Flyers center Nolan Patrick slowly getting closer to form following a lost season
Patrick, sidelined last season because of migraines, says he is getting close to feeling 100% on the ice. He ended a 17-game pointless drought Saturday.
After missing last season because of a migraine disorder, Flyers center Nolan Patrick has worked hard to become a key contributor but has struggled to show progress.
Slowly, he’s getting there.
“I obviously knew it was going to be difficult, missing the amount of time I did,” Patrick said Sunday after practice in Voorhees. “Going into this season with no preseason [games], and getting right into it with a tight schedule, I knew it was going to be a challenge, and I’m just trying to get better every day and trying to get closer to the top of my game and do whatever I can to help the team win.”
Patrick, 22, was asked if he was feeling nearly 100 percent.
“I think I’m getting closer every day,” he said. “I don’t really know how to gauge it, but I’m getting more confident about my game.”
» READ MORE: After 1-3 homestand, fading Flyers will try to regroup on the road vs. Rangers
Patrick ended a 17-game pointless streak with a goal in Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Washington. He has three goals, six points, and a minus-9 rating in 25 games.
“It was just nice to get out of that,” he said of his long drought. “Obviously, it’s nothing you really want to go through. Nice to get back on the board, and hopefully we can turn things around here and get going.”
If Patrick gets back to form, it would be like adding a forward at the trade deadline.
Familiar pattern
The Flyers have been falling behind in the first and second periods and chasing the game — not a good formula to climb into a playoff spot.
This is how their last seven games have started:
Fell behind Pittsburgh, 3-1. Result: lost to Penguins, 5-2.
Fell behind Pittsburgh, 3-0. Result: beat Penguins, 4-3.
Fell behind Pittsburgh, 2-1. Result: lost to Penguins, 4-3.
Fell behind Washington, 2-1. Result: lost to Capitals, 3-1.
Fell behind Buffalo, 3-1. Result: beat Sabres, 5-4, in shootout.
Fell behind Washington, 4-1. Result: lost to Capitals, 5-3.
Fell behind Washington, 3-1. Result: lost to Capitals, 5-4.
They will try to stop the pattern Monday when they start a four-game road trip with two games against the Rangers.
Raffl returning?
Underrated left winger Michael Raffl skated with the team Sunday for the first time since he suffered an injured right hand that has caused him to miss the last four games. It will be decided at some point Monday whether he can play in that night’s game.
Raffl said his hand is 50% better, coach Alain Vigneault said Sunday, “and we’ll see how he responds in the next 24 hours.”
Conserving energy
Because of the condensed schedule, — six games in nine days starting Monday — Vigneault said the Flyers may not have their next full practice until March 26. “It’s hard. You have to monitor the players. You have to monitor their workloads. You have to monitor their energy level,” he said. “Some guys have more in the tank than others.”
Breakaways
Nashville had two scouts at the Phantoms’ road game Sunday in Hershey, fueling speculation that talks between the Flyers and Predators for defenseman Mattias Ekholm were intensifying. ... Tyson Foerster and Wade Allison scored their first pro goals as the Phantoms whipped Hershey, 4-1. ... The Flyers are 1-0-1 against the Rangers this season.