Intact Flyers defense carrying extra responsibility with veteran forwards out

Despite there only being six defensemen to 12 forwards, the defensive corps has 607 more NHL games of experience under its belt than all four forward lines combined. The Flyers defensemen have played an average of 453 games per person, a stark contrast to the 176 games per forward.

Ever since Rasmus Ristolainen returned, the defense has remained relatively healthy while the forwards have watched veteran after veteran fall to injury. The defensemen are feeling the weight of that responsibility, Travis Sanheim said, and they need to step up.

“And not only right now,” Sanheim said. “But even when we are healthy, I think we’ve got a good enough group back there that we need to lead by example.”

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John Tortorella has emphasized that play starts on the back end. Hard defense will yield more offensive opportunities. As the season has gone on, the defense has improved in creating offense through its exits setting up breakouts and finding solutions, Sanheim said.

“In saying that, obviously, there’s a lot more work to be done and improvement on our end,” Sanheim added.

Despite their offensive counterparts falling one after another, they’ve tried to stay steady and continue to focus on improving rather than let the injuries get to them, Justin Braun said. They hope their play can back up any youthful mistakes, but they also hope they can provide support off the ice as well.

“It’s more keeping the guys on track, keeping them positive, focused, not letting them get down on themselves,” Braun said. “But all those skilled players are in the NHL for a reason. ... They’ve all got more skill than me. They should enjoy their time here.”

Although Braun has never played forward at this level, he’s been in the league long enough to be able to pick up do’s and don’ts. He’s tried to help them out on little things like positioning and wall work. He and the other defensemen also try to provide guidance on how to play in transition.

But as much as they want to tighten their defense as both a unit and a team, Braun said they’ve also got to loosen up. As the losing streak extends and the Flyers struggle to produce offense, Braun has seen a lot of players, young and old alike, become more scared to make mistakes.

“Obviously, with how things have gone of late, it’s easy for guys to get frustrated and grip their sticks tight,” Sanheim said. “I think the way we’ve got to look at it is, with how things have played out, there shouldn’t be a whole lot of pressure. The pressure should be what you put on yourself and how hard you need to play.”

Compared to the losing streak last year, Braun said guys don’t seem as “deflated.” But to find some success, they’re going to need their veterans to step up more and their young players to seize the opportunities they’re given.

The one thing Tortorella hasn’t had a problem with all season is the team’s effort. That changed Friday night. Tortorella was blunt after the game, and, even after watching the tape, he had the same reaction.

“I don’t think we had the same amount of energy,” Tortorella said. “I certainly didn’t think we were a lazy team. It was kind of a non-event game for a lot of minutes.”

From behind the bench, Tortorella noticed the same thing Braun and Sanheim did. He said the team looked uptight until the third period, which was “garbage time.” Suddenly, they looked “loose as can be.”

“I don’t know what we’re afraid of,” Tortorella said. “I don’t know what we should be uptight about. It’s a hockey game.”

Felix Sandström started in net for the Flyers in their 7:30 p.m. game against the New York Islanders in UBS Arena. ... Kieffer Bellows, who played the most minutes of any forward Friday night, returned to Long Island on Saturday for the first time since being claimed off waivers. Tortorella said he knows what people have told him about Bellows, but he’s still getting to know him for himself. He said he likes his shot but is worried about his foot speed. “He deserves some of the time he’s getting right now. And we’ll see where it all goes.” ... Jackson Cates came out of the lineup, and Max Willman subbed back in.