VOORHEES, N.J. – After 10 days off, most of the Flyers would have been excused if they were a tad slow in Wednesday’s back-to-work practice.
That, however, hardly seemed the case. Aside from Canada’s Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim (participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament), everyone who is completely healthy was back on the ice at the Flyers Training Center and looking up to speed.
And the good news: Four players with health problems before the break – Owen Tippett, Ryan Poehling, Rasmus Ristolainen and Egor Zamula (all upper-body injuries) – were right in the middle of the action. The coaching staff believes at least a couple of these players will be ready for Saturday afternoon’s game vs. Edmonton.
A number of players took advantage of the hiatus due to the 4 Nations tournament to find a warm-weather vacation spot.
Some said the time off the ice was as beneficial mentally as physically.
“I think the biggest thing for me was taking that time to get away from the rink,” Noah Cates said after the practice, which was run by assistant head coach Brad Shaw, as head coach John Tortorella will be behind the USA bench (as an assistant coach) for Thursday night’s 4 Nations championship game against Canada. “All the travel (on the schedule). . .to get that week away, do what you want to do, have no obligations, the mental side of it is the biggest thing for me.”
Cates spent some time in Costa Rica.
“Just relaxed,” Cates said with a smile. “Nothing too crazy.”
It goes without saying the Flyers will have to play some out-of-their-minds hockey to avoid missing the postseason for a franchise record-tying fifth straight season.
The Flyers (24-26-7) currently reside in last place in the Metropolitan Division and are ahead of only one team, Buffalo, in the Eastern Conference.
This opening in the schedule could provide the Flyers a chance to get back on track again.
“I think the break came at a really good time,” Cates said. “There’s a month and a half to go. It’s playoff hockey. You’re playing huge games. We’re going to be playing a lot of teams we’re tight with. We need to find our groove quickly.
“I believe when we get our momentum going, we’re a really tough team to play against.”
Shaw gives the impression the Flyers still have something for which to play.
Do the Flyers have a chance to get back in this thing with 25 games to play?
“It’s more difficult,” Shaw said. “But at the same time, most coaches are process-based. I get it, we get judged on wins and losses. That’s how we get measured. But at the end of the day, a lot of this job is the process of getting these guys to where this organization wants to be.
“Six months from now, six years; you name it. We focus on that as much as we do the wins and losses or more. There are lots of times as a coach you’re not real happy with the game but how you got the two points. The road’s been tougher this year (than last year, when the Flyers were on course for a playoff spot until a late slump scuttled that objective). It’s been a tougher challenge this year.”
The Flyers have two more practices before the game against Edmonton. That should be enough time to get the legs back.
Cates and some of the players got back early to start the recovery process.
“Two days with some of the guys and three days with the team should be plenty,” Cates said. “In the past, it’s been worse. One or two skates maybe. Not too worried about it, just get your work in and be ready for that afternoon game coming up.”
>Pelletier ready to go
After a number of visa paperwork issues, Jakob Pelletier is finally ready to make his Flyers debut on Saturday. He and Andrei Kuzmenko were acquired in the trade with Calgary for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee.
“The break was great, you get away from hockey,” Pelletier said. “Everybody feels rested, including the mind. By now, you’re really excited to come back to the rink and start playing again.”
Pelletier is happy to have the international crossover intrigue behind him.
“It’s nice,” he said. “I was here for two or three days, then you go on vacation, now you see the guys so it’s good. You’re around the guys more often. Now I’m just excited to play.”
>Shaw’s a grandpa
About a half-hour before the practice began, Shaw found out his daughter just had a new baby boy. No name yet but good health for both baby and mom.
“I gave her grief for that (delay on a name), don’t worry,” Shaw said. “I said, ‘how can I announce it if I don’t have a name?’ ”
