PHILADELPHIA — Considering the Flyers have finished 30th or worse on the power play each of the last four seasons, one would think a coach would be happy if his team stood 15th a quarter of the way through the season.
That coach isn’t Rick Tocchet.
While he and his staff have done a remarkable job with this aspect of the game, the coach thinks there’s still room for improvement. In recent years, the Flyers have struggled at times to even hit the 12 percent mark. They entered Saturday at 18.9 percent.
The coaches have brought several new players into the picture and a more aggressive approach. Tocchet wants his team to get after it as soon as the puck drops with the man advantage.
“Most PKs are pressure,” Tocchet said after Saturday morning’s skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena. “You need to make plays under pressure. Are we there yet? Getting better. But we’re not there yet.”
The coach wants his power play to be aggressive right from the faceoff that starts the power play.
“We have to know when to attack,” Tocchet said. “These are the things when the power play doesn’t go well, you are not dealing with pressure properly or you’re not working hard enough. We’re close but we have to keep working on it.”
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Rookie wing Nikita Grebenkin has played in a dozen games this season. While showing some potential, he hasn’t had an impact on games.
Part of that is because he plays a lot on the fourth line. If you include the most utilized configuration of Rodrigo Abols, Garnet Harthaway and Nic Deslauriers, that line hadn’t produced a single point until Abols scored against St. Louis Thursday night.
Tocchet still believes in Grebenkin, a 22-year-old Russian who came over in last year’s Scott Laughton trade with Toronto. One gets the impression the Flyers want to give him more chances.
“We have to work on him,” Tocchet said. “There’s a process to it. It’s tough right now because at that position we’re looking for a fourth line identity. He’s kind of stuck in the middle there. He’s a 22-year-old kid but eventually we have to make decisions, he has to play. Trust me, we’re talking about it all the time. Danny (Briere, GM) and I are talking about it all the time, how to handle it, if he’s not going to play much. So we’ll figure it out as it goes.”
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With the Flyers’ schedule beginning to fill up with games, practice time becomes a precious commodity.The Flyers start four games in six days on Monday in Tampa. They can get a practice day in on Tuesday, but there’s a game on Wednesday in Florida, the Thanksgiving holiday, then a back-to-back at the Islanders and Devils.
“That’s why coaches have to be real cognizant of rest,” Tocchet said. “But also when can you teach your system. Talking to some coaches, morning skates now – when you don’t practice – almost instead of getting loose you’re doing your system stuff at the morning skate. Never did that before. Coaches are using that time for ‘D-zone’ coverage. Coaches never did that before. You have to because there’s not a lot of practice time.”
Tocchet pointed out that the schedule is only going to get more demanding.
“You can win games with your ‘B’ game but only if you play smart,” he said. “If you play team hockey. Short shifts. That’s where game management comes into play when you’re tired. That’s something that we’re working on every day.”
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One night after holding a “Bernie Parent: Celebration of Life” ceremony at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Flyers dedicated Saturday night’s game to their late goalie with a “Bernie Parent Tribute Game.”
Friday night’s event drew several thousand diehard fans who listened to former players from across several generations, including Hall of Famer Bob Clarke, Briere and Tocchet along with team CEO Dan Hilferty.
Source: Berkshire mont
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