Flyers’ Konecny being welcomed back, on and off the ice

      VOORHEES, N.J. – Help is on the way.

      Mired in another three-game winless streak, the Flyers were heartened to see Travis Konecny practicing on Saturday without a yellow no-contact jersey.

      Plus, another injured player, Owen Tippett, was also taking part in full-contact work at the Flyers Training Center.

      The Flyers are anxious to get Konecny back in the lineup, not only on the ice but off it. His energetic personality traits are infectious. He stirs things up in game action and also keeps the locker room loose with his laugh, his one-liners and his teasing comments.

      “He’s really good in the locker room and on the ice,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “Just the pace in practice. You can see out there in some of the competitive drills, leading the charge, an experienced guy that leads the charge when it comes to those sort of things.”

      Konecny has been sidelined 10 games and the Flyers have missed the alternate captain’s leadership. He can stir things up on the ice at the drop of a puck.

      “The bench has been a little more quiet since he’s been out,” Tocchet agreed. “Having those guys (Konecny and Tippett) around really helps.”

      Due to a team policy, players coming off IR are not permitted to speak to the media until they’ve actually seen game action, so there were no quotes forthcoming on Saturday.

      But Konecny’s teammates were more than happy to speak about his value.

      “Lots of energy,” said Travis Sanheim. “He’s a voice in our room. We’ve missed him a lot. When you’re out, you’re not around the team a lot. So it’s nice to have him back. He brings a lot of fun to our group. And I think it’s good for our young guys.”

      Trevor Zegras plays with a lot of emotion himself, so it’s nice to see his sidekick back joining in that dimension of the game.

      “He’s played here for how many years? (10). . .he’s a leader in the locker room,” Zegras said. “A leader on and off the ice. Energy on the bench is huge. Plays with heart, plays the right way. There are six or seven rookies and you need a guy to look to that plays the right way, plays hard. Very important.”

      Although he played a handful of games last season, Porter Martone is still officially a rookie. He said Konecny is someone to look up to. Getting either Konecny or Tippett or both back in the lineup would obviously help the young guys.

      “It would be a huge boost,” Martone said. “You know I think their on-ice play speaks for itself. TK’s been a huge leader. He’s amazing to look to. If they can both come back, it would be huge for our group. We’ve really been missing them. Hopefully they are good to go.”

      >Reaction to Couturier challenge

      Eyebrows were raised after Wednesday night’s game when captain Sean Couturier called out the play of his teammates, characterizing it as “soft.”

      Sanheim, an alternate captain, didn’t have a problem with the declaration.

      “The way we’re playing right now, we’ve got to be accountable,” Sanheim said. “It’s up to leaders to hold guys accountable as a group and as a team. Obviously we know we have to be better. We’re striving to be better every day and working hard.

      “We’re not that far away but there are still a lot of areas that we need to work on and improve in.”

      >McDonald back to Phantoms

      Rookie defenseman Hunter McDonald, who made a good first impression in a five-game NHL debut callup from Lehigh Valley, was loaned back to the Phantoms on Saturday.

      >Jiricek stuck on bench

      Defenseman David Jiricek was in the lineup in the third game of the season but his play has been spotty and now he finds himself on the bench. He’s played in only nine games with just one assist on the offensive side of the ledger. That includes some time on the power play.

      “The NHL is a development league to a point,” Tocchet said. “You can’t make mistakes and then say, ‘let him play.’ When is that, eighty games? Seventy? There has to be a baptism of doing the right thing.

      “Yeah, you want to play through mistakes but you can’t play through mistakes when the mistakes are egregious. When a guy is making big mistakes after big mistakes, it’s hard for a coach. You’re trying to find some kind of substance of guys who can hold the fort together.”