The Flyers’ tight-knit locker room is partially rooted in accountability under John Tortorella
“When everybody is receiving the same type of treatment or coaching, it seems to have a better result,” said Keith Jones.
As Travis Konecny answered questions postgame outside the Flyers locker room at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday, several of his teammates walked behind him on the way to the bus for their flight home.
Garnet Hathaway saw the camera and pretended to stare up and away as he spun behind Konecny like a pick-and-roll. Scott Laughton playfully bumped him as Konecny was being asked about notching a pair of goals.
Just like watching the video showing Nick Seeler getting the team’s player-of-the-game belt after he fought Mathieu Olivier in response to his hit on Emil Andrae, it was an inside peek into a Flyers locker room that is tight-knit. After a wire-to-wire 5-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which snapped a three-game losing streak, the vibes were immaculate.
There are several reasons the Flyers have gone 9-4-3 since a demoralizing last-second loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 5. One major aspect is how the team’s structure and puck support have drastically improved at both ends of the ice. Intertwined with that, and another reason this room is so close, is a seed coach John Tortorella planted more than 20 seasons ago.
It keeps sprouting up, so don’t be surprised the next time you see it: If you do something he doesn’t like, especially something he’s been preaching about, get ready to sit.
“We have a coach that’s very demanding and holds everybody accountable to the same standard,” Flyers president Keith Jones told The Inquirer recently. “But it’s done it in an honest way, and I think that that has been really beneficial to the growth of our players.
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“When it’s not done consistently for every player, it doesn’t work. But when everybody is receiving the same type of treatment or coaching, it seems to have a better result in the end. Although it’s not perfect during it, I think that it’s been proven over time that that’s going to help these players as they move forward.”
Tortorella will sit someone for a shift, a period, or a game. Last season, Joel Farabee sat for 59 minutes, 4 seconds of a game. Matvei Michov, despite producing offensively, sat for two games because of defensive miscues and a lack of puck support. Scott Laughton missed a good chunk of the game against the Carolina Hurricanes after several turnovers because “we just spent the whole meeting talking about it,” Tortorella said after.
And even Konecny, who is tied with several players, including Alex Ovechkin, for 11th in the NHL in goals (15) and tied for 18th in points (34), was benched on Saturday afternoon at Boston. Konecny did not play the final 13:55 of the Flyers’ 4-3 overtime loss after he took a poorly timed interference penalty in the third period.
“He’s undisciplined. He’s just too undisciplined,” the coach said afterward, noting a small part of his missed time was due to being pulled by the concussion spotter.
It is tough to win a game when your leading scorer is glued to the bench. But for Tortorella, it doesn’t matter who it is. Being accountable to yourself and your teammates is a key component of the Flyers, and it is why they are having success on the ice, specifically as they continue to roll four lines.
“I think the lines have been consistent in their play,” Tortorella said Thursday. “It all predicated off because I want to keep [Noah] Cates, Bobby Brink, and [Tyson] Forester together because that was a really good line. The other lines kind of fell off of that. I’ve gone with [Sean Couturier], Beezer, and TK a little bit. They’ve been, OK, you know? I think you guys look to think I’m going to try to, I want to change the lines.
“I would love to be able to keep the lines together and the way the team has played, even though we’ve lost some along the way here the past few games, I think the lines have been good. I changed them up the other night when I thought we were a little stale, but I wanted to come back with them because I think they’ve been pretty consistent, both with the puck and without it.”
Defenseman Emil Andrae, who started the season so well, will be the latest Flyer to take a seat. The young defenseman will be a healthy scratch on Thursday against Detroit with Egor Zamula slotting back in after two games on the pine. Zamula will play alongside Rasmus Ristolainen and Tortorella is looking for him to play faster.
“I think Andrae’s fought it. It’s been a little bit of a struggle with the puck. It’s been a struggle without the puck, and we got to be careful when we’re developing a guy like that,” said Tortorella. “He comes in here like gangbusters and [there’s talk] about him being a top-four [defenseman] and all that. It’s such a small sample that we have to be careful that we don’t hurt his development.”
Kolosov the new No. 2
Aleksei Kolosov will start for the Flyers against the Red Wings (7 p.m., NBCSP). Tortorella confirmed that Kolosov will be the backup moving forward and that he has supplanted Ivan Fedotov on the depth chart. Sam Ersson is the team’s No. 1 goalie.
“I’ve talked to Feds, I’ve talked to all the goalies about where we’re at,” Tortorella said. “Now the [roster] mechanics of Feds and all that, that falls a little bit with Danny [Brière] and we’re having conversations about that. Still have to check on Erss and make sure he stays healthy. That’s a question mark.”
Around the Rinks is a new segment every Friday, highlighting the local ice, ball, and inline hockey scene. Submit entries, including about your team’s next game, their big win, or how your favorite player did recently, with the subject: Around the Rinks, to jspiegel@inquirer.com by noon every Friday.