Flyers takeaways: 4 wish-list items after a road loss to the Penguins

PITTSBURGH ― The Grinch came early for the Flyers, who wrapped up the first 35 games of the season with a 7-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

A four-goal outburst in the first period all but sank the Flyers’ chances as they tried to come back in the second but fell short. They headed into the NHL-mandated three-day holiday break, which began on Tuesday, with three wins in their past 10 games.

But, as mentioned, it is the holidays and we’re feeling generous so here are four gifts for the Flyers.

The trio of Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink has officially been together since the Flyers’ 5-4 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 25. They didn’t pot a goal in that one, but they did Monday against the Penguins with Cates scoring — off a nifty pass from Brink — for the fourth straight game.

Since they have been locked together they have become one of the Flyers’ most effective lines in terms of puck possession, production, and energy. It’s a reason coach John Tortorella rechanged up every line except this one against Pittsburgh.

“They’re just together,” Tortorella said postgame. “They support the puck well. They spend a lot of time in the offensive zone because they’re around it, they’re not spread out. I think they’re checking very well. It’s been probably one of our better lines for quite a while here now.”

According to Natural Stat Trick, the line has played together for two or more faceoffs at five-on-five in 15 games this season for a total of 127 minutes, 55 seconds.

Among the four lines that have played together for more than 100 minutes at five-on-five, the Cates line has allowed the fewest shot attempts against (92) and has the top Corsi For Percentage (57.21%), Shots For Percentage (60.42%), Expected Goals For Percentage (63.46%), Scoring Chances For Percentage (57.43%), and High-Danger Chances For Percentage (69.23%).

In summation, it’s doing everything right but scoring a lot.

At five-on-five across the past 15 games, Natural Stat Trick has the line down for eight goals while giving up six. It should be noted that Cates has eight points (five goals, three assists), Foerster has eight points (four goals, five assists), and Brink has five points (one goal, three assists) in the past 14. So even when all three aren’t out there, their confidence is riding high — especially Brink.

Just over a week ago, Tortorella said Brink “didn’t know how to spell ‘checking’ last year.” But he wasn’t necessarily talking about just throwing the body around. He gave the forward credit for how he has stepped up his game away from the puck, and has “played hard on the puck” and is “in a better position when we don’t have the puck, not cheating offensively.”

The 5-foot-8 forward did lead the Flyers and Penguins with five hits, including one on Rickard Rickell in the neutral zone that allowed the Orange and Black the time and space to create the Cates goal.

“He’s being physical. It’s just those little details. Maybe earlier on he would get a hard time from Torts with [it but] defensively he’s been really strong,” Cates said. “He’s been the low man sometimes, and he does a really good job and just away from the puck, whether he’s being physical or being on the right side of a guy, it always translates to offense and translates for good karma for you.”

On Dec. 21 Tortorella said, “This is who we’re staying with,” in regards to Sam Ersson as the team’s No. 1 goalie and Aleksei Kolosov as No. 2. It was a vote of confidence despite struggles for the duo, especially Ersson.

Since returning from an aggravation of a lower-body injury that caused him to miss a pair of games in early November and 11 more shortly after, Ersson has been unable to find the game that made him the Flyers’ top netminder. He has gone 2-4-0 in his past six starts with a 4.28 goals-against average and .810 save percentage. In his first 12 games, he was 5-3-2 with a 2.83 GAA and .897 save percentage.

On Monday night, Ersson was pulled after allowing five goals on 14 shots in 40 minutes. He gave up two goals on the first two shots, although the second one was overturned on a coach’s challenge for offside. It was the first time he got the hook this season.

”Erss didn’t play well,” Tortorella said when asked if there was more to it, like maybe to provide a spark for the Flyers.

The argument can be made that at PPG Paints Arena he didn’t get much help either. Three of the five goals were due to defensive zone breakdowns that left a Penguin alone for an easy tap-in goal.

As for the other two, Bryan Rust’s opening goal saw him fire off an uncontested slapshot from above the right faceoff circle that he may have been screened on. That’s one Ersson should have conceivably had but it was the fifth goal that was the dagger.

After the Flyers got the puck out of their own end, the Penguins transitioned right back in with Evgeni Malkin feeding Michael Bunting for a slapshot past Ersson from the high slot with 1:12 left in the second period.

“I feel sometimes, kind of what I’ve been saying after these last few games since I come back is I feel like I got to find a way to come up with more big saves. ... I got to keep working here a little bit and find back to where I want to be,” Ersson said after the win against Columbus on Saturday.

After missing almost two seasons due to multiple back surgeries, Flyers captain Sean Couturier returned last season and started hot. He skated in 31 of the first 33 games and notched 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists), had a plus-minus of plus-5, and was tied for 25th in the NHL in takeaways (25). He was playing almost 20 minutes a night, No. 1 on the Flyers among forwards.

But around this time last December, he started to fall off and by late March he was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. In June, Couturier revealed he underwent sports hernia surgery after the season.

Although he entered Monday night with just six goals and 17 points in his first 32 games, Couturier has shown flashes of being that dominant 200-foot center he was pre-injury. He has been a driver for the offense by helping to control puck possession and create turnovers while showing off powerful drives to the net.

According to Natural Stat Trick, among skaters who have played at least 30 games at five-on-five, when Couturier is on the ice the Flyers have a 49.34% Corsi For Percentage and 92 high-danger shot attempts; each places him third on the team. Individually, Couturier has 92 shot attempts and the second-most high-danger chances at 29.

On Monday, he was rewarded with his seventh goal of the season when he took a pass from Travis Konecny and skated down the left wing before scoring five-hole with Penguins defenseman Kris Letang draped on him.

“I want to contribute every night if I can,” he said. “But I got to stick to the system, play the right way, be on the right side of pucks, and be patient. I’m just trying to play a solid 200-foot game. Points will come when they come.”

Breaks in the schedule can come at the right or wrong time. For a Flyers team that has lost four of its last five and seven of 10 it may just come at the right time.

“Not good enough at this time of year,” Scott Laughton said after the loss across the state. “So get a little break here and a big road trip coming up. Only gets harder after Christmas break. Kind of need to realize where we’re at here as a team and continue to get better and string a couple together here cause it’s not good enough right now, and hasn’t been done enough for the last five or so games.”

To add insult to injury, the Flyers have been outscored 28-16 in the past five, with the lone win a 5-4 overtime victory against the Blue Jackets on Saturday. They allowed a touchdown of goals to the Detroit Red Wings and touchdowns plus an extra point to the Los Angeles Kings and Penguins.

Last season, the Flyers limped into the holiday break with two straight losses. The first game of the annual road trip out of the NHL-mandated break came with a 4-1 win against the league’s top team, the Vancouver Canucks. Ersson was in net for that win. It was a momentary glimmer of hope before they lost four straight and began a streaky final three-plus months.

That included a five-game losing streak, all in regulation, before the bye week and All-Star break. But they skated away with a 2-1 win against a Florida Panthers team that had won the past four games and dominated the first period. It was the start of a four-game winning streak.

So maybe time away with family and friends can clear the mind before everyone reunites in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday for practice. The Flyers will play the Anaheim Ducks — and Cutter Gauthier — on Saturday before facing the Kings again on Sunday. The long road trip includes a game on New Year’s Eve at the San Jose Sharks, a meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights, and wraps on Jan. 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“Definitely,” Couturier said when asked if a break would help. “I think the way we’ve been grinding lately, not getting the results we wanted to. Yeah, we’ll take the next three, four days off, and recharge the battery, and be ready for a big road trip after Christmas.”