PHILADELPHIA – The question now is: How fast can the Flyers stop feeling sorry for themselves now that one of their top leaders has left the building?
And, who’s going to bridge the gap with former alternate captain Scott Laughton currently picking up his mail in Toronto, Ontario, Canada?
Barely 24 hours after the big trade, the Flyers looked emotionally drained in a 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers were supposed to be making hay on this seven-game homestand but after losing the first three, the optimism has to be tempered quite a bit.
Do some of the young guys like Tyson Foerster (23), Owen Tippett (26) and Noah Cates (26) have the right stuff to take a step up?
One of the team’s established leaders, 28-year-old Travis Sanheim, believes there are some worthy candidates.
Covering what Laughton contributed will be a fairly significant challenge for the aforementioned players.
“We’re key guys that are going to grab more of a leadership role,” Sanheim said. “He was a huge part of that. We’re going to miss him a lot. It’s on us to kind of take control of that. We learned a lot from him in the way that he led.
“It was a great example in this locker room. We know we’re a part of it. We have to be better ourselves. Got to show a great example for the young guys that are coming in here.”
The loss of Laughton’s leadership might have contributed to the Flyers’ sub-par effort against Seattle.
“We just have to get our confidence back, guys are hesitant right now,” he said. “You don’t play too well when you’re hesitant in this league.”
Sanheim was asked to compare this situation with the one a few years ago when one of the greatest Flyer players of all time, Claude Giroux, was traded to Florida at the deadline. It took some time to fill that leadership void.
“Yeah, ‘Laughts’ was a big vocal leader for us,” Sanheim said. “He meant a lot in a lot of different areas. Did a lot of different things for this team. Obviously we miss him a lot.
“In saying that, it’s a business. It’s our job to step up, guys have to step up in his absence and take advantage of a little bit more of an opportunity.”
>Ersson reflects
It’s been a struggle for No. 1 goalie Samuel Ersson of late. He’s still looking for answers. Trouble is, time is running out on the season.
“You want to play as much as you can,” he said. “It’s not been up to my standard here that last few games (including three goals on five shots vs. Calgary).
“It’s up to me to find my game again. Find it quick.”
Ersson has been screened on some of the goals he’s allowed but he’s not using that as an excuse.
“That’s my job,” he said. “As a goalie, you can never have that as an excuse if you don’t see the puck. It’s your job to find the puck, especially when our guys are doing such a good job blocking shots (No. 1 in the NHL). I have to try harder to find pucks in traffic.”
