, I guess this is more of a bigger picture question, but what went into the decision to trade Ivan Provorov? What drove that decision on your part?

Well, part of it is that we are in a rebuilding stage. We felt that the picks and the direction that we wanted to go in, it was really enticing. Very exciting. We have a chance to really kind of start building the team the way we want it, the right way that we've talked about. I think it kind of starts with that. It wasn't an easy decision. Ivan has been a really good soldier for the Flyers for a lot of years. A lot of sweat, a lot of hits he’s taken, a lot of pucks he’s blocked. He's really poured his heart out into the Flyers. It wasn't an easy decision. For us, what we were looking at is young guys and picks. We've said it from the beginning, so that was the major reason behind it.

 

Yeah, just kind of following up on that. Obviously, Ivan has been for years your guys’ number one defenseman, the big minutes guy. That's a key piece for any team, not just in terms of trying to win now, but also in terms of how the rest of the depth chart fills out. Why did you feel like future assets matter more to the long-term plan than his present value here?

Well, sometimes you have to pay the price to get good assets back as well. We're not denying the fact that Ivan is a good defender and he's put in heavy minutes for us. It's going to be tough to replace him. At this time, we felt that the assets we were getting to build the team we want to build in the future. That was critical and you have to give up good players and good assets in return. You don't get first round picks for players that don't have interest from other teams. You've got to play ball with both sides, and we have to give up a good player for that.

 

Hey, Danny, thanks for doing this. I was just curious. In your conversations with Ivan, did he express the desire for a change of scenery? Just how were your conversations with him leading up to the off-season and in the days leading up to this trade?

Yeah, I'm not gonna get into the details of that. All I'd like to say is thanks to Ivan for being a great soldier for a lot of years. At this time, we felt it was the best of interest for everybody to make this trade.

 

This is a pretty significant move for you guys. You've used the word rebuilding a couple of times since you took over as GM, including today. Is this the first of many moves you're planning to make between now and the draft? Do you envision this being the start of kind of what you want to do as far as reshaping the team?

If it makes sense. It all depends if things make sense. We felt this trade made sense at this time for us. That's why we moved ahead. Like I've said earlier, there's always two sides to it - three sides in this case – so you never know. If it makes sense and there's a good return on other things, we'll consider it, but it's too early to tell.

 

Does having a second first round pick in this year's draft - it's considered an incredibly deep crop - how important was that to get this as part of the deal for Ivan?

That was the key part of the deal. We have the chance to get a really good player when you're drafting in the top-10 this year in this crop, but it's a deep draft, and we felt we wanted to acquire another pick in the first two rounds, not having a second rounder this year. So, having a chance to get number 22 was critical to the deal for us.

 

Can you tell us a little bit about the defensive prospect, Grans, that you got back? What are your impressions of him? Have you seen him personally play and what can you tell us about him?

No, unfortunately, I haven't seen him play. I had to rely on our scouts for him. I'm excited. He was a second-round pick, an early second-round pick, by the Kings. A right-shot defenseman - premium position - and a tall, lanky body so I can't wait to see him play. I don't know too much at the moment, so I'd be lying to you. I’ll wait and reserve my comments for after I have the chance to watch him a little bit more.

 

You're accumulating a bunch now. You have a couple extra picks this year, you have extra picks next year. Is this something where you would potentially consider maybe putting some of these together to kind of maybe move up in this draft considering how good it is? And is there an appetite for that from other teams to potentially look around and see if teams are interested in doing it?

We're open for business. We'll listen if it makes sense. If the value is there for us, definitely. That's kind of the luxury of having a lot of picks, and unfortunately, in the situation we're at when you finish a little lower in the standings, you have better picks. It's good and it's bad. You have to suffer for it. Nothing's off the table on our side.

 

Ivan is only 26. Was there any belief or thought that he had stagnated in his development and progression? I mean, it's not often, even if a franchise is rebuilding, that they trade a 26-year-old number one defenseman.

The points may make it look that way, but also, he wasn't really put in a position to succeed. What I mean by that is he didn't have a lot of power play time, so it's not just about the points for Ivan. He's a hard defender. He never bails and plays hard every single night. We have a lot of respect for that. We still consider him a top pairing for our team, but again, to acquire assets and a first-round pick in a deep draft like this year, you have to pay the price and we had to give up on a good player.

 

Was the situation with Pride Night back in January any factor in the decision to trade him?

No, it did not factor into the trade.

