PHILADELPHIA — Nearly everybody knows someone who’s been affected by cancer — be it a relative, a friend or a sports hero. For Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, it’s his brother, Dan, who won his battle against the disease.
Thursday was Hockey Fights Cancer Night as the Flyers took on the St. Louis Blues at Xfinity Mobile Arena. At the morning pre-game skate, Tocchet talked about what this day means to him.
“My brother went through this,” Tocchet said. “He beat so it (HFC) means a lot. You forget about that. You’re into day-to-day hockey coach, you forget about what’s really more important in life. The awareness and all that, it really kind of clues you in a little bit. It makes you feel how blessed we really are.”
Captain Sean Couturier has been involved in a number of these and appreciates the effort that goes into organizing them.
“It’s a great initiative every year,” Couturier said. “It puts life into perspective when you have these nights.”
New this year, the Flyers had their warmup skates painted special colors. Ditto for the goaltenders, Dan Vladar and Sam Ersson.
Before the game, Couturier said he was excited to see what his skates were going to look like.
“I saw the design,” he said. “Looks pretty cool. So I’m wondering how it’s going to come out but I’m super excited.”
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After Wednesday’s shakeup of practice lines, the Flyers stuck with the new combinations against the Blues. Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster had right wing Bobby Brink swapped out for Travis Konecny.
“You look at certain things when other lines are struggling,” Tocchet said. “But you have to be careful. The (Christian) Dvorak line (with Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett) has been pretty productive for us so I don’t know if I agree with spreading the wealth.
“We need guys to pick it up. I can roll lines and mix-and-match but we need people that are going to start playing better. So I don’t always have to switch lines. So maybe this one switch will help a couple lines. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Konecny hasn’t been setting the world on fire offensively. He entered the 19th game of the season with five goals, behind his 30-goal pace of 2022-24.
“Maybe this will help get TK going,” Tocchet said. “Sometimes when you do switch lines. … St. Louis is a good rush team so we want the puck as much as possible.”
Entering Thursday, Zegras stood second in the NHL for points among players on a new team this season with 19. Only ex-Toronto star Mitch Marner, now with Vegas, has more with 21.
Source: Berkshire mont