Morgan Frost, Sean Couturier among the Flyers heading into the offseason unsure of where they stand

When the Flyers’ playoff hopes finally dwindled away late in their final game of the season Tuesday, several Flyers were stapled to the bench to watch it happen.

Morgan Frost, who finished fifth on the Flyers in goals this season, was one of them. He played just over eight minutes of ice time in the do-or-die game against the Washington Capitals. One of the top playmaking options on the team, Frost had gone cold offensively in the final stretch of the year.

But so had most of his teammates — which was why Game 82 was do-or-die to begin with, after the Flyers held down a playoff position for most of the season.

» READ MORE: ‘This one hurts’: The Flyers can only think ‘what if’ after falling agonizingly short of the playoffs

“It’s pretty devastating, not playing,” the 24-year-old Frost said during Wednesday’s exit interviews. “But at the same time, I have a lot of respect for Torts. And I think he’s a great coach. So if he felt that’s what he needed to do to try and win that game, you know, I understand it.”

The Flyers, of course, did not win — which ultimately didn’t even matter for their playoff aspirations — but how the game played out, as well as Wednesday’s interviews, highlighted certain players who might feel on the outside looking in, and may have something to prove next season.

Frost appeared to be in John Tortorella’s doghouse early on this season, raising questions about his long-term future in a Flyers uniform. The center was scratched for 11 games before he had a sit-down conversation with Tortorella in mid-January where they hashed things out. From there until game 82, Frost was a mainstay in the lineup.

He said Wednesday that he doesn’t think that limited minutes in one game is a sign that his relationship with Tortorella is back on the rocks.

“I think I have grown a lot in terms of learning how to handle things with him and interact,” Frost said. “It’s still something that I think there’s going to be some more going on there. ... I think I’ve grown up a lot. So I’ve learned how to handle those situations.”

Two other players with door-opening duty late in Tuesday’s game were Bobby Brink and Cam Atkinson.

“Just rooting the guys on, that’s all I can do at that point,” Brink said. “I wanted to win that game, just as much as every guy that was out there playing. I think every guy wanted to be in that playoff spot, and the guys that go on the ice, rooting for them, and I got their back.”

The winger was demoted to Lehigh Valley in January. Brink said he focused on staying positive during that stretch in the AHL, which led to his recall at the end of February. He finished his first full NHL season with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) over 57 games, and is headed back down to the Phantoms now that the Flyers are eliminated to assist with the team’s playoff push.

» READ MORE: United and spirited, the rebuilding Flyers played like madmen and somehow made Game 82 matter

Brink’s aware of the steps he needs to take to advance his game. He said that Tortorella wants him to improve his defensive positioning and playing within the Flyers’ system.

While any role at the NHL level is new to Brink in his rookie season, Atkinson, 34, has had to adjust to no longer being a go-to scoring option this year. The forward, who spent six seasons under Tortorella in Columbus, left the Blue Jackets as the franchise’s second-leading scorer. This year, however, he found himself frequently at the bottom of the Flyers lineup, or watching from the press box.

“I’ve been a go-to guy to contribute offensively and been put in situations to have success,” Atkinson said. “So when you go from that to in and out of the lineup, or when I’m in the lineup, on the fourth line, with limited minutes, there’s only so much you can do. So I think when I was out there, I tried my hardest to just make some sort of impact. I’ve never experienced that.”

Atkinson, who said questions about his future are “above [his] pay grade,” emphasized that he wanted to control what he can control.

“When your role does change, you have to find ways to contribute any way you can,” he said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t really on the score sheet.”

While Sean Couturier played more than 18 minutes Tuesday, the Flyers’ captain also spent some time in the doghouse this season. He was healthy scratched for the first time in his career for two games at the end of March.

Couturier, who previously expressed his frustration over the benching, said Wednesday that he has moved past it.

“I tried not to look back at it, honestly. It’s behind me now,” Couturier said. “I didn’t want to be a distraction or anything. I thought actually the team responded pretty well with three three points out of four the next two games. So that’s all that mattered really. I got caught up in some comments that were a little blown out of proportion, I think, just through my emotions.”

Couturier said his own play “plain and simple, [stunk]” over the final stretch of the season. The center missed two games during the Flyers’ eight-game losing streak with an upper-body injury, and even when healthy, had not scored since February 10.

As for how the scratches impacted his relationship with Tortorella, Couturier said he has already had conversations with his coach and expects to have a continued dialogue over the offseason.

“We’ve agreed on some things, disagreed on others,” he said. “You don’t have to agree on everything. But as long as we work together and push for the same goal, that’s all that matters. I think that’s the kind of relationship we have.”