John Tortorella is back from suspension. His focus? The Flyers ‘moving forward’

BOSTON — John Tortorella is back.

The Flyers’ head coach returns to the bench Saturday night after serving his two-game suspension for refusing to leave the bench after he was ejected against the Tampa Bay Lighting a week ago.

He is strictly focused on his team “moving forward” and “looking forward.”

In front of them is a meeting with a formidable Boston Bruins club that has gone 4-1-1 in its last six games, including 4-1 wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 4 and March 7. The Flyers will be looking to move past a 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday.

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“I’ll go back to the last game because I think sometimes people look at the score 6-2 and say, ‘Holy [expletive], what’s going on?’ I thought the first two periods — I don’t think we had a lot of bad minutes,” Tortorella said. “Well, I will put it this way, I think we had more good minutes than a lot of people think. I don’t think we managed the game well after that. And with the two bang-to-bang goals where I thought our coverages [stunk].”

The Flyers have been outscored 15-5 in the last three games, but Tortorella looks at the last 15 games of the regular season as a way to clean up and be a better team.

“There’s a number of things,” Tortorella said about what they can improve. “I think when you get to this time of year, the play away from the puck — all teams are trying to improve in that area — stick on pucks positioning, trying to get through the neutral zone clean when you do have the puck. All the things that are going to be more magnified in another month here, I think teams are working on, and we are certainly one of those teams.”

The Orange and Black are in third place in the Metropolitan Division. They were once well ahead of the rest of the pack, but the New York Islanders are closing in. The Patrick Roy-led group nabbed a loser point against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and are three points back of the Flyers; the Isles have played 66 games, and the Flyers play No. 68 on Saturday night.

“The biggest thing for me is they’re meaningful games and games [that] you want to be playing in this type of environment and this time of the season,” said defenseman Erik Johnson, who knows a thing or two about playoff pushes, culminating in a Stanley Cup in 2022 with the Colorado Avalanche. “I think for this team right now, it’s a feather in their cap for how hard they’ve worked in the position that we’re in, for all the work that’s gone in up to this point.

“So we’re in a great position and control our own destiny, which is the spot you want to be in. For us, it’s just treating every game with the utmost importance, and one game at a time, not look far ahead, just stay in the moment, and focus on each game individually. You can’t get too far ahead of yourself in this game. You just got to stay in the present.”

Staying in the present isn’t always easy when the Flyers are amid a gauntlet, squaring off against the top teams in the Eastern Conference for the next six games, including the Bruins again at the Wells Fargo Center in seven days. Johnson hasn’t been a Flyer very long; the defenseman was acquired on March 8 from the Buffalo Sabres. But he knows that teams are going to bring their best against his new team.

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“You’re getting the other team’s best game because they’re not overlooking us, right? They know we can win games,” he said. “We’re a good team in a playoff spot right now and you’re going to get the other team’s best game, in that respect. So that makes the game even more challenging. ... These guys have earned it. It’s the position you want to be in, but it makes the games that much more tough too.”

For Tortorella, who has seen his fair share of postseasons too, and won a Stanley Cup in 2004, he’s looking forward to seeing how his club responds as playoff-bound opponents begin their preparation for the long road ahead.

“This is why I’m so excited about playing these games, because the other teams are elevating,” Tortorella said. “Especially in this little group of games, these are playoff teams. They know they’re in and they are working at their game and it’s a whole different level of where it was three months ago. That’s why I’m glad we’re in it. I’m anxious to see, can we handle that? ... I don’t want our personality to change as a hockey club. And I think it’s a very important time for us, but I’m thrilled that we’re in this pocket because we’re still evaluating and we’ll see where it all goes.”

Felix Sandström will start against the Bruins. Tortorella thought the goalie “settled the team down” when he came on in relief for Sam Ersson against the Leafs. ... Cam Atkinson and Nic Deslauriers took line rushes with Sean Couturier at morning skate, suggesting they will be in the lineup on Saturday. Bobby Brink and Denis Gurianov are expected to be healthy scratches. ... Travis Sanheim, who has been banged up lately, did not partake in morning skate but is expected to play. ... Sunday is the 45th annual Flyers Charities Carnival at Wells Fargo Center.