Kevin Hayes, Flyers leaders rise to the occasion to help snap the team’s 10-game skid

In the midst of their now-defunct 10-game losing streak, the Flyers lacked playmaking, they lacked goal-scoring. But most of all, they lacked leadership.

Six losses into the skid, fresh off a 5-4 shootout loss to Montreal on Nov. 19, John Tortorella wondered where his leaders were when the Flyers were clinging to a late 4-3 lead before Canadiens winger Cole Caufield tied the score with 1.9 seconds remaining in regulation.

“I think where we’re still inexperienced is: Who’s the guy that’s going to settle things down on the bench?” Tortorella said after the game. “Who’s going to make that big play? That’s leadership. That’s lacking.”

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Yes, plenty of those leaders — the Sean Couturiers and Cam Atkinsons — have been out injured, watching the game from afar. Plenty more — the Kevin Hayeses and the Travis Sanheims — have been healthy and active this season. Tortorella had repeatedly said he needed more from all of his players throughout the losing streak. But on a young, inexperienced roster, particularly up front, the Flyers needed leadership from their veterans to put an end to the suffering.

In their 3-1 win Tuesday night over the New York Islanders, which started with fights from wingers Zack MacEwen and Nick Deslauriers within the opening 10 seconds, the Flyers got the leadership they needed all along.

Thanks to a pair of overlapping minor penalties from winger Kieffer Bellows (slashing) and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (interference), the Islanders went on a two-man advantage just 2 minutes, 47 seconds into the game. Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson quickly ripped a one-timer from the top of the left circle past Carter Hart to put the Flyers in a 1-0 hole. The Flyers’ then-27th-ranked penalty kill had to stop the bleeding. Roughly a minute and a half remained on the Islanders’ power play, and the offensively challenged Flyers couldn’t afford to go down two goals early.

The Flyers needed a big play. Sanheim answered the call, scoring a shorthanded goal off the rush to tie the score at 1.

“The most important part is how we responded after we take just a dumb penalty after the two fights, just a needless penalty,” Tortorella said. “Sanheim’s goal is so important just to get us settled down.”

Hayes, who is averaging more than a point per game (24 points in 23 games) and has been shifted to the wing, continued to contribute offensively. After center Lukáš Sedlák won an offensive-zone faceoff, Hayes fired the puck top-shelf on Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin to pull the Flyers ahead, 2-1, halfway through the first period.

The move from center to wing, according to Tortorella, has allowed Hayes to focus on his strengths offensively while alleviating some of the burden defensively.

“[We’re] a team that’s starving for offense,” Tortorella said. “I’m trying to take the pressure off of [Hayes] defensively and not being worried about all those types of situations low and let them work on his other part of his game. And I think it’s really helped him. And he’s also trying away from the puck.”

But another penalty threatened to derail the Flyers’ lead when winger Owen Tippett was called for high-sticking with six minutes remaining in the third period. Without one of its most heavily-leaned-upon defensemen, Tony DeAngelo, who was ruled out of the game with a lower-body injury Tuesday morning, the penalty kill needed to settle the bench once again to keep the Flyers ahead.

For the next two minutes, the penalty kill got a boost from a likely suspect — Hart in goal — and an unlikely one — defenseman Ristolainen. Hart came up with a pair of key saves on Islanders center Brock Nelson and winger Oliver Wahlstrom. Ristolainen, taking DeAngelo’s place both on the kill and at even strength on the top pairing alongside Ivan Provorov, blocked a Wahlstrom shot. In Tortorella’s eyes, that willingness to get in a shot lane is leadership. In all, the Flyers blocked 19 shots in the game.

“We’ve been showing it lately,” Deslauriers said. “Blocking shots. You guys talk to Torts a lot, it’s his motto. Blocking shots, working hard.”

After the Islanders pulled Sorokin with 2:11 remaining, Tortorella opted to utilize Hayes, Provorov, and Ristolainen among the five players on the ice. Sedlák helped force a turnover in the Flyers’ zone and Provorov collected the puck, finding Hayes for the clinching empty-netter.

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Back in Montreal, Hayes wouldn’t have had that opportunity to close out the game, as he was on the bench when the Canadiens pulled their goalie.

“Everybody thinks Kevin is in the doghouse,” Tortorella said. “Kevin isn’t in the doghouse. Kevin needs to learn to play the right way. And I think he’s trying to do that. So he gets an opportunity tonight and scores a goal [two goals] for us.”

The Flyers were not flawless in their victory over the Islanders, as they committed what Tortorella called “dumb” and “needless” penalties.

“Are all our problems solved?” Tortorella said. “Absolutely not. But I’m glad for them, because they have played hard and they have not been rewarded. You have to do more to win in this league. We did tonight.”

The Flyers got the contributions they needed from veteran players to help them overcome mistakes. But now, as the Flyers stare down three games at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning (13-8-1), the New Jersey Devils (19-4-0), and the Colorado Avalanche (12-7-1), those contributions must come more consistently.