Sanheim logging extra minutes but that’s OK with Tocchet

Travis Sanheim knew going into Thursday night’s game at Florida he was going to play a lot of minutes.
But to see more than 27 minutes of action probably wasn’t on his radar screen.
The Flyers defenseman figured to spend almost as much time on the ice as off it because both his partner, Cam York, and another top D-man, Rasmus Ristolainen were out with injuries.
That’s the way it worked out.
It probably will be a similar workload when the Flyers visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
The Flyers handed the Panthers four power-play goals in the first 25 minutes so that’s a big part of why Sanheim had to be on the ice so much.
“I knew I was probably going to have some extra minutes,” Sanheim said after Friday’s practice. “They’ve got a deep roster. There’s still a lot to work on with our game. Hopefully we get better next game.”
Still, holding the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions to just two goals on home ice is really nothing to hang your head about. Especially playing on the road under a new head coach.
“I thought for the most part the defense did a good job,” said Sanheim, who was paired with Nick Seeler. “It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Head coach Rick Tocchet can be hard to please at times. He appreciated his team’s effort but knows there’s still a lot of little issues that need to be straightened out.
“They hung in there,” Tocchet said. “The injuries, having ‘Risto,’ ‘Yorkie,’ out, you try a committee type of thing. Try to protect the ‘D.’ There are pockets of the game where we manage the puck a little bit better.”
Tocchet pointed out the five-on-five chances were pretty close (Panthers had a 12-9 edge).
Sanheim has been probably the Flyers’ most consistent defenseman over the past couple years. He was selected for Canada’s team at last season’s Four Nations tournament and his eye set on the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Tocchet said he’s keeping an eye on Sanheim’s minutes. It’s a long season and the last thing he wants is to have his best defender burned out by midseason.
“He’s a heavy-minute guy,” Tocchet said. “I think we can manage the game for him. If we’re putting him in tough spots and he’s out there for a long time and we don’t get the puck in deep (allowing a change). . .those are the types of minutes we need to limit for guys like him.
“We can manage the game better for him. But he’s a heavy-minute guy. He can handle it.”
Tocchet said he doesn’t want a repeat of Thursday night’s game when his players were in and out of the penalty box.
“Stick infractions,” Tocchet said. “You’ve got to be disciplined. If you put your stick there (to impede a player), bad things will happen. So don’t put it up there.
“We’ve got to learn how to play in pressure moments and how do we handle that. You have to practice it and then know how to apply it in games. With pressure situations, you want to make good decisions.”