PHILADELPHIA – Sean Couturier had not scored a goal since Dec. 7 but who’s counting?
The Flyers captain finally ended a 31-game slump in his team’s 3-1 win over Boston on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
True, it was an empty-net goal with 53 seconds to play but the game was still up for grabs, so it did mean something.
And when you haven’t scored in nearly three months, you will take them any way you can get them.
Funny thing is, Couturier wasn’t even trying to shoot from center ice. He was looking to dish the puck to a teammate. That’s how unselfish he is.
“I’ll take them any way right now,” a smiling Couturier said after the game. “Even then I was looking to give it to ‘Tip’ (linemate Owen Tippett). Overall, just happy to get the win and that’s all that really matters anyway.”
Even though Couturier hasn’t scored for quite some time, he’s held up his end of the bargain defensively. For a checking line center, minus-6 isn’t too bad on a team which is a minus-12.
This was only Couturier’s fifth goal of the season. He’s had as many as 33 in a season in his career.
Was the slump weighing on him?
“It (the goal) feels good,” Couturier admitted. “But the wins are more important right now. That’s all my focus. All that matters is the team’s success. Not worried about scoring goals. Obviously want to help out in that facet but the wins are more important right now.”
>Dvorak excels
It was also a big game for Christian Dvorak, who had been slumping of late as well. He assisted on both Travis Konecny’s go-ahead goal and Jamie Drysdale’s insurance tally.
“It hit the stanchion and bounced in front of the net there,” Dvorak explained. “I could see in the corner of my eye him (Konecny) coming behind me. He did a good job there.”
Dvorak was especially effective setting screens in front of Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman throughout the game.
“Yeah, he’s a good goalie,” Dvorak said. “We needed to get bodies in front of him. That was the game plan, get bodies in front of the net.”
Coach Rick Tocchet had instructed Dvorak just to be himself, don’t try to do too much. For this game, that plan worked.
“You try not to get frustrated,” he said. “Not an easy game but just stick with it. Stay positive. Turn it around. I thought it was a step in the right direction tonight.”
>Looking ahead
Before the game, Tocchet talked about the last two dozen games. The plan is pretty simple. Win as much as possible and don’t give up hope.
“The one good thing about this team is they don’t give up,” Tocceht said, alluding to the slow start against the Rangers on Thursday which eventually resulted in a 3-2 overtime win.
“The first 10, 12 minutes, things didn’t look good for us. But they hung in. Only down two-nothing. It’s been like that this year. You know, we had that long losing streak. We have to string wins together. We’ve been chasing that all year.”
To date, the Flyers have been scoring upon first 38 times in 59 games.
“It’s on me,” Tocchet said. “I’ve got to get them ready to go. I thought at the beginning of the year we had some good starts. It’s been too sporadic on the latter side. Got to start on time. You’ve got to get to your game early. You saw it the first shift against the Rangers, gave up a four on one. That’s game management. That’s identity. It’s something we want them to keep searching for. I’ve got to take responsibility on that.”
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