The Philadelphia Flyers slipped during a tough week against top-tier NHL competition. After a hot start in the John Tortorella era, the flaws of their roster have seemingly caught up to them while Carter Hart stands between the pipes ready for rapid-fire shots and chances. Meanwhile, the news on the injury front continues to devastate a franchise marred by the absences of key players and the stunted development of prospects in recent seasons.
Flyers Lose Three Straight
The Flyers suffered consecutive overtime defeats against the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers, the top-two finishers in the Metropolitan Division in 2021-22, on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively. They followed up with a 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night.
Former Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns scored the overtime winner for the Hurricanes on Saturday. Chris Kreider, coming off a 52-goal season, sealed a 1-0 victory for the Rangers on a breakaway in overtime on Tuesday. Long-time NHL superstar John Tavares torched the Flyers with a hat trick on Wednesday night while reigning Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews added a goal and an assist.
The Flyers now sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division out of playoff position. They lack the top-end talent to compete with the accomplished veterans that gave star efforts against them this week. Tortorella acknowledged after the loss in New York that the thin talent level will be hard to compensate for but avoided criticism of his players’ effort.
“I thought they played hard, and this is going to be a little bit of what we are as we try to get this on the right track. Maybe (we’ll) get some guys back along the way, because we’ve got some guys (who) it’s a little rich for them, but I look at it as a great opportunity for them to play and gain some experience. I think when we get healthy, we become a better team because these guys have gone through some of these experiences.”
-John Tortorella
Nobody set high expectations for the Flyers in the standings this season. They would be wise to avoid the mentality of moral victories, but Tortorella is perfectly willing to keep perspective on “baptism by fire” for some of the inexperienced players in the lineup and give partial credit even after losing efforts.
“As long as I see effort and care and belief in what we’re trying to do, I’m leaving the building in a decent mood,” he said at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
Bad News on Atkinson, York
The absence of Sean Couturier can’t be overstated. He is the only player on the Philadelphia roster ideally suited for first-line minutes, and he might miss the entire 2022-23 season. If a long-term injury to their best player wasn’t enough, their most proven goalscorer Cam Atkinson hasn’t made significant progress in his recovery from an upper-body injury that came to light in the team’s final practice before the regular season began.
Charlie O’Connor acknowledged the possibility of a back injury, saying “There’s definitely some (Ryan) Ellis comparables here in the sense that they don’t know exactly what the problem is…They’re still trying to identify the exact problem and figure out what to do about it, and in the interim, they’re hoping it’s just going to get better.”
The mere mention of a comparison to the unfortunate situation with the “multilayered” injury to Ellis should leave some unsettled stomachs in Philadelphia. Atkinson’s experience playing under Tortorella and his acumen as a former 40-goal scorer gave him the appearance of a core player for the Flyers in 2022-23. Now, it’s all up in the air with an indefinite timetable for his return.
Prospect defenseman Cam York suffered a leg injury with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday night against the Hershey Bears. He needed assistance to leave the ice. Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said on Monday that York is day-to-day. The 2019 first-round pick played 30 NHL games last season, but he didn’t earn a spot on the big club out of training camp. Tortorella challenged him to play up to a higher standard at his full potential in the American Hockey League (AHL) before coming back to the Flyers. The injury provides yet another roadblock.
Claude Giroux on Deck
The Flyers will remain north of the border for a matchup against Claude Giroux and the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night at 7 p.m. before returning to the Wells Fargo Center for a four-game homestand. The Senators will also travel to Philadelphia for a Saturday matinee on Nov. 12. It will mark Giroux’s first game in Philadelphia since the Flyers dealt him to the Florida Panthers ahead of the NHL trade deadline in March.
Giroux informed the organization during the final weeks of a 14-year career with the Flyers that he would only waive his no-trade clause for a move to the Florida Panthers. He reportedly wanted a handshake agreement to return to the Flyers in free agency during the 2022 offseason, but the organization didn’t comply.
Related: Flyers, Giroux Have Complicated Legacy at Stake at NHL Trade Deadline
Long-time teammates like Scott Laughton, Ivan Provorov, and Travis Konecny (among others) will relish the opportunity to face Giroux in Ottawa. The crowd in Philadelphia will undoubtedly give the longest-tenured captain in franchise history a rousing ovation next Saturday. Through 10 games with Ottawa in 2022-23, Giroux has five goals and four assists. He played junior hockey in nearby Gatineau, and he has spent the majority of his offseasons during his NHL career in the Ottawa area.