 

Hey, Danny, just changing gears real quick. In the trade, you got back Cal Petersen, goalie from LA. I guess, where do you see him fitting in? Given the fact that at one time, he was used very highly around the league, obviously now, it seems like his inclusion was more of a salary dump on LA's part, but where do you see him fitting in with you guys?

Well, it's very interesting. We're not too sure at the moment, we'll give him a chance that will make for a healthy competition at camp. It's a little too early to tell where he's going to fit in. But, you know, like you said, he was a good young goaltender. He had an off year last year, so we'll see where he's at.

 

Yeah, I guess kind of as a follow up on that. I know you've answered a few questions about this in the last few weeks. But in the wake of the trade, there were some rumors out there about the status of Carter Hart, obviously adding a goalie in Cal Petersen adds to that. But where are you at right now with Carter? Is he on the block or you guys just in the process of pretty much listening on everyone?

I'm still in the same spot I was. We're open for business. We listen on everybody. Everybody's being treated the same way for us on our side.

 

Hey, Danny, kind of in a similar vein about Cal Petersen. Obviously, you guys trade out a, you know, significant contract in Provorov, but you take back the five million in Petersen. With you guys probably not contending for the next couple of seasons. Are you more willing to take on contracts like that, you know, you get that short term kind of a contract to get maybe some extra pieces? Is that kind of where you guys are right now?

I think it's a deal that was helping all sides. Columbus wanted their defenseman, we were looking to acquire young assets, either draft pick or young guys. For LA, it was a chance to create cap space, you know, for what they want to do. So, for us, it made a lot of sense acquiring a young guy and a lot of draft picks in the process.

 

Where do you think Cam York is in terms of readiness? More minutes? More responsibility? It's going to kind of be a group effort to do that without Ivan. And do you feel that younger defensively? Zamula, once he's fully rehab, or Attard, are ready to step up to the NHL level as full-time players?

Well, we certainly hope so. We want to give our young guys a look. A bigger look. Cam York had a tough training camp. He went down, put his time in in the minors, really came back rejuvenated and was a great player for us. He's obviously an important part of the future for the Flyers. Egor Zamula, like you mentioned, Ronnie Attard and Emil Andrae – there’s other young defensemen that are coming up that are still in college or juniors that will also get looks eventually. I'm not saying right away next year but eventually. I mean it's exciting and you don't know sometimes, you look at last year where a guy like Tippett got the chance to play more and showed what he was capable of. Same thing with Morgan Frost, Noah Cates, Travis Konecny – so a lot of the young guys took a big step forward, especially upfront last year with having more opportunities. We hope we can do the same in the future with our defensemen. Now, there might be some nights where it's going to be tough but we want to see and have a clear idea of where our defensemen can stand. Hopefully, we give them the chance to show us that.

 

Danny, can you take us through this kind of deal from an internal standpoint, especially with Keith at the Stanley Cup Final? Did that make things more difficult? How much was he involved in the process of this?

No, actually, with Keith, it’s great. We're probably on the phone four or five times a day. And to go in deeper with that, it's been pretty amazing. Dan Hilferty was kept in the loop, Keith Jones was kept in the loop the whole time and brought in some good ideas. Same with John Tortorella. But if I went even deeper than that, the amazing part with this is how the different departments were involved. Obviously, the guys in my area and assistant GM, to the guys around me, were really involved, but our amateur scouts were involved with the picks, with the young players, what they remembered. Our pro scouts were really helpful with some of the players involved. And our analytics department was really, really creative helping with that deal. So, it's pretty cool how different departments kind of came together. Everybody was involved. It was definitely a team-oriented trade that we came up with. Pretty exciting how the team came together.

Behind the Hockey Scenes: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Carolina Hurricanes

 

March 18, 2023 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

Introductions

Philadelphia (25-32-11, 61 points, .434 points percentage) is thirteen points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets (21-40-7, 49 points, .316 points percentage) in the Metropolitan division of the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets have the least number of points in the National Hockey League. 

The Flyers have the sixth-lowest point total in the NHL, with much-hyped June draft lottery implications. The draft lottery will be held on May 8, with the first sixteen picks being determined that day. Round 1 of the draft takes place on June 28. Rounds 2 through 7 take place on June 29.

Former Flyer Rod Brind' Amor's Carolina Hurricanes (44-15-8, 96 points, .716 points percentage) would likely be the top-ranked team in the NHL in most other seasons. But in 2022-23, the Canes enter the late-afternoon game 11 points behind the Boston Bruins (51-11-5, 107 points, .799 points percentage). 

