The Flyers are still trying to figure out where their pieces fit as the new season gets underway

OTTAWA, Ontario — Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson were greatly missed in just about any category you can think of last season, when neither played while recovering from injuries.

Perhaps the most critical place was killing penalties, an area the Flyers ranked tied for 26th among the 32 teams in the NHL at a 74.7% success rate.

On Thursday night in Columbus, Flyers coach John Tortorella looked like he had one of those good problems coaches so desire. The Flyers had multiple penalty-killing units at their disposal, and the result was a perfect night of turning away Blue Jackets power play chances.

“I got a couple of other guys looking over their shoulder at me because they want to do it, too,” Tortorella said after the game. “That’s a little bit different than we had last year with the additions and some of the guys coming back healthy. We’re kind of stacked there.”

But a much more skilled Senators power play unit tormented the Flyers on Saturday afternoon en route to three goals in five chances.

Back to the drawing board?

In more ways than one, the beginning portion of this season is all about continuously doing that. It goes back to the last part of Tortorella’s answer Thursday night about the penalty kill, and applying it to the roster in general: “I’ve got to do a little bit more thinking about ice times and situational play as far as where we put these guys so we can keep everyone going,” Tortorella said. “That’s really important for us.”

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Tortorella has spent most of the last three weeks openly discussing how the organization is still figuring out all the pieces to this rebuilding puzzle. There wasn’t any doubt that would carry into the regular season.

The coach can at times be coy about his plans when it comes to deploying his roster, but when it has come to the philosophy of figuring this all out, he’s been pretty up front. It’s a reality for any team that finds itself in the position the Flyers are in: searching for an identity and trying to get ice time for young players to see if they fit for the future, all while trying to win every game — whether or not you genuinely believe they’re not tanking.

The puzzle pieces that Flyers fans are most interested in are the youngest ones. The Bobby Brinks and Tyson Foersters. The Emil Andraes and Egor Zamulas. On Saturday in Ottawa, Tortorella made a kid-for-kid swap up front, Foerster for Brink, and on the back line, Andrae for Zamula.

Why not play all of them? If you’ve been following along on Flyers Twitter (it sounds better than Flyers X), this has been a common contention, even this early, and it shows how the organization has work to do to gain the trust back of its most loyal fans. How can you be committed to rebuilding if young players are sitting? That’s a common sentiment from Flyers fans right now.

Tortorella — back to being coy — wouldn’t say this week what his plans are for getting those players on the ice. General manager Danny Brière said last week that the team is going to be evaluating the situation to make sure they get the most ice time. In the case of Brink, Foerster, and Andrae, they can go back to the AHL for more playing time without crossing through the waiver wire.

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In the forward group, the most consistent line through training camp and in the first two games has been the fourth line of Ryan Poehling centering Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway. Those wingers aren’t going to be a big part of the future, and some fans have wondered why the Flyers are blocking younger players by having them around. But in a sometimes-testy game Saturday, the line showed its value. Hathaway can kill penalties, too.

On defense, the Flyers brought in Marc Staal, a 36-year-old veteran. His presence has made sure one of Andrae and Zamula watched a game in the press box through two games. This, even after Tortorella openly acknowledged that he told Staal upon arrival that he wasn’t going to play every night. So what happens when Rasmus Ristolainen comes off injured reserve? How will the Flyers make sure Andrae and Zamula are getting their games?

As Tortorella showed midway through Saturday’s game by flip-flopping his line combinations, it’s all subject to change.

Brière said last week that it was a matter of respect to have the veterans who made the roster in the lineup to start the season. They’ve played two of 82 games. It’s a bit too early to say they’re being dishonest about their desire to get younger, no matter how apathetic and skeptical of a fan you’ve become.

This is the delicate balance the Flyers are taking part in, and most difficult puzzles take time to put the pieces in the right places.