Flyers seek turnaround in pivotal three-game road trip

Carter Hart

It’s a little early in the season to be calling a three-game road trip crucial to the Flyers’ ultimate fortunes this season but it does carry some weight, given a discouraging three-game losing streak.

Things got off with a bang this season under new head coach John Tortorella, with Philadelphia going 7-3-2 in its first dozen games.

Then, after a 5-1 rout of St. Louis last Tuesday, the Flyers hit a wall, getting outscored 14-4 in the aforementioned three defeats, two of them coming against last-place teams Columbus and Ottawa.

So the Flyers don’t want any sort of crisis of confidence to build here. On Tuesday, they want to avenge last Thursday’s 5-2 loss at Columbus, test themselves against NHL-leading Boston on Thursday and then get set one for one of those classic Saturday night games at Montreal.

One thing they have to improve on is their scoring, be it 5 on 5 or power play. They have produced only 37 goals in 15 games, last in the Eastern Conference and second-lowest in the NHL.

“I feel like we’ve had a really good start to the year before these three games, and all three winnable games up until the score kind of got out of hand,’’ Kevin Hayes said. “I mean the next three games are big. It’s Columbus, Boston, and Montreal. It’s a big road trip for us. I think everyone needs to figure out how to help the team and figure out what they can do a little differently to help our team win.’’

Scott Laughton is about the closest thing the Flyers have to a captaim and as a team leader also believes these three games are critical to keep things moving in the right direction. Don’t forget, this is a team which hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2019-20 season.

“This is a huge stretch coming up, this three-game road trip we go on,’’ Laughton said. “It’s going to be huge for our team to see where we’re really at and what happens in the standings here.’’

Ivan Provorov wants to see how the Flyers handle the current adversity.

“I think coming off the last two years, any game is critical for us, starting the season,’’ he said. “This is kind of, I guess, the first bump in the road this year. Let’s see how we handle it.’’

>Flyers Charities Carnival returns

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Flyers Charities Carnival will return this season on Sunday, March 26 at the Wells Fargo Center.

Tickets are on sale now. Fans can purchase tickets at FlyersCarnival.com

For the first time ever, player Sign and Snap sessions will be released in four waves; pre-purchasing is recommended and sell-outs are expected.

The Flyers announced kids under 12 are free. Interested parties can select kids’ complimentary tickets when purchasing adult tickets. One adult ticket grants access to four children’s tickets.

The event, now running for over four decades, is one of the longest-tenured and successful one-day charity events hosted by a professional sports franchise anywhere in the country.

Fans will have the opportunity to interact with the entire roster of Flyers players, access VIP areas of the arena, and take a ride on a full-size Ferris Wheel right on the floor of New Wells Fargo Center.

Since its inception, Flyers Charities has raised over $30 million for charity. Proceeds from the Carnival will help Flyers Charities support their three pillars of giving: supporting local families impacted by cancer, growing the game of hockey, and investing in sustainability and environmental responsibility.

Ths pandemic restrictions have been largely removed throughout the region, the Flyers have strongly prioritized re-connecting players with the community.

In addition to events like this, all Flyers players are also working with different charitable and community initiatives this season. Due to the two-year postponement of the event, this year’s Carnival will be the first chance for Flyers fans to meet new team members in the Carnival setting including Cam Atkinson, Wade Allison, Owen Tippett, Rasmus Ristolainen and Tony DeAngelo.

>Short shots

The Flyers called up forward Max Willman from the Phantoms on Monday and assigned Tanner Laczynski to that club. Also, center Patrick Brown was loaned to Lehigh Valley on a conditioning assignment. He’s been out all season as he recovers from offseason back surgery.

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About Wayne Fish 2387 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.