Flyers not panicking over power-play struggles with trap game against Sharks circling

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Cam Atkinson talked about needing to practice the power play after the Flyers went 0-for-4 with the man advantage in Saturday night’s 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. So it didn’t come as a surprise that head coach John Tortorella and assistant coach Rocky Thompson ran the team’s power-play units through the paces in an up-tempo, spirited practice at SAP Center on Monday.

And it wasn’t a surprise that the personnel was tinkered with from Saturday night. Center Noah Cates was elevated to the No. 1 power play with left wing Joel Farabee taking his spot on the second unit. Defenseman Sean Walker is now on the point in Cam York’s spot on the second unit and winger Tyson Foerster was shifted to the front of the net.

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“We’re not going to just blow it up. We’re trying different people in different spots on it and see what happens,” Tortorella said. “But we’ll just continue to work at it. .... We don’t want to panic. We just want to tinker with it a little bit and see if we can get some confidence on it. And some of it is the finish, you end up with some chances and we just don’t finish. If we get one or two maybe things loosen up and we start banging some in.”

Finishing has definitely been a struggle. Through the first 12 games of the season, the Flyers have scored just four goals in 41 power-play opportunities (9.8%). It is the third-worst power play in the NHL despite ranking 11th in power-play time per game (6 minutes, 4 seconds). It’s worth noting that the Flyers finished with the league’s worst power play each of the past two seasons, connecting on just 15.6% of their man advantages last year, and 12.6% in 2021-22.

“I think for us right now, we’re just trying to simplify a lot of things,” Farabee said. “I think, you know, the really good power plays in this league generate a lot of shots so that’s definitely something we’re focusing on. It’s just trying to funnel as many pucks to the net as we can and I feel like if we get one I feel like it’s really going to start to come for us.”

Earlier in the season, it looked like guys were trying to force the pass or make a fancy one. Other times it was one-too-many that resulted in missing the opportunity for an easy goal. That seemed to settle down between Wednesday and Saturday night but the finish was still lacking.

“Sometimes guys get focused too much on what they think they have to do and I think it’s more, you know, you’re on there for a reason and let your skill and ability and instincts take over,” defenseman Travis Sanheim said.

“Obviously, for some guys, it might take a little bit of time. We got some new faces, but I think if we keep working and trying to work together and getting better each day, hopefully, things will turn around and start to see some progress on the power play.”

Starting goalie Carter Hart and top centerman Sean Couturier suited up for practice Monday after missing games Friday and Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings, respectively.

Each player made it through the full practice, which lasted almost an hour, and stayed on afterward to get some extra work in. Hart, who is listed day-to-day with a “mid-body” injury, looked to be moving with ease in the net. Couturier, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury did not partake in some of the drills and was an extra forward when he did.

The Sharks are playing terrible hockey. It’s really that simple. They are 0-10-1 and have been outscored 54-12. According to Sportsnet Stats, they are the first team to allow 10 goals in back-to-back games since the 1965 Boston Bruins thanks to a 10-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and a 10-2 loss to old friend Erik Karlsson and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.

It could be a trap game for the Flyers.

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“We shouldn’t even be able to spell trap game. We have enough traps ourselves and how we go about it, just to be ready to play each and every night,” Tortorella said. “And, I get it. I know it’s been a struggle for San Jose. It’s the National Hockey League, you need to be ready to play each and every night. Yeah, but we have no business thinking about anything other than trying to play better than we did against L.A.”

The game against the Kings saw the Flyers have one of their worst puck possession games of the season, with a Corsi For Percentage of just 40.38 at five-on-five , per Evolving Hockey. Across their first 12 games, the Flyers rank 10th in the NHL (52.42); the Sharks are dead last (38.97).

“I think our game’s built off work and how hard we work and we can’t stray away from that because I think we’ll go south pretty quick,” veteran center Scott Laughton said. “I don’t think we have many of them. We know they’re going to be hungry. And we have to be the same way. We just got beat 5-0 and I know guys are excited to get back in the win column.”