Joel Farabee is back in action and ready to ‘move on’ against Penguins after benching

PITTSBURGH — John Tortorella said Friday he’s moved on. Joel Farabee has, too.

The Flyers forward will be back on a line with Scott Laughton and Cam Atkinson on Saturday night against the Penguins after being benched for the majority of the team’s last game because, according to Tortorella, he didn’t listen.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously you want to be out there,” Farabee said. “You want to help the team. It’s upsetting when you let your teammates down, but all I can really do is focus on the next day and, you know, just get back at it.”

Farabee was on the ice for the Devils’ first goal in the team’s 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. The marker by Alexander Holtz was 3 minutes and 10 seconds into the game; Farabee was attached to the bench from that moment on.

“I’d be the first to admit I make mistakes out there,” he said. “You know, it’s never my intention to hurt the team or go out there and make a mistake on purpose. So I was trying to make a read, I made a bad one, and I fully accept it. So just move on and go from there.”

» READ MORE: John Tortorella discusses Farabee benching, goes off on Hathaway controversial hit

The first matchup of the Keystone State rivalry showcases the teams in interesting spots. The Flyers are just .001 behind the Penguins in points percentage. Who would have guessed that when the puck dropped on the season?

The Flyers won’t be changing their game plan regardless of who they face, but the Penguins do have some heavy hitters and future Hall of Famers in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and, now, Erik Karlsson.

“They’re always a dangerous team, and I’m still pretty young; I grew up watching all those guys. It’s always cool to play against them. But at the same time, no matter what their record is or how they’re doing lately, they’re always a dangerous team,” said Morgan Frost, who mentioned that there’s a chance he’ll go against fellow centerman Crosby on the ice and in the faceoff circle.

Back in the day, some NHLers admitted they would get caught just watching Wayne Gretzky while playing against him. Tortorella isn’t too worried about his youngsters watching Crosby, but the veteran bench boss, who has faced Crosby since he entered the league in 2005, is hoping his players take in what he is doing in between the games.

“My goaltending coach, [Kim Dillabaugh] came in and he was watching their pregame skate, and you have Crosby out there probably shooting 200 pucks in the pregame skate,” Tortorella said. “That’s something you hope the kids look at. You know, maybe they’re wandering out there and watching, a Tyson Foerster or a [Owen Tippett] or someone like that.

“You see a guy that is now, what, 36 years old, out there getting some work and shooting, you know, a couple hundred pucks. Those are things you hope rub off.”

» READ MORE: Keith Jones interview Part 2: Matvei Michkov, Flyers’ timeline, and a message for the fans

The Flyers power play — which potted two, including a 6-on-4, against the Devils — had a different look on Thursday night. The first unit saw Sean Couturier move from the right flank into the net-front spot.

As a guy who has played all over the ice when it comes to the man advantage, Couturier is comfortable playing in that spot even if he’ll get bumped a bit more.

“My back feels great. It’s not even in the back of my mind anymore,” he told The Inquirer Friday. “I’m glad it’s behind me. It was a year and a half, two years that I was just really always thinking about it, overthinking it at times. Now that I feel good and can just focus on myself and playing hockey, it feels great.”

Moving Couturier and his 6-foot-4 body in front of goaltenders isn’t a bad spot — he does have two inches on Penguins starter Tristan Jarry. Tyson Foerster was there as one of the strongest players on pucks, but Tortorella thought it took away from his power-play development, and Foerster was planted in the left circle on Thursday.

Tortorella has acknowledged that the power play is a work in progress, but with Couturier on the doorstep, he’s hoping it’ll add a new dimension.

“We haven’t tipped many pucks. It’s been very frustrating [that] we haven’t tipped many pucks. Coots is a guy that we hope we get some of that, recovers the pucks well, knows how to protect pucks,” Tortorella said. “... I think Coots, he’s so savvy, as far as how to protect pucks until some help comes to him, which is really important on retrieval on the power play. Hopefully, it’ll help us there.”

The Flyers power play entered the game at 11.7% effectiveness. The Penguins’ unit is at 11.9%.

Sam Ersson will get the start in net for the Flyers against Pittsburgh. He’s coming off a solid November that saw him as one of the contenders for the NHL’s Rookie of the Month, an honor ultimately taken by Connor Bedard. ... Egor Zamula will be a healthy scratch again. Marc Staal will slot in alongside Rasmus Ristolainen.