VOORHEES, N.J. – The clock read 1:23 p.m., about an hour after Flyers practice had ended on Monday, yet Bobby Brink and Trevor Zegras were still working on their games at the Flyers Training Center.
It was that kind of day for the entire team in getting back to business after Saturday night’s 5-1 loss at Dallas.
There was plenty to work on, the most prominent being coach Rick Tocchet’s plea for his players not to constantly “back up” but rather be proactive.
The troubles may have started Friday night when the Flyers fell behind stumbling St. Louis twice by two goals before salvaging a 6-5 shootout win.
With three straight days of practice before Thursday night’s home rematch with the Blues, Tocchet sees a chance to right some wrongs as the team reaches the 20-game mark, one-fourth of the season.
There were a lot of basic drills, two-on-twos and passing repeats. Things got a little testy, with pushing and shoving in several scrums.
But most of all, Tocchet wants his team moving forward. If players have to practice that, so be it.
“I just think there’s been a bit of a trend of backing in,” Tocchet said. “Too much containment.”
At Dallas, the Flyers were finishing up a back-to-back, but Tocchet didn’t accept that as an excuse.
“I guess the schedule contributed a little,” Tocchet said. “It’s November. If it was March, maybe. But for me it’s backing in. We just needed a good practice of getting in on people. Working on our forecheck. Not just one guy but five guys participating in all aspects of the game, whether it’s defending or forechecking.”
Players took his directive to heart, zipping around with rather mean intention.
“I think we needed a good pushing and shoving practice,” Tocchet said.
Stirring up the competitive instincts can be a good thing, especially the way the Flyers have gotten off to so many slow starts. Tocchet just didn’t want to see things get out of hand.
“You don’t want to fight your teammates,” Tocchet said. “Play hard (in practice). If I play soft with a guy in a one-on-one, what is that doing for him? I’m not helping him. You can play hard, but not kill a guy. Playing a guy hard is only going to get you better, but the other guy better. I’ve always believed in that.”
Travis Konecny sounded like he didn’t mind the practice’s intensity one bit. He plays with a bit of a chip on his shoulder anyway, so it was right up his alley.
“I love ‘em,” Konecny said of the session drills. “They were getting a little competitive, chippy. I think we needed it. Get in that competitive mindset. Everyone’s bringing the intensity. Guys are leading the right way, competing.”
Slow starts aside, the Flyers have tried to be proactive, rather than just absorbing rushes and trying to block a bunch of shots.
“The competing is there,” Konecny said. “The wall battles, all that stuff, we’ve been pretty good at it this year. So I think we’re in a good spot after the games we’ve played.“Today was more of a reset.”
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While no teams count on their fourth lines for offense, the Flyers’ unit has contributed virtually nothing on the scoresheet this season. That includes regulars Garnet Hathaway, Nic Deslauriers, Nikita Grebenkin and Rodrigo Abols.
“It’s been a bit of a mixed bag,” Tocchet said. “There are some good pockets. Would I like to see some identity, guys holding onto pucks? When we played Edmonton, I had those guys play against (star player Leon) Draisaitl about three shifts. I thought they did a hell of a job. But can they do that consistently?”
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Porter Martone, the Flyers’ first-round pick (No. 6 overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft, has been tearing it up for Michigan State. His performance has validated what a lot of Flyer players already knew.
Travis Sanheim and Konecny went to bat for Martone just before the draft. They let GM Danny Briere know they were in favor of the Flyers getting their hands on him.
“Oh yeah, I was all in,” Konecny said with a grin. “They asked about him and I said that as far as I know, which is very limited, that’s a guy you can work with, a guy who’s going to compete, to learn, become a pro, play the right way.
“You don’t always get that information before the draft. On top of that, I think he can develop into a really special player.”
The 6-3 forward has seven goals and seven assist in his first 10 college games.
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The Flyers acquired restricted free-agent defenseman Maxence Guenette from the Ottawa Senators Monday in exchange for defenseman Dennis Gilbert, according to general manager Daniel Briere.
Guenette and the Flyers agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract.
The 24-year old was selected by the Senators in the seventh round (187th overall) of the 2019 draft. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound defenseman, he spent the 2024-25 season with the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League as an alternate captain, collecting nine goals and 23 points in 58 games. He led Belleville in plus-minus (plus-13).
Guenette has spent the majority of the last four seasons with Belleville, setting AHL career-highs in games played (72), assists (35) and points (40) in 2022-23. He’s registered 27 goals and 116 points in 236 career AHL games.
He made his NHL debut with Ottawa on April 13, 2023 and has skated in eight NHL games.
As part of the transaction, Gilbert will join Ottawa. The defenseman was selected by Chicago in the third round (91st overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft.
Gilbert has registered 15 goals and 58 points in 194 games over parts of six AHL seasons with Lehigh Valley, Calgary, Colorado, and Rockford. He’s played in 111 NHL games with Ottawa, Buffalo, Calgary, Colorado, and Chicago.
Source: Berkshire mont