The Montreal Canadiens 1976-77 season (60-8-12, 132 points, .825) produced the greatest points percentage in NHL history. A look at Les Habitants' records in the book-ended seasons of 1975-76 and 1977-78 is astounding.

The Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 in Philadelphia last night, with Owen Tippett netting a St. Patrick's Day hat trick, the first of his career. A variety of hats, including Irish bowlers, dotted the ice after the third goal was netted. 

The Hurricanes were beaten by the same score (5-2) on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. Viewers of that game saw the Leafs wear their glorious green uniforms, with St Pats replacing the traditional Maple Leaf logo. 

Anthem - Lauren Hart delivered her standard A+ performance.

First period

Starting goaltenders – Philadelphia – Felix Sandstrom, Carolina – Frederick Andersen

Philadelphia enters the game with a -47 goal differential (having surrendered 47 more goals than they have scored), which ranks twenty-seventh in the League. Carolina has a +51 goal differential (third in the NHL). 

Minimal action through the first half of the period. Noah Cates picked a puck out of the air on the fly as he entered the Canes' offensive zone, dropped it to the ice, and attempted to score but was denied. That play pushed the Flyers' shot total to four, which equaled Carolina's tally through nearly nine minutes played. 

The mostly filled Center, which will have the 76ers as tenants for at least the next few years, was entertained by Gritty's antics in the stands, as head coach John Tortorella waits for more offensive players to develop and be acquired in coming seasons.

Jalen Chatfield lifted a hard wrist shot that flew over Sandstrom's left shoulder and clanked off the post with approximately six minutes to go. 

Carolina took the lead at 14:52 when Sebastian Aho (twenty-eighth of the season) put a wrister past Sandstrom's glove. Assisted by Martin Necas and Brady Skjei. 

Skjei (fifteenth of the season) quickly followed with his second point of the period when, at 16:51, he lifted a high wrist shot past Sandstrom's glove. So, the shot location pattern continued. 

Shots: Carolina – 8 Philadelphia - 12 

Score: Carolina – 2 Philadelphia - 0 

Intermission – Mites on Ice delighted the crowd with their energetic play before the second period got underway.

Second period 

One of the Flyers' prized prospects, Tyson Foerster demonstrated his strong shot, when whisking a low writer past Andersen at 4:56 to pull Philadelphia within one goal of Carolina. Assisted by Morgan Frost and Brendan Lemieux. It was Foerster's first NHL goal. 

Aho netted his second goal of the game and his twenty-ninth of the season, over Sandstrom's glove, at 13:55. From high above in the press level, it is clear that Carolina has identified and aims for that particular spot, possibly because Sandstrom sets low in his crouch and allows a lot of open space to aim at. Assists to Stefan Noesen and former Flyer, Shayne Gostisbehere. 

Noah Cates (eleventh of the season) scored from in front of the net, seconds into the power play, at 18:18. He was forced to the ice for his effort and did not care as Philadelphia pulled to within one goal of Carolina. Assisted by Foerster and Owen Tippett.

The development of the future of the Flyers is on display in this game. The Tortorella X-Factor, Danny Briere's 

Shots: Carolina - 4 Philadelphia - 13

Score: Carolina – 3 Philadelphia - 2

Intermission – More Mites, with the sequel also being cheered. 

Third period 

Joel Farabee (eleventh of the season) was positioned in front of the net when Tippett fired a turnaround shot toward Anderson. Farabee took the puck and pushed it into the back of the net at 2:33 to tie the score at 3-3. The other assist was by Cates.

Andersen was behind his net when Frost stole the puck from him and passed it to Lemieux (second of the season) who inserted it into the empty crease at 5:50, giving the Flyers a 4-3 lead. The team's persistence and effort are something Tortorella has been preaching all season. 

Carolina's trip out of Toronto and through customs appears to be having an effect at this point in the game.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi's penalty at 12:38 gave the Flyers a chance to push their lead to two goals. They did not capitalize. 

Aho was called for a hooking penalty at 14:54. 

The Canes got a few close-in shots on their power kill, as Philadelphia failed to score again on the man advantage.

Carolina called a 30-second timeout at 17:44 and returned with the goalie pulled, to add the extra attacker, as the face-off was in the Flyers' defensive zone.

Scott Laughton was called for hooking at 19:53. Martin Necas scored (twenty-seventh of the season) with 0.3 seconds to tie the game 4-4. An official's review confirmed it, as the fans' enthusiasm evaporated in less than that second. 

