VOORHEES, N.J. – For Morgan Frost it’s old hat.
The Flyers center has been scratched so many times, he didn’t even blink when coach John Tortorella sat him down for the last three straight games and four of the last five.
Frost was actually benched for a whopping 10 games during the 2024-23 season, Tortorella’s second season as Philly bench boss.
Other players have been told to take a night or two off during Tortorella’s tenure but nothing like Frost, who has scored only one goal through 20 games this season.
After Friday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center, Tortorella indicated there’s a good chance Frost will be back in the lineup for Saturday afternoon’s game against Chicago when the home team tries to end a two-game losing streak.
As for the latest disconnect, Tortorella shrugged and gave some familiar assessments.
“I think ‘Frosty’ is going to play tomorrow,” Tortorella said. “I’m really anxious to see him play.”
The Flyers have not been getting much scoring from their centers, so getting an upper-line stalwart like Frost going would seem like a high priority.
What can Frost improve on?
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Tortorella said. “It’s pretty evident what I’m looking for. It’s all facets of the game. I’ve seen ‘Frosty’ answer. I saw him answer last year.”
Despite missing those 10 games last season, Frost came on strong at the end and finished with 13 goals and a career-high 28 assists. He was even a plus-4 on a team which finished a glaring minus-26.
The 25-year-old Frost seemed to be in good favor coming out of the gate this season. He even centered a line with Russian hotshot Matvei Michkov on it in some preseason action. Then things tailed off.
“He played pretty well last year,” Tortorella said. “I hope he does it.”
>York getting closer
There was no official medical word on the status of injured defenseman Cam York on Friday, although he did once again practice, as he has for the better part of a week.
York was a steady partner of Travis Sanheim on the top tandem until he got hurt in the seventh game of the season. He went on IR and when he came off, there was a sense he would get back into action fairly soon.
That hasn’t been the case.
At least he looks a bit more comfortable out there even if he hasn’t received medical clearance to play.
“He does to me,” Tortorella said. “I haven’t talked to the medical guys so I have no information. He looks good to me. I don’t know if he’s in (on Saturday) or not.”
>Bedard coming to town
Chicago second-year whiz kid, the former No. 1 overall draft pick of the Blackhawks, might be at a new position when he plays at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
He was recently moved from center to wing. The fact he’s only scored three goals/15 points in 19 games might have something to do with that.
Tortorella said he hasn’t been paying too much attention to that situation.
“We’re certainly aware of his skill,” the coach said. “Again, we don’t spend too much time talking about the other team or that. We have enough things going on with our club, we have to worry about our team.
“Obviously we need to know when he’s on the ice. He’s a quality player. But there’s no special defense or special things that we’re going about. We’re just going to try to play our game.”
>Short shots
Tortorella said Aleksei Kolosov will start in goal for the Flyers. Regarding possible lineup changes, the coach responded: “I have no idea.”
