VOORHEES, N.J. – While it might take a small miracle for the Flyers to work themselves back into contention for a playoff spot, the team can’t afford to even think about such a notion.
It’s more: “Let’s win today’s game and save the long-term stuff for after we’ve earned the right to dream about such a scenario.”
Associate coach Brad Shaw, filling in for head coach John Tortorella (returning from 4 Nations Face-Off), said Saturday afternoon’s home game against Edmonton at the Wells Fargo Center is the only thing that should be on the Flyers’ minds.
“We have a pretty thin schedule as far as games (25),” Shaw said following Friday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center. “Tomorrow is huge for us. If you do the math, we probably have to win quite a few of the last 25 games.
“That seems daunting. But when you put a two- or three-game winning streak together, you look and you don’t have to quite win. . .it’s not quite as daunting.”
The Flyers will get Ryan Poehling, Owen Tippett, Egor Zamula and Rasmus Ristolainen back from the injury list. All had been sidelined with upper-body injuries prior to the break.
In addition, new Flyers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier are expected to be in the lineup against the Oilers.
Edmonton is one of those teams you can’t look past. Just too much skill, led by Connor McDavid, who scored the overtime winner in the 4 Nations finale.
“Our job is to keep our eyes on the prize,” Shaw said. “But at the same time, don’t be looking too far down the road. Edmonton is all we’re thinking of right now. How do we find a way to get two points out of that game? How do we find a way to neutralize some of their exceptional talent and make them play a little bit more in their zone than they want to.”
Captain Sean Couturier is one of those players who isn’t quite ready to give up on this season. In his mind, there’s still an opportunity.
“I think it’s about always getting hot at the right time,” he said. “We’re a little behind here but hoping to get on a stretch of wins, get some points and get back into the mix.”
The Flyers stood six points out of a playoff spot as play was set to resume following the break.
“We want to play some meaningful hockey down the road,” Couturier said. “I think the guys had a nice break. Really recharged the batteries. We’re fresh and excited to get going again.”
Scott Laughton knows there can be no nights off.
“I think we have to put a string of games together to get us back into it,” he said. “And it has to start right away. We have to figure this out quick or we’re going to be playing meaningless games. That’s never fun.”
>Coach endorses 4 Nations format
Shaw watched the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday night in which Canada defeated the United States, 3-2, in overtime.
The coach believes the quality level of hockey throughout the tournament was high enough to bring the format back in the years ahead. At least it beats those boring All-Star games.
“I think absolutely,” Shaw said. “I think the interest outside of the game was a great positive for it. It was some exceptional hockey at a time when a lot of other guys are resting. We’ll see what that does to the fatigue level of some of those key guys coming out and then getting inserted into a pretty high intensity playoff race immediately.”