Shots: Carolina – 17 Philadelphia - 12 

Score – Carolina – 4 Philadelphia – 4 

Overtime 

Aho matched Tippett's St. Patrick's Day feat, by netting his third goal (thirtieth of the season) of the night for the hat trick when scoring 28 seconds into overtime. He moved into the zone, put the puck through Flyers' defensemen Tony DeAngelo's legs, and touched the puck again, putting it over Sandstrom's blocker, over his shoulder on the right side.

The puck clanged off the post as it went in, causing Sandstrom to believe no goal was scored. But the comeback OT victory was complete. 

Shots: Carolina – 1 Philadelphia – 0 

Final Shot totals: Carolina – 34 Philadelphia - 33

Final Score: Carolina – 5 Philadelphia 4 

(All photos courtesy of Sean O'Brien.)

After the horn sounded

The following text is courtesy of Philadelphia's media relations department:

Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella

 

                                                  

The team overcame a pair of two-goal deficits and got the lead, and then gave it away at the end. How do you evaluate the highs and lows of this game?

Thought we played really well. Thought we had the game controlled and – I don’t know how to evaluate it right now.

 

A lot of your multi-point goal scorers, most of them were your 25-and-unders. Is that a positive you look at for this organization?

Encouraging stuff with the kids.

 

How did you think they handled the power play time? I know you mentioned it last night.

Who?

 

The younger players?

The one power play, we have most of the kids on it. Thought they did a good job.

 

Was there anything they could have done differently there at the end?

Not going to replay all that stuff right now. You guys can watch the video yourself.

 

How did you think Ristolainen played on the power play?

Didn’t get much time. Can’t evaluate him.

 

 

Carolina Hurricanes C Sebastian Aho

 

That overtime goal, you played with Tony, did that go into how he would play that moment where you’re able to get passed him like that?

Not really. I was able to gather a lot of speed. There was an offensive gap there, so I just went for it. You don’t really think about it much when you’re out there. You just to play with your instincts and it worked this time.

 

I guess you just be happy you got the two points, it’s not the prettiest win.

Yeah exactly. Find a way to win this game, which is huge. We can’t play like this every night. We don’t give our best chance to win these games, but obviously a little bit of confidence boost as well to get the late one there and be able to come out the winner on this one.

 

What was your view on Martins goal, were you concerned that maybe it came after the buzzer and wouldn’t count or?

Yeah, I mean look up, it’s zeros on the thing so you don’t know. They have those on the bench, behind the bench. You see very clearly that it was a goal, so it was a big one. 

 

Philadelphia Flyers LW Noah Cates

 

That’s got to be a tough one to take after being ahead twice?

Yeah, you noticed it kind of slips away. This weekend I thought we played really well for the most part and kind of got away from it in the third period against Buffalo and then have a good third period comeback a little bit. Just a last second play like that is pretty tough. You’re thinking about just all the little plays that five, ten, fifteen seconds that could’ve just iced that game. Just definitely hard to look back and kind of see the plays that could’ve been there and just would ice the game.

 

The little plays like faceoffs, you lost two or three tough ones there that you could’ve gotten it out and that would’ve been it, talk about that a little bit.

I mean just a veteran guy over there. It’s obviously a good opportunity for me to work on it and be out there in a huge part of the game. It just sucks that it kind of slips away. Obviously, if you get three or four opportunities like that, you should at least tie up or win one. It sucks that it kind of came down to that and they put one in late there.

 

Noah, John told us that he likes to have some of the younger guys together on the power play unit, how do you think you’ve taken advantage of that opportunity.

I think we have nothing to lose. We’re kind of down there in the power-play percentage, so we can try different things. Work off each other, talk to each other, and work with each other. I think we’re a little more comfortable when we’re working with a younger guy and how freely you can talk to them. I think we found some chemistry here this past weekend, so hopefully we can build off of it. 

 

Philadelphia Flyers RW Tyson Foerster

 

Missed question…

This league’s all about confidence. I feel like mine’s pretty high right now, but I’m just going to look for next game.

 

In the games you played you’ve shown some progress, from getting more shots on goal, to a point, to now a goal, is that encouraging to you to know that you are obviously adapting to this level?

Yeah, but I also had a couple shots blocked. I got to try and find ways to get those through. All in all, I think I played pretty well.

 

 

Carolina Hurricanes C Martin Nečas

 

Point-three seconds left, what do look at there when that goal goes in?

I don’t know. I was just standing on the back door and the puck just, I don’t even know, somehow show up there. Just bang it in the net, so kind of lucky. I think we were really after those last few minutes where we had a few chances.

 

They took a look at it, were you worried at all that the light had gone on before you scored?

Yeah, I had no idea I was going right to the bench, and we had a little tv there. It was a good goal.

