Takeaways from the Flyers’ 7-4 loss to the Avalanche: Costly turnovers, Owen Tippett’s injury, and more

John Tortorella often talks about the ebbs and flows of the season, and how each game is a teaching moment. The Flyers entered Saturday afternoon riding a five-game winning streak capped by a win against the Dallas Stars, a perennial Stanley Cup contender.

Although the Flyers’ head coach doesn’t like the term, it was a statement win and showed that the Flyers are inching closer and closer to being a playoff contender themselves. But Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche showed that the Flyers have a long way to being a contender for the actual Cup.

The Flyers did mount a comeback. Trailing, 5-2, heading into the third period, they notched two goals before the 10-minute mark to make it a one-goal game. But a penalty on Scott Laughton — Tortorella did not agree with the call — led to an insurance goal, and seemed to stall momentum.

“You can nitpick all you want on certain situations, and they have one of the best power plays in the league,” Cam Atkinson said. “... I thought we did a pretty good job, though, overall. We played with a lot of confidence and found a way to kind of crawl back into it a little bit. But we’ll take some things that we did really well and move on and, ultimately, didn’t get the job done.”

Here are four takeaways from the Flyers’ loss to the Avalanche:

The role of the first line is to set the tone and get pucks deep. Mission accomplished.

After winning the opening faceoff, the Flyers’ starting line of Tyson Foerster, Laughton, and Garnet Hathaway got to work. They got the puck deep and put pressure on the Avalanche defense — Laughton laid a big hit on New Jersey native Ross Colton just 13 seconds in — which led to icing by Colorado.

That set up an offensive zone faceoff for the next group — the top line of Owen Tippett, Sean Couturier, and Travis Konecny. Couturier had one shot attempt, but maintained the momentum, which allowed the next line — and the two after that — to keep the pressure on and the puck deep.

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The Avalanche were on their heels. By the time Colorado scored their first goal with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening frame, the Flyers had 11 shot attempts, including six shots on goal, to the Avalanche’s six attempts. Because of the pressure, the Orange and Black also drew a slashing call on Jonathan Drouin. The only negative was that they didn’t finish.

“I felt we played a pretty solid game. We wanted to get on the forecheck, I think that’s what we did really well against Dallas, kind of playing with arrogance and swagger and wanting the puck and wanting to make a difference,” Atkinson said. “I think we did a lot of good things tonight. Some of their goals were just tip plays, and, I guess, we could have been in the lane a little bit better. But, ultimately, those are kind of seeing-eye pucks, so there’s only so much you can do in those situations. And [Nathan] MacKinnon, when he takes over, it’s hard to stop that guy.”

Things started great for the Flyers, but then MacKinnon and Co. turned it up. The Hart Trophy contender put up four points, including one off a neutral-zone turnover. Jamie Drysdale tried to get the puck up to Laughton at the Colorado blue line, but it went right to Josh Manson instead. The defenseman quickly transitioned it up to Miles Wood who found MacKinnon coming off the bench.

“I think in the second period, we had a few turnovers that cost us,” Tortorella said. “The one where MacKinnon comes off the bench, I don’t think Jamie even sees him on the turnover there. First period, they had three chances [and] have two goals. Pucks were going in for them.”

Turnovers cost the Flyers throughout the night. Logan O’Connor’s second goal of his hat trick to make it 4-1 was started by an Atkinson miscue with Morgan Frost in the neutral zone. Wood got the puck and fed a streaking O’Connor at the far post.

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“Too many turnovers, especially with some of their dangerous guys,” Frost said. “But, at the same time, I felt like we carried most of the play and had a fair amount of chances and good O-zone time and a couple of good looks on the power play.

“I guess that’s kind of just the way it goes sometimes, and I don’t think that’s going to bother our group at all. I think we felt like we were gonna come back that whole third period.”

The line of Frost, Atkinson, and Joel Farabee is clicking. According to Natural Stat Trick, they had 55.56% of the shot attempts when on the ice together.

In the second period, the trio connected to get the Flyers on the board. Off a defensive zone faceoff won by Frost, Atkinson carried the puck up the ice on the right side and found Frost behind the Avalanche’s net. The centerman came out and curled in the right circle and fed Farabee in front. Farabee has six points (four goals, two assists) during a five-game point streak.

“I think we’ve just been talking. We’re trying to support each other and be close to one another,” Atkinson said. “Those two are so offensively gifted. I just tried to get them the puck and get open and let them kind of work their magic. I think the chemistry, it just all comes down to talking and supporting each other.”

Atkinson also got on the board, though his two linemates were not on the ice. The forward tapped in a Rasmus Ristolainen shot-pass in the third period to make it 5-4. Atkinson now has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak.

“Those guys are playing unreal, I think makes it easier for me,” said Frost, who has six assists during a four-game streak of his own. “Cam’s really picked up his game here in the last little while, and he’s starting to feel it again, which is nice to see. And I think Beezer’s just been so solid all year and just making so many smart plays. I really do enjoy playing with those guys, too.”

Frost and Atkinson were healthy scratches against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 4.

“Honestly, probably my favorite thing is seeing that big smile again [on Atkinson],” Frost said. “I think everyone likes to see that and when he’s on, he’s such an effective player and makes so many smart reads.”

The loss stung even more with the news that Owen Tippett left the game with a lower-body injury. The high-flying forward, who has clocked the highest speed in the NHL this season, per NHL Edge, fell awkwardly near the boards when he got tangled up with Drouin early in the third period.

Tippett will be further evaluated but if he is lost for a considerable amount of time, it leaves a gaping hole in the Flyers offense. He’s been a key cog on the top line with Konecny and Couturier by creating space for himself and his linemates. He also plays a critical role on the first power-play unit. Tippett did collect an assist on Konecny’s goal in the second period to extend his point streak to three games (three goals, one assist).