Flyers takeaways: The Tippett-Frost-Michkov line fuels a ‘businesslike’ win in Columbus
After a lot of tinkering early in the season, John Tortorella looks to have landed on some lines with some chemistry, led by the trio of Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, and Matvei Michkov.
COLUMBUS, Ohio ― The Flyers needed to get back into the win column and did so with a wire-to-wire victory over the Blue Jackets.
Sometimes the road cures that. Sometimes facing a team down in the standings helps, too. The Flyers got both on Tuesday, although the Blue Jackets were coming off an impressive 4-1 win against one of the NHL’s best teams, the Winnipeg Jets.
But while some will say it’s just a ho-hum 5-3 victory, the Flyers played one of their better games. Here are three reasons why with an ode to the band O.A.R., whose members attended college at Ohio State in Columbus.
» READ MORE: Travis Konecny scores twice in Flyers’ 5-3 win at the Columbus Blue Jackets
I Feel Home
Morgan Frost probably said it best after his line notched a pair of goals.
“Hopefully we can keep it going and stick together. I know the lines can switch pretty easy sometimes,” he said with a smile.
Don’t call John Tortorella a mad scientist but the Flyers bench boss is known to be a bit of a tinkerer. For now, he’s been rolling the same four lines, with Tuesday’s game the ninth straight time he’s — at least to start — kept the forward trios together. Maybe that consistency is why three of his four lines got on the board and the fourth line, centered by Ryan Poehling, had 13 shot attempts to eight for the Blue Jackets, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Frost and his wingers Matvei Michkov and Owen Tippett have found some chemistry — Tippett and Frost both said they’ve been having fun lately — and are playing more soundly on both sides of the puck. It was only two weeks ago that the line was benched for the majority of the third period against the New York Rangers because Tortorella was unsure of its ability to shut down the opposition.
“I think Frosty is checking better. I watch a number of times Frosty coming across the ice and checking in the neutral zone,” Tortorella said. “Tipp and Mich have worked a little bit. Mich has made some good plays. I’m feeling more and more comfortable with them, with their checking. So, you know, it comes and goes. I hope we can ride the wave as much as we can with some of the guys that are scoring.”
» READ MORE: The Flyers’ visit to Columbus is another painful reminder of the void left by the late Johnny and Matty Gaudreau
Consistency is key. It builds chemistry and, as Tippett noted before the game, builds communication and the ability to read off one another. It creates an innate knowledge of what your linemates are going to do and where they are going to be. That’s something all four lines have going right — reading off one another.
The Flyers’ fourth goal of the night was another example of that. Joel Farabee made an exceptional long-range diagonal pass to Travis Konecny, setting him up for his second goal of the night. “As soon as I just saw the lane, I knew he’s getting it to me,” Konecny said. The forward took the tape-to-tape pass in stride, got behind the Blue Jackets defense, and easily scored under the pad of Columbus goalie Elvis Merzļikins.
Right on Time
The Flyers showcased multiple types of support on Tuesday, including standing up for one another. Defenseman Emil Andrae was hit high with an elbow by Mathieu Olivier in the second period. The penalty was reviewed for a major, but the end result was a two-minute minor. Nick Seeler dropped the gloves with the Blue Jackets forward on his next shift.
“I thought the best play of the game was watching 10, 12, guys go over the penalty box and tap Seels after he fought Olivier there,” Tortorella said. “I think that stuff’s so important for our team. I thought that was the best play of the game.”
But the Flyers also had one of their best puck-support games. The goal by Tippett was a good example of that as Jamie Drysdale, Frost, and Tippett stayed close to each other on the right wing as they entered the zone. Drysdale supported Frost, who fed him the puck, and then the defenseman kicked it over to Tippett on his right to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead from a bad angle.
Frost made it 5-1 in the third period when he threw a rebound at an open net from the left faceoff circle, but it was his play on the right boards that set everything in motion. The center went high on the wall and intercepted the clearing attempt before making a move and sending the puck down to Michkov in the corner. Frost then cut to the net for a scoring chance before finishing on his second attempt.
“I think we made it a boring game at times and we stuck to our structure, which is something we talked about, so we weren’t giving up too many chances,” Frost said. “We make some good offensive plays and kind of held down the lead there.”
And it was Bobby Brink, who has often found himself in Tortorella’s doghouse, who earned the most praise after the game. Tortorella was quick to point out his work on the boards. On the Flyers’ power-play goal, he did just that, helping the team keep the puck in at the left point.
“I thought he did a really good job as far as protecting pucks,” Tortorella said. “I thought he was patient in our end zone with some of their forechecking, just held on to it and looked to the weak side. Made some good plays, just getting them in, just simple little plays. I think that’s important for Bobby’s development, him understanding sometimes it’s not all about trying to make an offensive play. It’s about making a simple play. I think he did a pretty good job of that tonight.”
While the goals were nice, there was one long extended shift in the second period, when the Flyers pinned the Blue Jackets in their end. The fourth line, of Poehling, Hathaway, and Laughton led the charge as they supported each other and the defense. When Travis Sanheim, went low, Poehling came up high to the point. Then, after a change while the puck was still in Columbus’ zone, Andrae walked the line from the left to right point as Konecny swung high to cover the left point with Rasmus Ristolainen dropping low.
“We talked about just kind of a businesslike effort, and I think we kind of had that and we dictated and played the way we wanted to play,” Cates said. “When we do that, we’re pretty dangerous. Some shifts where they had guys out there for a minute, minute and a half, you know, we can turn shifts over and hem them in. We can do that consistently, we’re playing well, and we’re playing our style of hockey.”
Two Hands Up
Sam Ersson looked much more comfortable in his second game back from a lower-body injury — although the workload was a bit bare at times.
The Swede faced 25 shots from the Utah Hockey Club on Sunday in the Flyers’ 4-2 loss, with 12 coming in the first period. On Tuesday, he saw only 18 shots, 14 of which came in the final 40 minutes. Of the four shots he saw in the first period, the first one didn’t come until the 7:21 mark — a shot from 52 feet out by Columbus defenseman Jake Christiansen. In the second period, Columbus was credited with a pair of shots from more than 130 feet out and he didn’t see a real shot until there was 3:18 left on the clock.
“I think we as a team played very well, and the result of that is maybe not a whole lot of action on my end,” Ersson said. “Sometimes those games can be the more challenging as a goalie. I think it’s definitely a good challenge to get a couple of those. One, because it means the team is doing a really good job, and also, kind of for me to deal with that mental challenge, trying to stay focused throughout the game.”
Drysdale was also back in for his second straight game after missing time with an upper-body injury and showed off the skating he is well known for. The blueliner skated for 18:28, including time on the power play, and notably the penalty kill. Drysdale tallied one assist, blocked four shots, and alongside Seeler was a team-best plus-3 for the game.
He got the primary assist on Tippett’s goal as he made the pass and then went toward the net, creating part of a screen. But he also used his feet and his quickness to hold the Bue Jackets off, especially on the wall.
Tortorella spoke before the team’s morning skate and said he wanted to see Drysdale become more of a rover, like Zach Werenski of the Blue Jackets or former NHLer Dan Boyle, whom Tortorella coached in Tampa Bay.
“He’s surfing. He’s using his legs and made some good plays,” Tortorella said postgame about Drysdale. “Little by little, we’ve got to get him some looks. I look at Werenski against us, he’s up the ice all night long. He’s all over the place. It’s a great player to watch and we’d like to see Jamie play that way.”