Category: Sports

BOSTON ― Last week’s seemingly galvanizing trip west, which resulted in the Flyers grabbing five of a possible six points against some of the NHL’s best, looks to have been just another false dawn, as the sinking Orange and Black dropped their third straight game at TD Garden on Thursday.

Here are three takeaways from the Flyers’ 6-3 loss to the Bruins, which marked the team’s 10th defeat in the last 12 games.

‘It’s frustrating’

Travis Konecny leads the Flyers in goals (21), assists (29), and points (50), and is second behind Noah Cates (plus-15) among the team’s forwards with a plus-eight rating. The veteran sniper fired a hat trick in Columbus on Wednesday and followed it up with a goal and an assist in Boston a night later.

But while Konecny has played like an All-Star and led from the front of late, the alternate captain’s raw emotion after Thursday’s game made it clear that he’s only concerned with stacking wins.

“Yeah, it’s frustrating because I’ve been through this so many times. I’m tired of missing the playoffs,” said Konecny, who has seen recent Flyers seasons slip away at this time of the year. “That is kind of all I look at right now, just want to get points for the team, and we need to figure something out.”

The answer was a painfully honest one from a player who has endured a lot of losing in recent seasons and is desperate to return to the playoffs after a five-year hiatus. Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet has talked about wanting guys who care and aren’t going to “accept” losing, and Konecny, who has matured and grown immensely as a leader in recent seasons, is clearly one of those guys who wants to be part of turning things around.

“Some guys spoke after the game, I think everyone knows where we’re at,” said Konecny. “We just got to execute. And like I said, there’s mistakes all over the ice, but you ask any of the leaders, it starts with us. Their second goal, I made a mistake there, and [we] can’t be doing that game after game. I think we all need to look in the mirror.”

There has been much social media debate about the 28-year-old Konecny, who has played 22 career playoff games but none since the 2020 COVID-19 bubble, but the Flyers could use more guys like him, and it’s concerning to think where this team might be without him.

Sam’s struggles

Sam Ersson’s struggles are well-documented, as the Swede’s .856 save percentage is the lowest among the 56 NHL goalies who have played at least 15 games this season. The analytics are no better, as according to Money Puck, Ersson’s minus-18.1 goals saved above expected is the third-worst mark in the NHL and 25 goals worse than his partner, Dan Vladař.

But Thursday provided a perfect snapshot of the enigma Ersson has been, as his performance showcased why fans have grown so frustrated with the backup netminder, but also featured some flashes of why the Flyers have stood by Ersson for so long despite his struggles.

Ersson started the game brilliantly, shutting down Marat Khusnutdinov from in close just 14 seconds in, followed by a couple of 10-bell saves on Sean Kuraly from point-blank range that showcased the netminder’s athleticism. Ersson, who was always going to need to have a big game given the Flyers’ tired legs on a road back-to-back, was keeping the Flyers in it.

But then the Mr. Hyde side of Ersson reared its ugly head as it has so often over the past two seasons. Ersson was in good position to stop Viktor Arvidsson’s one-timer from 25 feet out, but the shot from the right faceoff circle, which Arvidsson didn’t get all of, snuck through the goalie’s five-hole for Boston’s opener.

The script soon repeated itself, as after Ersson made a few big saves to close the first period, he allowed another soft goal early in the second period. Fraser Minten was the beneficiary this time, as just like on Arvidsson’s tally, his shot beat Ersson five-hole on the ice. The goal served as a backbreaker as the Flyers had begun the second period strongly and were close to halving the deficit.

Ersson’s talent was on display minutes later, as down 3-1, he made a miraculous, toe save on Andrew Peeke, albeit right before Casey Mittelstadt flipped home the rebound.

“I don’t know, it’s not just [Ersson], just some of the goals, weakside stuff that we are giving up, that’s a tough one for any goalie when you give weakside goals up,” said Tocchet.

Ersson, who did not speak with the media post-game after leaving the contest after two periods with a lower-body injury, allowed five goals on 20 shots and was culpable for two tough goals against.

While Ersson has shown flashes and stretches of being an NHL goalie, he has been far too sporadic and unreliable the past two seasons for a Flyers team that needs a steady backup. A restricted free agent at season’s end, his days in Philly look to be numbered.

Grebenkin’s growth

If there was a silver lining from Thursday’s loss, it was the effort of winger Nikita Grebenkin.

The 22-year-old, who has been in and out of Tocchet’s good graces over the course of the season, had one of his best games since being acquired by the Flyers last March in the Scott Laughton trade.

Elevated to the top line for the game alongside Konecny and Christian Dvorak, Grebenkin, who Rasmus Ristolainen said “brings energy every day,” seemed to be directly involved in most of the Flyers’ best moments offensively.

With 12 minutes gone in the first period, Grebenkin pounced on a puck in the neutral zone with speed and carried into the Boston zone. As Tocchet has so often pleaded with the Russian to do, Grebenkin used his 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame to strongly shield the puck from Jonathan Aspirot before shifting it quickly from his backhand to forehand to try and jam one by Jeremy Swayman.

Swayman stopped the initial shot, but a crashing Dvorak slammed home the rebound. While the goal was ultimately disallowed as Grebenkin was ruled to have interfered with the goaltender, it was the kind of power forward-type play teammates enjoy seeing from the youngster.

“I just love how hard he works,” Konecny said of Grebenkin. “He’s trying to learn the details of how to play the right way and he’s a great guy, too, so I love working with him. ”He’s got a lot of skill, too. So I think the more opportunity he gets, he’ll just keep running with it.”

Grebenkin was also involved in the Flyers’ first goal that stood, as directly after he fired a shot on goal, he delivered a big hit on Mark Kastelic that knocked the Bruins’ tough guy off his skates and prevented him from retrieving the puck. Seconds later, Dvorak deflected a clearing attempt from Kuraly into the slot for a wide-open Konecny to score.

Grebenkin would be rewarded for his efforts with a goal at the end of the second period, as he was first on the scene to bury a rebound after Konecny’s breakaway and follow-up attempt were both stopped by Swayman. In 13 minutes, 43 seconds of ice time, Grebenkin registered a goal, five shots, and one hit, while leading the team with four scoring chances at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

It remains to be seen if Grebenkin retains his spot on the top line come Saturday, but his encouraging performance in Boston suggests he’s earned more ice time and deserves a longer look there.