Flyers leaders step up, lead team to 4-3 win over Panthers

John Tortorella neglected to share what he said after benching Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny, but whatever his message was clearly got through as Hayes and Konecny led the Flyers to a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Neither player scored a goal, but they were each critical components of most of the Flyers’ goals and finished as the team’s point leaders along with Joel Farabee.

Konecny set up the Flyers’ first goal with a behind-the-back to Tony DeAngelo in the first period, and the second goal with a pass across the front of the net to Scott Laughton on the Flyers’ first power play late in the first. Hayes’ shot provided the rebound that Konecny directed to Laughton, so Hayes earned a secondary assist. He then had a behind-the-back look of his own when he passed the puck from the right corner to Farabee for the fourth goal, scored in the second period.

“I wanted to respond in the right way,” Konecny said. “It wasn’t a good effort from me ... the last two games. So I wanted to make sure I was doing as much as I could to help the team tonight.”

» READ MORE: Travis Konecny, Kevin Hayes benchings show that no Flyer is immune to John Tortorella’s brand of accountability

The only goal Hayes and Konecny didn’t play a part in was the Flyers’ third goal, which was scored by an unlikely trio. Fourth-line tough guy Nicolas Deslauriers passed to defensive defenseman Nick Seeler, who shot from above the faceoff circle. Zack MacEwen, another one of the team’s tough guys, deflected it in for the Flyers’ go-ahead goal.

Rather than finishing with two-periods worth of ice time, Konecny and Hayes had the second- and third-most minutes of the forwards.

Tortorella first utilized the benching technique in Sunday’s game against the Sharks when he sat Hayes and Konecny for the whole third period. He used the bench even more Thursday, and he started it early.

Egor Zamula was the first player to warm the bench after he made some ill-advised passes that were easily picked off. He sat the final seven minutes of the first period and didn’t come back in until six minutes into the second period. DeAngelo was injured with over five to go in the second, so Zamula’s role increased.

Zamula may have returned, but the bench didn’t have time to cool before Tortorella decided to sit Wade Allison and Morgan Frost. Allison did not play the final 11 minutes of the second, and Frost didn’t play the final 12. They both finished with under 10 minutes.

Ivan Provorov has often been lauded for being a workhorse, playing big minutes and tough minutes. That was on full display with the main highlight coming in the second period.

After blocking a shot, Provorov fell to his knees and spun across the ice. As the play moved into the Panthers zone, Provorov tried and failed to get up before starting to crawl toward the bench. But the play turned back his way and after a second, he hauled himself to his feet and helped stop the play.

“In that moment, obviously, you aren’t able to move maybe as well as you can usually, but trying to block a lane and make them make the harder play,” Provorov said. “And I think that’s what we forced on that play.”

Provorov finally made it to the bench, but he returned to the game almost immediately. While he was slow to get up after getting knocked down at times, his performance wasn’t just up to par, it was even more solid than it had been before. He finished plus-two and played over 25 minutes.

“Eats a puck tonight,” Tortorella said. “I mean, many pucks. He’s played really well, from the start of the year right through this game here.”

In a complete change of pace from the other games Carter Hart has played, his teammates were the ones helping him out. As usual, Hart faced way more shots than his opponents. While he still finished with an impressive save percentage and a career-high 48 saves, he just looked a bit off. Hart wasn’t moving as quickly from side to side and had less control over his rebounds than usual.

Two of the three goals he let in didn’t look good, either. The first looked leaky, sneaking in under his arm. The second, he failed to seal the post. The third was on a penalty kill.

But the team returned the favor for him giving them the chance to win and come back in so many games. While they weren’t killing plays quickly to start the game, they tightened up as the minutes went on. They also found ways to get in front of shots, blocking 34. Provorov even made a save when Hart couldn’t change directions fast enough.

“We’re hopeful he’s maturing,” Tortorella said. “He made some big saves at key times. Has been pretty steady every start this year. He gives us a chance.”

» READ MORE: Are the Flyers for real? We asked our beat reporters to weigh in on the team’s surprising start.

The Flyers will practice in Voorhees on Friday before hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday at 7 p.m.