PHILADELPHIA – Maybe the Flyers should have changed coaches sooner this season.
Not long after firing head coach John Tortorella and replacing him with interim head coach Brad Shaw on Thursday morning, the team went out and handed playoff hopeful Montreal a damaging 6-4 loss at the Wells Fargo Center.
The victory ended the Flyers’ six-game (0-5-1) winless streak and showed they still have some spunk left even though they are all but eliminated from playoff contention.
Quite an improvement from the Flyers’ previous two games before the Tortorella release when the team gave up a total of 14 goals in losses at Chicago and Toronto.
Among the highlights in this game, Matvei Michkov notched his 21st and 22nd goals to put him in the lead for NHL rookies. Plus Sean Couturier added a pair of goals.
Goaltender Samuel Ersson also broke a month-long win drought (0-5-2, Feb. 25) with the victory.
Couturier indicated the Flyers players were a bit surprised by the coaching change but at the same time played with a little less tension in their game.
“It’s just a new voice,” Couturier said of Shaw. “Guys were a little looser out there. Having fun. We just have to build off this win and feel good about ourselves at the end of the year at least.”
Shaw hopes the Flyers can regain some momentum from the new look.
“Before the game I asked the guys to take a breath,” Shaw said. “That’s the essence with the job they’re presented with every night. I thought they did a great job of it. It’s great getting a win. I’m happy for the guys. We haven’t had those results. Hopefully we can stay on the track and take another step Saturday (vs. Buffalo).”
The Flyers wasted no time taking the lead.
Couturier got on the board only 1:55 into the contest to get the Flyers rolling. His shot eluded goaltender Jakub Dobes.
After Montreal tied the score with a goal from Alex Newhook on a break-in at 7:55, the Flyers’ Nick Deslauriers got into the act with his first goal of the season at 10:13.
Then Michkov went to work. He finished off a pass from Jakob Pelletier at 11:15.
Montreal climbed back into it early in the third period. Standing below the goal line, Cole Caufield banked a shot off Ersson’s pads into the net at 2:45.
The Flyers responded at 10:09 when Tyson Foerster cleaned up a rebound off Nick Seeler’s shot in front. Montreal challenged the goal, claiming goalie interference on Bobby Brink. That challenge failed, giving the Flyers a power play.
Couturier then added his second goal, this one on that aforementioned power play, at 11:43. That ended the Flyers’ 0-for-34 drought on the power play.
Ending the power-play drought had to feel pretty good.
“Yeah, finally,” Couturier said. “Maybe not the way we drew it up but we had some good looks. Maybe it will kind of loosen us up a little bit for the upcoming opportunities we get.”
Couturier said some of Tortorella’s comments after the Toronto game had to be put in context to the tough loss. The coach essentially blamed himself for the team’s poor play.
“I don’t know, ‘Torts’ is emotional at times,” Couturier said. “Some of the quotes were taken out of context. It is what it is. I’m not sure that was the only reason why. I think we just have to look to the future here and build something within the group.”
The Canadiens picked up a goal by Christian Dvorak at 13:34, but Michkov responded on an unassisted break-in goal for the Flyers 18 seconds later. Patrik Laine scored with just over three minutes to play for Montreal.
Deslauriers also noticed a change in the Flyers’ demeanor after the change at the top.
“It’s a tough day for sure,” he said. “Mixed emotions for everybody. Not just for players. Coaching staff had to take charge. There’s something to play for, for sure. It’s on us.”
>Short shots
The Flyers return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host the Buffalo Sabres. In pre-game ceremonies, the Flyers will pay tribute to former player and current goodwill ambassador Bob Kelly, who is retiring after 50-plus years with the organization. Kelly scored the clinching goal in the 1975 win over the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup Final. . .With his Guelph Storm junior hockey season completed, Jett Luchanko was assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was the Flyers’ No. 1 pick in last year’s NHL Draft. . .Couturier’s first goal gave him 536 points and moved him ahead of Simon Gagne for 12th on the Flyers’ all-time scoring list. . .Defenseman Cam York was scratched for this game. Shaw said the benching was for discipline reasons. He expects the player to get back into action soon.
