PHILADELPHIA — Early in his second season as their coach, John Tortorella wants the Flyers to know one thing: They are free to create.
“We definitely need to find a way to score more goals,” he said. “We have talked about trying to make plays and not being afraid to make more plays. It’s just a building block of trying to be a more competitive team.”
So, he will let his Flyers have at it, creating picturesque goals and not just the grind-it-through kind, with passing, unselfishness and a sense of style. That is, to do what they did Thursday in a thorough, 4-1 victory over the visiting Edmonton Oilers.
Cam Atkinson scored two goals, Joel Farabee and Sean Walker added a goal apiece and Sean Couturier was remarkable defensively, denying Connor McDavid a shot and Leon Draisaitl to two. Carter Hart made 17 saves for the win.
Since the Oilers won 50 games last season, the victory was of the early-season signature variety for the 3-1 Flyers.
“I wasn’t in the locker room last year,” said Couturier, whose defense and assist led to Walker’s shorthanded goal. “But this year, we are not panicking when we give up a big goal. We’re just coming back and rolling four lines and everybody is contributing in their own way.
“Maybe it’s more maturity and guys learning. But you see more control in games.”
The Flyers scored struck first when Farabee scored in picturesque fashion on a give-and-go from Bobby Brink at 15:50 of the first.
That suggested that Rasmus Ristolainen, who was scratched Thursday with an illness, may have been onto something when he playfully likened the Flyers’ early-season puck movement to the basketball stylings of the Harlem Globetrotters.
“Oh, be careful,” Tortorella said the other day, almost in the fun spirit of the discussion. “I’m not sure what Risto was watching, but we made some plays. The thing I like about it is we kept on attempting to make plays even when some didn’t work out. We keep on going back, and it’s a huge part of what we’re trying to do.
“We’re trying to be more creative without losing the grind of the game.”
Brink might have been able to score himself, but he chose to be unselfish.
“Either play is a good play,” he said. “I had a little a break there but I kind of just saw a little hole in the defender and (Farabee) was wide open backdoor. It’s kind of a pass you have to make.”
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The Flyers’ accumulation of a small group of experienced if uninspiring veterans in the offseason was for more than just filling out the roster. It was, in part, so they wouldn’t finish 25th in the NHL on the penalty kill for another season.
“There’s a little more experience at it than the guys from last year,” Tortorella said. “You bring in a (Ryan) Poehling and a (Garnet) Hathaway. They have done it. Coots (Sean Couturier) has done it. Cam (Atkinson) has done it. So you have a little bit more experience.”
So far … so slightly better, as the Flyers entered the game ranked 23rd in snuffing power plays. Edmonton went 1-for-3 Thursday.
“It’s basically the same philosophy as last year,” Tortorella said. “But we’re trying to be more aggressive and on our toes. Two of the first three games, I think we did a pretty good job of it. The Ottawa power play picked us apart. That was a big reason we lost that game.”
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Morgan Frost was back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch in the home opener against Vancouver.
“I’m not going to debate it publicly,” Tortorella said. “Frosty just needs to play better. I’ll give you this: I don’t think Frosty has played poorly. Other people have just played better. And that’s a good thing.”
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Accepting their challenge to rebuild without tanking, the Flyers added Mark Staal to their defense … and to their mission. Even if the 36-year-old needed to leave the game in the second period with an upper body injury, his presence will continue to furnish value.
“The locker room has to self-sustain,” Tortorella said. “As coaches, we foul things up most of the time when we over-coach. We use a different language. But when you have young guys asking the veterans questions and then leaning on them, that’s healthy for a locker room. That’s a big reason Staal is here. If someone asks him a question, he will give the proper answer because he has been through it all. That’s important in the room.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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