VOORHEES, N.J. — References to climbing steep mountains often come up when describing the situation teams face when trying to rally from far behind in a playoff series.
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet took the parable one step further at Saturday morning’s skate, likening his team’s plight to scaling the infamous Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.
Philadelphia trails Carolina 0-3 in their playoff series and only four teams in the history of the NHL have rallied from such a deficit.
Going into Saturday night’s Game 4 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Flyers were decided underdogs to survive that game, let alone other games down the road.
“In your career, some guys are lucky to get a lot of opportunities, some don’t,” Tocchet said before the team took part in an optional morning skate at the Flyers Training Center. “This is a playoff game in the second round in your building.
“You got to have energy, excitement. The worse think you can think is you’re down 3-0, how do you come back. Like that’s all negativity.”
Obviously, nobody wants to get swept. It ends the season on a bitter note. The Flyers have made a lot of progress this season and don’t want it to conclude in an ignominious fashion.
“We have to think positively,” Tocchet said. “I had a good talk with the young guys about this. They should be excited.
“Somebody told me you can’t climb Mt. Everest without getting to the first camp base. We’re just trying to find that camp base, get some oxygen, refuel and get to the second camp base. That’s the way you have to think.”
The Flyers wouldn’t mind another quick start like they had in Game 2, when they raced to an early 2-0 lead. And it wouldn’t hurt to get a power-play goal or two.
“I liked their start in Game 2,” Tocchet said. “In our power plays, it seems like there are plays to be made. Eventually they’ve got to go in. I still think there are things we can do better offensively to get more puck possession.
“I think there’s more in us. We are getting Grade-A chances. But if they don’t go in tonight, we’re out.”
>Konecny ready
Travis Konecny has waited since the shortened 2019-20 season for this opportunity and he wants to make the most of it. While his team might be down, he believes there’s still some fight left in this group.
He says if the Flyers can get off to the start they had in Game 3, then Game 4 holds possibilities.
“The way the game started, five-on-five play, if we can replicate that start, I think we’ll be in a good spot,” he said.
Konecny has been in the NHL since 2016-2017 but this is only his third playoffs. He came into this postseason wanting to get the most out of it that he can.
Plus he’s an alternate captain now, so he wants to lead by example.
High level play is more than just scoring. It’s making sure you’re not scored upon.
“I’ve never been in this position on the team in the playoffs,” he said. “I was there quite a while ago, in a different role. I’ve had the opportunity the last month or two to try to get comfortable.”
>Bonk possible?
Former first-round draft pick Oliver Bonk has been skating with the Flyers, this after a one-game trial in the last game of the season, one in which he produced a goal and an assist.
Given the Flyers’ problems on the power play (just three for 33 in the series), Tocchet was asked if the young defenseman might be a possibility for Game 4.
“He’s in the mix to look at,” Tocchet said. “We’ve been talking yesterday and today and we’ll probably have a final decision here who’s going to be in the lineup tonight.”
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