Three things we learned from the Flyers’ West Coast trip

Prompted by Disney On Ice’s stint at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers’ annual holiday road trip lacked a fairy-tale ending.

After picking up three of four possible points in their first two games against the Seattle Kraken (overtime win) and the San Jose Sharks (overtime loss), the Flyers went on to lose the final two contests against the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks despite generating plenty of scoring opportunities.

Ultimately, with their seven-game point streak far behind them, the Flyers finished their West Coast tour with a 1-2-1 record. Dating back to the 2014-15 season, the Flyers have now gone 7-20-6 in their seven holiday road trips (defined as consecutive road games in the span from Dec. 19 to Jan. 7).

» READ MORE: Flyers lose 4-1 to Ducks; finish road trop 1-2-1

“I thought that the last two games, even though we didn’t get wins, were quite potentially our best games on this trip,” interim coach Mike Yeo said. “So we have to keep building. We have to keep finding a way to get better. And obviously, we have to get back home, and we have to make sure we’re ready for a great effort against a tough Pittsburgh team.”

Here are three things we learned from the Flyers’ West Coast road trip:

If Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher walks away from this road trip with at least one good feeling, it will be about the performances of his younger players.

Cam York, the 21-year-old defenseman elevated from the taxi squad against the Ducks with Ivan Provorov in COVID-19 protocols, had an “outstanding” season debut with the Flyers, according to Yeo. In 20 minutes and 20 seconds of ice time, York appeared calm and collected in every phase of the game. York displayed an ability to play with physicality, finishing the night with three hits, and demonstrated an understanding of when to jump up offensively.

“Right from the drop of the puck, obviously, we didn’t try to shelter him, let’s put it that way,” Yeo said. “Him and Brauner [Justin Braun] had tough matchups. I thought defensively he was assertive, aggressive, confident, and we saw his puck-moving ability and what he’s capable of and how that adds to our group.”

One of York’s best defensive plays came against Troy Terry, who would end the night with a hat trick. One-on-one in the second period, York poked the puck off Terry’s stick as he accelerated toward the net, and finished the play with a body check. York’s strong performance wasn’t a surprise to goalie Carter Hart, who saw York play with the Flyers for three games last season.

“We know he’s a good player,” Hart said of the 2019 first-round pick. “He’s got a lot of skill and a lot of talent. So, for a first game of the year, especially in his hometown here, I’m sure it was really special for him. I thought he played solid tonight for us and logged a lot of minutes. It’s not easy stepping up into the first pair for a first game in the season.”

Winger Joel Farabee was another who impressed during the four-game swing. After missing 2½ weeks with a shoulder injury, the 21-year-old has slipped back into the lineup seamlessly, registering five points in his last five games (three goals, two assists). Farabee’s latest point came against the Ducks when he set up Cam Atkinson for a redirect goal late in the first period to pull the Flyers within one.

» READ MORE: Cam York activated; Claude Giroux, Ivan Provorov place in COVID protocols

The Flyers’ most stunning performance from one of its young players came against the Sharks, when rookie goalie Felix Sandström, who turns 25 next week, dazzled in his first NHL appearance. He denied 43 of the Sharks’ 46 shots on goal in a 3-2 overtime loss, setting a franchise record for saves in an NHL debut.

Every team’s dealing with it. Well, everyone’s dealing with it.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact society at large, including the ecosphere of the Flyers organization. Most recently, team points leader and captain Claude Giroux and top-pairing defenseman Provorov entered COVID-19 protocols on Tuesday.

They became the 12th and 13th Flyers players to be added to the list this season and the third and fourth to be added in a span of 24 hours, joining defenseman Nick Seeler and forward Jackson Cates. Hart and Scott Laughton missed the first three games of the road trip while in COVID protocols.

The Flyers sorely missed Giroux’s presence on Tuesday night. While they generated more high-danger scoring chances than the Ducks (10-9), according to Natural Stat Trick, they scored just once in the 4-1 defeat. From Giroux’s finishing ability to his faceoff prowess, the Flyers could have used him in the lineup in Anaheim.

“Guys are testing positive with no symptoms or mild symptoms,” Hart said. “I mean, the league’s got to find a way to change that. We’re going to either keep playing shorthanded all season long or games are going to keep getting postponed. So, I think it’s a joke. It’s got to change.”

But the Ducks had their own COVID-19 issues and were down four players, including captain Ryan Getzlaf and standout rookie Trevor Zegras, and still managed to come up with a decisive win. Against the Ducks, the Flyers needed players like James van Riemsdyk and Travis Konecny, who each had Grade-A chances, to step up and finish.

With the league attempting to play on despite new positives, the West Coast trip won’t be the only time the Flyers need more from their supporting cast in the absence of key players.

With the proper reasoning in his defense, Yeo showed that he has no fear of flooring the gas pedal in his decision-making to increase the Flyers’ odds of winning. Yeo made a few aggressive calls during the West Coast trip, including one in their 6-3 loss to the Kings when he pulled goalie Martin Jones less than three minutes into the third period with the Flyers beginning a two-man advantage and down, 4-1.

Seconds after the Flyers won the offensive zone faceoff, center Kevin Hayes hopped off the bench and planted himself at the right faceoff circle, where he would fire a one-timer past goalie Jonathan Quick. For Yeo, the decision was a risk worth taking.

“Even if they are able to get a puck, we should be able to get somebody on them quickly and take that opportunity away,” Yeo said. “So obviously it’s a bit of a risk, but if you look at the analytics of being down 4-1 in a situation like that, you obviously have to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Yeo also challenged for goalie interference twice during the road trip, once against the Kraken and a second time against the Ducks. Against the Kraken, Yeo successfully challenged Jeremy Lauzon’s third-period goal for goaltender interference, keeping the Kraken from breaking a 1-1 tie.

He tried again against the Ducks, pushing for interference on Sonny Milano’s third-period power-play goal that put Anaheim up 3-1. While Yeo was unsuccessful, and while there wasn’t overwhelming evidence of goalie interference on the play, it was worth a shot with the Flyers down late.