 

Maybe not the prettiest win but you’ll take the two points and be happy with it?

Yeah, they played a good game. We were struggling for a bit, especially in the third period. Big win. Sometimes these wins when you got to find a way like that are important and that’s a big one tonight.

 

Philadelphia Flyers LW Brendan Lemieux

 

Brendan, is that as frustrating of a loss you can have in the fashion that it happened?

Yeah, it sucks. It’s a bad break. It is what it is. I think just move past it. Unfortunate, I thought we played a really good game, so it sucks.

 

How important is it to take the positives from it too? I mean, I think there was 5 guys that had multi-point games, including you.

Yeah, I think the more positive thing we take from it is as a group. That’s a good hockey team over there. We were with them all night. We played a good game, so we’re proud of that. Tyson and some of these younger guys that have big nights, it’s good for them and helps build confidence for the rest of this year and moving forward. We’re happy for them.

 

How much are you able to kind of feed off the energy that they bring given their success at this point in their careers and what they’re doing with this team?

Yeah, it’s awesome. I’m excited for them. I’m excited personally. It’s been a new lease on life for me in Philly, getting an opportunity to play again so I’ve been happy. I’ve been given a great opportunity. I’m just trying to make the most of it individually, but then for the young guys, I’ve been through with basically there teams before where we’ve got to restart and rebuild. I’ve seen it happen. We’ve got some good kids in here and the right pieces to do it. Doesn’t take long, seeing it happen so many times in today’s day and age. These retools, these rebuilds, they happen fast and it starts with the guys you bring up like Tyson. This young group in here, it’s going to be quick and it’s going to be fun to watch these kids grow. We’ve got a lot of skill in here and a good group. I’m excited just to watch sometimes. It’s fun. 

 

Philadelphia Flyers C Scott Laughton

 

As far as frustration goes tonight, what’s the feeling in the room after the way this one ended?

Yeah, I thought a lot of guys battled hard. We battled back. Get the lead there, take a penalty with seven seconds, they score, and then score first shift of overtime. Yeah, that’s it.

 

The goal at the end of regulation, what was your viewpoint on that? Did you think maybe it had gone in after the buzzer? What happened there?

No, I thought it went in before. I was sitting in the box there, so had a pretty good idea of it. Did I think it was a penalty? No, but I’m on that side of it so of course I’m probably biased on that side. It’s a neutral zone play. I stick-checked a guy and they called it a penalty. That’s the way the game goes.

 

Is it even more frustrating Scott as again there were so many positives before that?

Yeah, a lot of guys played well I thought, especially some of our young guys. Foerster, Tipper again, all those guys, Catesy. I know I need to be better, but what are you going to do now? Try and get better for next game. That’s all you can do. The young guys played really well, were patient on the power play, made some good plays, and got us back in the game. 

 

 

Carolina Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour

 

No styles points, but are you just happy with the two points today?

Yeah, that’s what we came here to get. It wasn’t the prettiest of games for us. Thought we had a real good start. It was really that offensive zone penalty that we take that leads to the five-on-three, and then they get into the game. Then, we have a terrible start to the third. Give Philadelphia credit, they played hard all the way. We finally were able to break through there and win it.

 

Despite that second game on a back-to-back you must be happy with the resiliency you saw from your guys late in third.

Yeah, we finally woke up, to be honest with you. We were sleeping through the game. For that third period, and even the second period, we were just going through the motions. Can’t do that in this league. It was a good lesson, and we will take the two points. We need them at this time of the year.

 

When you see Martin’s goal go in, but you don’t know if it counts. What was your viewpoint there?

Well, you just go right to the monitor that they have on the bench, and you can see the clock there. We had real good luck right before. You set up a little play, and not very often does it work. There it was. The goalie made just an unbelievable save, so you think the game is over. We got a lucky break there, but I’ll take it.

 

I asked you about Aho, and a few guys stepping up before the game. Have you come to expect that from him?

Well, he needs to. I hate to say that all the time. With the guys we have out now, you just have to count more, and more on your tops guys. He’s one we have left as far as a game changer. Him and Martin Neĉas, they came through. You must rely on those guys.

 

Sebastian said after the game, “can’t play like this”, meaning the penalties. Do you have to say something to the guys? Is it a discipline issue, is it a positioning issue?

We have talked about it all year. Penalties is number one. You can’t take them, especially O-zone penalties. Those are death. We took a couple of those tonight. We know that. It’s not a lack of effort. Those guys are working hard at it. They just got have to be a little smarter.

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.