Center Sean Couturier says upcoming round-robin tournament is a ‘great thing’ for Flyers

Center Sean Couturier, arguably the Flyers’ best all-around player before the coronavirus halted games on March 12, says his team will be in a no-lose situation when the season restarts.

The Flyers will be in a round-robin tournament with Boston, Tampa Bay and Washington to determine the top four playoff seedings in the Eastern Conference.

“For us, the round robin is a great thing,” Couturier said. "We were seeded fourth, so we can only move up in our standing and our seeding. For us, it’s a nice situation to be playing for. I can understand some other teams being disappointed that they have to kind of win some games to keep their No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

“But in the situation we’re in and the conditions and all the unknowns in life, it is what it is — and it’s what’s best, I guess, for this kind of situation.”

The better your seeding, theoretically, the easier your matchups in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Couturier, 27, has been skating at the Flyers’ practice facility since players were allowed to begin voluntary, small-group practices June 8. A nine-year NHL veteran, he said the long break in the season has been unusual compared to the one teams take over the summer.

“It’s different, for sure," Couturier said after Tuesday’s workout in Voorhees. “There have been so many unknowns; there weren’t really any set dates to when we were coming back” until last week. “Usually you know around what date training camp is going to start and you get ready for an 82-game season. Whereas, now, you didn’t really know if we were going to resume the season, jump into playoffs, or just cancel and get ready for next season.”

He said there were "a lot of unknowns, a lot of adaptation with the training and staying in shape and getting ready to resume. ... Everyone is in the same situation, so it’s just important to take responsibility and be ready.”

In addition to Couturier, Ivan Provorov, Joel Farabee, Mark Friedman, and Samuel Morin have been among the players working out in Voorhees. Others are working out near their hometowns in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

“The drills are a little tougher and its tough to go for long practices, but ... we’re adapting ourselves and getting ready to resume play,” Couturier said.

Training camp will open July 10, and the season is expected to begin in early August.

“Everyone that made the playoffs or the play-in is starting on the same ground,” Couturier said. “I don’t think there’s much momentum going in because it’s been a while since we played, but I think it’s going to be important to just get a good training camp in, work hard, and try to get get better and get to our peak as quick as possible. Get going from where we were.”

The Flyers were 41-21-7 and had climbed into second place, one point behind the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division, when the season was paused.

“We were playing some of our best hockey in our season and it’s going to be important to find that same level of play early,” Couturier said of the team’s return.

Couturier is a strong candidate for the Selke Trophy, given to the league’s top defensive forward. The player’s offensive numbers have also been a factor in the award.

In 69 games this season, Couturier had 22 goals, 59 points and a plus-21 rating, and he led the NHL by winning 59.6% of his faceoffs.

"Just to be considered is already a great honor,” he said, adding that he tries to take pride in all aspects of his game. “It definitely would mean a lot if I would win, but just to be mentioned with other guys for that award, it’s already pretty flattering.”