‘I’m trying to get to that shot-first mentality’: Travis Konecny and Flyers’ second line looking to reset

Going into the third period against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, interim coach Mike Yeo broke up the Flyers’ second line of Scott Laughton, Travis Konecny, and Oskar Lindblom. Not only was that line responsible for four of the five minor penalties committed by the Flyers, but they were also on the ice for one of Edmonton’s goals.

The bottom line that led to their breakup: too many turnovers and not enough dangerous looks.

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“They’ve had some one-and-done chances, but not as much sustained pressure,” Yeo said after the game. “All three guys are extremely important players. Real good players and they’ve been playing a lot of good hockey the last couple games. It seems like we’re too many times when somebody has the puck on their stick, it ends up on the other team’s stick, so we’ve got to get them back on track, for sure.”

In eight games played in the month of February, the second line has registered 26 shot attempts to opponents’ 25 when all three were on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. Against the Oilers on Tuesday, that line was outshot, 13-8.

In hindsight, Konecny said it’s easy to pinpoint missed opportunities to shoot the puck on video after his shifts. He admitted that right now, he has a habit of looking to pass first instead of putting the puck on net.

“I definitely think when you get to a certain point, let’s say you’re feeling good, you’re feeling like you’re hot, you’re getting a lot of puck luck, you might just have the tendency to shoot the puck a little bit more with that confidence,” Konecny said. “I’m trying to get to that shot-first mentality.”

In his last eight games, Konecny has six assists. He scored his most recent goal on Feb. 1 in the Flyers’ 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

In 51 games this season, Konecny has 136 shots on goal, whereas last season in 50 games, Konecny registered 100 shots on goal. However, Konecny’s 5.9 shooting percentage this season — a career low — pales in comparison to last year’s 11.0%.

Ultimately, Yeo said he needs his young core to step up and contribute on a consistent basis, starting Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.

“Obviously, we have to rely on G [Claude Giroux], we have to rely on Cam [Atkinson] and some of our older players, but this next wave of players, this is a group that has to really take a step here going forward, in this last 29 games in the season,” Yeo said. ”The [Travis] Sanheims, the [Ivan] Provorovs, the Lindbloms, the Konecnys, the [Joel] Farabees.”

The Flyers loaned rookie forward Isaac Ratcliffe to the Phantoms on Thursday morning, putting his NHL career on hold for the moment. Ratcliffe was set to be a healthy scratch against the Wild with Max Willman entering the lineup in his place.

While Yeo said he was pleased with Ratcliffe’s performance overall in 10 games (one goal, three assists), he decided Ratcliffe needed to go play some big minutes in the AHL.

“They got three games in three nights coming up this weekend and again, he hasn’t been playing much,” Yeo said. “So it’s a good opportunity for him to get playing here.”

Yeo added that he hasn’t discussed with his staff whether or not Ratcliffe’s return to the Phantoms will be long-term or if he’ll get called back up after the three-game stint.

Center Kevin Hayes (lower body) and winger Wade Allison (MCL) participated in the Flyers’ optional morning skate on Thursday. Yeo reiterated that there’s “a real possibility” that Hayes returns to the lineup on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks. ... After taking a maintenance day on Wednesday, defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was expected to be in the lineup against the Wild.