Sean Couturier was just 19 years old when the bright lights of his first Stanley Cup playoffs shone directly in his eyes.
He didn’t blink.
No, he actually went out and scored his first career hat trick in Game 2 of a series against the Penguins on April 13, 2012. On Pittsburgh’s home ice, no less.
And yes, the same Penguins he’s about to face again when their first-round series gets underway shortly.
On top of that three-goal headline-producing tear, Couturier also was guarding Penguins superstar and future Hall of Famer Evgeni Malkin that night 14 years ago. And can you guess how many points the Russian registered?
None.
A lot of games have come and gone since that magical evening in 2012, when the Flyers won, 8-5, and went on to take the best-of-seven series, 4-2.
Still, Couturier is looking forward to seeing Malkin (now 39) and Sidney Crosby (now 38) once again. It’s another Battle of Pennsylvania and those never grow old.
Plus, the captain wants to play games that really mean something after missing the playoffs the past five years.
“It’s been awhile waiting,” Couturier said during a media session at Xfinity Mobile Arena. “But the playoffs are always what you play for. It will be fun.”
Seeing some old “friends” can get the juices flowing again.
“They have Crosby, Malkin – they have a lot of skill,” Couturier said. “Even as they get older they’re still dominating the game.
“It will be a great challenge but we’ve been up to all the challenges all year and responded pretty well. So we’ll be ready.”
The teams split the four games this season and finished with the same number of points (98). The Penguins won the tiebreaker on a higher number of regulation-time wins, so the Flyers will start this series on the road.
Couturier did not have a great offensive year by his standards but he was as defensively sound as ever. The former Frank J. Selke Trophy winner (best defensive forward) still can kill off penalties with the best of them.
Right now, the Flyers have done a good job with the fundamentals, such as winning faceoffs, blocking shots and limiting giveaways.
Much of the credit for that goes to general manager Daniel Briere, who has put together a roster with players who understand the importance of two-way hockey.
“I think we’ve shown over the last couple years that we’ve stuck with our group mostly,” Couturier said. “Guys have improved on a daily basis. Here we are two or three years later, we know each other pretty well now, we all play for the same reason, for the logo.”
Couturier has had to overcome a truckload of injuries since that glorious night in Pittsburgh. Back surgery on Feb. 11, 2022 caused him to miss the entire 2022-23 season. People wondered if he would ever be able to make it back to his high standard of play.
“It’s kind of weird because I missed a year and a half,” he said. “And the start of the rebuild I guess.
“The last two years have been frustrating at times. As you get older, you want to have a chance to win. I think management here has done a great job of being patient, building assets and putting us in a great spot for now and the future.”
Couturier, 33, has four more years on a contract which will pay him $7.75 million through 2030. It’s already a given he will go down as one of the greatest players in Flyers history.
Clearly he wants to keep working on that legacy. He wants to do that here because he’s invested so much blood, sweat and tears into this franchise.
“Since I’ve been back (from his back issues), two years ago we were in a good spot,” Couturier said. “Wish I could have done a little bit to help. I agreed from the beginning we needed somewhat of a rebuild, get some assets, draft picks, prospects.
“For a lot of years we were kind of in the middle, competing hard but always missing a little something. I think it was maybe kind of time to take a step back and rebuild. I’m glad the organization is back on its feet.”
At least those bright lights are starting to shine in Couturier’s eyes again.
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