PHILADELPHIA – If there’s any leftover agita in the Flyers’ locker room from last Wednesday’s bench incident at Edmonton, the head coach isn’t aware of it.
So claimed Rick Tocchet prior to Sunday night’s rematch with the Oilers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Much was made of the verbal fracas involving Matvei Michkov and Nick Seeler. Although what exactly was said hasn’t been disclosed, it was clear tempers were heating up.
Tocchet said the locker room remains close and he’s not worried about the aforementioned unpleasantries becoming an ongoing thing.
“It’s a close group,” Tocchet emphasized. “You have 84 games – even last year – you’re going to have to deal with stuff that happens.
“There’s 24 guys in the locker room. A lot of guys go to dinner. Eight or nine. I know it’s blown out of proportion but it is what it is. They’re doing a heck of a job owning it. So I’m very comfortable with it, it’s a very close group.”
The coach suggested he was OK with the 2-1-2 record on the recent road trip.
“I thought the guys did a really nice job with the noise and handling it,” he said. “We did some really good stuff and there’s some stuff we have to clean up.”
>Michkov excels
The emotional stuff aside, Michkov continues to impress teammates and coaches alike with his brilliant play in the first quarter of the season.
Tocchet pointed to the Columbus game, where Michkov’s breakaway goal played a big part in the Flyers’ comeback from a 2-0 deficit.
“It was a huge goal,” the coach said. “We get off to a bad start, we’re down two-nothing. We score, then Michkov gets the goal.”
>Barkey out
Less than 24 hours after registering his first NHL two-goal game, including the game-winner in Saturday night’s 4-3 win at Columbus, Denver Barkey was a scratch for Sunday night’s game against the Oilers due to an illness.
Cole Knuble filled in during Barkey’s absence.
Also, defenseman Simon Benoit filled in for a healthy Oliver Bonk.
“He (Bonk) has played well for us,” Tocchet said. “He’s played a lot of games and stuff like that. Just reset.”
Tocchet said defense coach Todd Reirden spent some time with Bonk on the ice to go over some things to work on.
>Couturier evaluates trip
Captain Sean Couturier said the 2-1-2 road trip was pretty successful in his opinion.
“I thought we responded well that (after the Edmonton incident),” Couturier said. “We competed hard. Got some big points.”
Couturier as well as the coaching staff want the Flyers to come out with a more consistent effort each night rather than so many ups and downs.
“We’re trying to get a rhythm, get our game going,” said Couturier after Saturday night’s 4-3 win at Columbus. “Some nights are going to be tougher than others. But as long as we find more consistency in our game I think we’ll be OK.
“Obviously there are some downs at times, depends how you weather them. I think we did a good job tonight. Down 2-0 we could have packed it in but we fought back.”
Be the first to comment