PHILADELPHIA – During the Flyers’ recent six-game point streak (5-0-1), Scott Laughton was in the lineup each night.
Then he had to miss three games for personal reasons and the Flyers went 1-2 and were outscored, 10-4.
Just coincidence? Perhaps. But it’s clear the 30-year-old forward is missed when he’s not in the middle of the action.
After Monday morning’s skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J., Laughton said it was good to be back as he got ready for a night game against the visiting New Jersey Devils.
“I feel ready to go and it’s working out a little bit back home,” Laughton said.
With center Sean Couturier out due to illness, Laughton figured to log a lot of ice time at center, which is his natural position. Playing the middle offers a set of different challenges than patrolling up and down the left wing.
“A lot more work in the D-zone as a centerman,” Laughton said. “But honestly, I feel like if you’re the first guy low, you’re usually playing low. A little bit more responsibility at center, you can take off on the wing.
“But it’s a lot harder along the walls, getting the puck out and not keeping your speed as much.”
The Flyers actually had an optional skate on Monday morning, partly because this is another three-games-in-four-nights stretch. The schedule is already a bit compressed because of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off Tournament.
“Not many guys out there,” Laughton said. “Try to get as much treatment as you can. Take care of your body. I think we’re pretty fortunate in our division, our travel schedule, with how close teams are.
“I think it’s better than what western teams have to go through. All that travel. We have a lot of division games coming up here and a lot of important ones. We need to get on a roll here before the last two before the break.”>Zamula still outDefenseman Egor Zamula missed his second straight game due to upper-body injury problems. He was replaced by veteran Erik Johnson.
Couturier is listed as day-to-day.
Then he had to miss three games for personal reasons and the Flyers went 1-2 and were outscored, 10-4.
Just coincidence? Perhaps. But it’s clear the 30-year-old forward is missed when he’s not in the middle of the action.
After Monday morning’s skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J., Laughton said it was good to be back as he got ready for a night game against the visiting New Jersey Devils.
“I feel ready to go and it’s working out a little bit back home,” Laughton said.
With center Sean Couturier out due to illness, Laughton figured to log a lot of ice time at center, which is his natural position. Playing the middle offers a set of different challenges than patrolling up and down the left wing.
“A lot more work in the D-zone as a centerman,” Laughton said. “But honestly, I feel like if you’re the first guy low, you’re usually playing low. A little bit more responsibility at center, you can take off on the wing.
“But it’s a lot harder along the walls, getting the puck out and not keeping your speed as much.”
The Flyers actually had an optional skate on Monday morning, partly because this is another three-games-in-four-nights stretch. The schedule is already a bit compressed because of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off Tournament.
“Not many guys out there,” Laughton said. “Try to get as much treatment as you can. Take care of your body. I think we’re pretty fortunate in our division, our travel schedule, with how close teams are.
“I think it’s better than what western teams have to go through. All that travel. We have a lot of division games coming up here and a lot of important ones. We need to get on a roll here before the last two before the break.”>Zamula still outDefenseman Egor Zamula missed his second straight game due to upper-body injury problems. He was replaced by veteran Erik Johnson.
Couturier is listed as day-to-day.
>Staying competitive
Coach John Tortorella said the Flyers have to be on their game almost every night to succeed going down the stretch.
“Our team, we have to be dead-on,” he said. “We have to push as hard as we can to stay competitive. We don’t have game-breakers. We have to play under a system and we have to push.”
The Flyers entered Monday night’s game with 50 points in 50 games. It’s clear they have to do better than that in the final 32 games to make postseason play. Wild-card qualifiers usually average around 92 to 95 points.
