The Philadelphia Flyers lost a huge game for the Metropolitan Division playoff race to the Washington Capitals 5-2 after starting off hot with a 2-0 lead after the first period. Losing the lead and giving two points to a division rival, the Orange and Black are losing their royalty in the playoff race — the Capitals are within striking distance for a playoff spot now being four points behind them and having two games in hand. What were some takeaways from this one?
Tortorella Back to His Old Antics
After scoring the opening goal of this game, all was looking good for Bobby Brink. He was called up from the American Hockey League (AHL) before the Flyers’ game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 27, and he scored there, too. He was a great player for the Flyers all season long until around the middle of January when head coach John Tortorella stapled him to the fourth line and scratched him frequently when his play slipped. But he wasn’t finished making an example out of him.
Tortorella found a new bone to pick with Brink after a goal against. To his credit, it was a bad one. Brink was lazy in the defensive zone and missed his man. He should have been there. It can’t happen, especially for a team with aspirations of postseason hockey.
But with that being said, he’s not the only one that was lazy on that play. It was everyone on that shift. And there have been many Flyers guilty of bad shifts throughout the season. But, in classic Tortorella fashion, he went ballistic on Brink when he got back to the bench. Brink and fellow forward Olle Lycksell sat for the entire third period, one in which the Flyers were outscored 2-0.
There is a world where Brink and Lycksell should be benched, but that world is where Tortorella holds all his players to that standard. He just doesn’t. The Flyers have numerous players who make boneheaded mistakes, but he only holds a select few of them accountable. It was Morgan Frost early in the season, but Tortorella pivoted from him. It was Joel Farabee later, but he pivoted from there, too. Brink was that for a while, too. Perhaps he and Lycksell will be the next two to suffer this fate.
If benching Brink and Lycksell was done to make an example, it’s definitely an understandable one. Both of them were recent call-ups from the AHL, and they had a bad play. But Tortorella pretty much sacrificed the game when he did that — his team had a sharp decline in expected goals the very second he was benched. The game was lost when that decision was made, as Brink was playing good hockey with Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost. Ironically, those were the team’s three best-graded players of the game. Lycksell’s impact wasn’t felt too much as he is a frequent fourth-line player, but having just 10 forwards for the rest of the game didn’t help.
Tortorella hadn’t done anything dramatic in a while but did so in this game. He has every right to bench one of his best-performing players if he feels that’s necessary, but that has to be backed up. It wasn’t. The offense was anemic with 10 forwards, and the defense was no better.
Flyers Still Not in a Position to Be Picky
Under a week away from the Mar. 8 trade deadline, the rumors that the Flyers were trying to extend both defensemen Nick Seeler and Sean Walker sprang up again. This was despite the team maintaining that it was rebuilding. That’s a bit contradictory.
General manager (GM) Daniel Briere did some doubling down on this rationale, saying that he was willing to keep both of them if teams do not meet their asking price. He’s said this for a while, so this is nothing new. Whether or not he is serious or just trying to create leverage for his players is yet to be determined.
In an unfortunate twist, the two defenders had arguably their worst game of the entire season. It was pretty ugly and not something you want to see out of two defensemen whose camps are asking for over $3 million and $5 million each season on their next deals. If Seeler and Walker want to make that much, they will have to play to that level. They didn’t in one of the most important games of the season. This game is one they’ll want to move past.
This contest should have served as a reminder that Briere cannot be picky when selling off his veterans. The Flyers are a playoff team and can get away with keeping their players, but doing so because the return is a little less than he wants will not help the future. If he has to settle, he’ll have to settle. He might have to make a move he does not want to, but his leverage is actually not as great as it’s being made out to be.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers Should Not Extend Sean Walker
The Flyers are still a rebuilder, even though their 31-23-7 record might suggest otherwise. They are not in a position to boss around contenders and demand they give up something they are not going to. If Briere doesn’t get the return he wants, that’s just the way it will have to be. Seeler and Walker just haven’t proven that they’re worth the money they’re asking for.
This was a disastrous game for the Flyers, but they’ll have to get back on the ice on Mar. 2 against the Ottawa Senators to get back in a good spot in the playoff race. Despite having a 25-30-3 record this season, the Senators will be going for the season sweep against the Orange and Black. That game is no guarantee, and the Flyers will need it.