Things would look a lot better in the standings for the Flyers if they could just figure out how to compete more successfully when regulation time runs out.
An 0-6 record in overtime/shootouts prior to Saturday night’s game at Columbus is a big part of why the Flyers were pulling up the rear (5-10-6) in the Metropolitan Division standings.
The Flyers have been trying to figure out how to be competitive in tiebreakers where three-on-three play makes all the difference.
When Wednesday night’s game in Edmonton went past 60 minutes, the high-powered Oilers needed less than a minute to score the win.
“At the start of the (overtime), you’re looking for someone to win a draw,” Tocchet said. “That’s the most important thing. If you lose a draw that’s tough.
“It’s fast-paced, the three-on-three. If you look, I think 60 percent of overtime goals are defending the puck in your transition. That’s a big number.”
Tocchet would like to see his players work at top speed at both ends of the rink.
“You can’t just go out there and think score all the time,” he said, “because you have to defend. We’re just looking for some chemistry.”
Other than the final outcome, the coach liked the way his team played in Edmonton.
“Probably team-wise our best game,” Tocchet said. “You know when you have two world-class players (Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl), I thought we did a good job against them. I thought we played a really good hockey game.
“It’s actually like (the rest of) November. If you look at our numbers, we’ve improved in every category. We know October wasn’t very good but November, the numbers are coming.”
The Flyers got off to that horrendous 0-6-3 start but since then they were 5-4-3 heading into the Blue Jackets game at Columbus.
“We’re playing a team game and Edmonton was more of an identity game for us,” Tocchet said. “Can we follow up? That’s the key.”
>Martone’s progress
Porter Martone finished last season as one of the most productive players on the team. But this year he got off to a rocky start. Finally he seems to be finding his groove.
“I think if you look at his game the last three or four weeks, he’s really improved from the start of the year,” Tocchet said. “He looks a lot faster on the ice.
“At the start of this year, it wasn’t great, a little disorganized for all of us. It’s hard for a young guy. He’s 19 years old. A lot of expectations. (Recently) He’s asked a lot of questions, he’s spent a lot of time (doing that).”
>Numbers game
The Flyers were 28-14-8 against the Eastern Conference last year. This season, going into the Columbus game, those numbers stood at just 2-8-3. . .Prior to the Blue Jackets game, the Flyers had scored 10 power-play goals in their previous 12 games, good for a success rate of 26.3 percent. . .Sean Couturier has moved up to sixth in the NHL in faceoff percentage at 58.9 percent. . .Nick Seeler is third in the NHL in blocked shots with 50. Team-wise, the Flyers are second with a total of 329. . .The Flyers head home to play the Oilers on Sunday night, their second meeting in the last five days.
Be the first to comment