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The Flyers came out onto the ice in Voorhees, NJ today ready to go for their last scrimmage. The players and coaching staff seemed determined, and ready to go. The last of the scrimmages ensued today, and it was a thing of beauty. Not only did Alain Vigneault and his coaching staff keep the players focused for the scrimmage, but the Flyers also worked on special teams, as well, as Vigneault indicated would transpire following yesterday’s practice, “Part of our scrimmage tomorrow is to sort out some of the decisions that we have to make and also today was our first specialty teams day,” Vigneault said following yesterday’s practice, “Tomorrow in the scrimmage there will probably be about two-thirds 5-on-5 and one-third of specialty teams. We do have some decisions. All the final decisions will be made on the 25th. That gives us the time we need to make the proper evaluations. Chuck and I have been talking on a daily basis about how we see this moving forward. Ninety percent of the decisions are close to being made but there’s still some good battle there. There’s still some great internal competition within our group right now for whether it be top line positioning, power play positioning, PK positioning. The great battles on the fence for spots and roles. I’ve really enjoyed the way our guys have come in. I like the decisions we’re going to have to make. Most of those final decisions as far as how we’re going to look come that first playoff game will be made obviously in the round robin and the exhibition game we have against Pittsburgh.”
The object is to learn the system (For systematic purposes), forechecking, and being in the right spots on the ice. In addition, it’s a chance to get some of the rookies one last chance to showcase against themselves pros to see what they got, mainly gaining valuable experience just in case. Vigneault is purposely doing this to see who’s ready, and who needs more time in the classroom. With the great news of Oskar Lindblom possibly traveling with the team to Toronto to practice, and possibly play. Well, that means there is one more roster cut to make, as NHL teams are only permitted to take 31 players to the hub city.
So far in camp the defense (According to Yeo last Friday) has played good hockey, and Joel Farabee has played very well as well, “I think what AV is saying is that we are going to use this time as much as we can to evaluate everyone and to make those decisions,” Yeo said, “He’s obviously a very strong candidate to be there and that’s why he started there on Day 1. All along, the plan was to make sure we don’t get stuck with trying the one thing and not giving other guys the opportunity. All along the plan has been to give someone like himself a couple days, a couple sessions up there.”
Absences
Sean Couturier, he and his wife had a baby yesterday. It was a baby girl, accroding to Vigneault. Also, Carter Hart missed practice again (See Later). Kirill Ustimenko, and Connor Bunnaman did return to action.
The Special Teams was an area of focus today, as Vigneault indicated it would yesterday. Here were the Power Play lines and Penalty Killing lines for today’s scrimmage:
The Penalty Killing Unit killed off a 10 minute Power Play in the first period, and this is great news. Mike Yeo has done a great job with early success for the Flyers with the Penalty Killing Unit. Yeo has transformed the PK into a legit PK in just one full season at the helm with the orange and black, making it the 11th best PK in the league before the Coronavirus halted the season, with a 81.8% success rate. Unfortunately, the PP takes more time to click, it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s just the nature of the business. However, it is good to see the Penalty Killing Unit doing a good job thus far in camp.
Fortunately, the PP clicked in the second period by tallying two goals on a 10 minute PP. This is great news, and things looked like a bit of doom and gloom after the first period in this department. Kevin Hayes did head into the locker room after a collision at Center ice in the second period, so maybe this fueled the PP Unit. Thank God Hayes returned:
During the scrimmage I expected Travis Konecny to have a big day regardless of who he played with, and that’s exactly what transpired. Konecny has excelled throughout his entire career in 5-on-5 scrimmages, and he has put forth a quiet good camp.
What more can you say about Kevin Hayes, he pushed the play today, was in the right spots, and it appears he has taken his class time off the ice seriously. Hayes is just too darn talented, and finishes the scrimmages with 5 goals in three scrimmages. Hayes is a Veteran and is leading by example, and the crazy thing is both goals came after he collided with a player at mid ice in the second period.
The Moose is Loose
Brian Elliott killed it today, and he seems ready to go. Kudos to him for stepping in as he usually does in a time of need. Elliott seems to take his game to another level when his number is called. He has put forth a wonderful camp, and this is great news for the Flyers.
Morgan Frost usually stands out in 5-on-5 scrimmages, and I’m happy to report he had a good scrimmage today. He plays well defensively, and Frost pushed the play today. Frost had some prime scoring chances, but Elliott was just really good today and made the tough saves look easy.
Hart Alert
Good news Flyers fans Carter Hart was working out on the ice following the scrimmage, even taking some shots.
What a scrimmage it was folks. What a day it was for TK and Hayes. The Flyers are destined for success, and these intense conditioning practices will only help them in the end for an extended playoff run.
Travis Konecny Presser:
TK on Oskar:
“First of all, it was awesome for Oskar to get that deal and well deserved for him. Its’ nice to know we’re going to have him around again, have him around the team. We’re not looking too far forward at the possibilities and stuff. I know Oskar and he’s going to do whatever he can to be healthy as soon as possible.”
Konecny on Special Teams, “Just a matter of getting back to being comfortable and getting used to each other and where we’re going to be on the ice. Just going to keep working at it every day. The PK, they’re doing well right now. It’s easy to get frustrated when the power play’s not going well, but if you look at it from the other side of the coin that means our PK right now is right where it should be and improving. So it’s good to see.”
Alain Vigneault Presser:
“I texted Sean last night to find out if he was a dad yet and he texted me back saying no. He was hoping at some point before midnight that it would happen. He texted me this morning around eight to tell me that he wasn’t going to be at practice because the young girl is being a little stubborn. She’s taking her time. His wife is battling. Hopefully at some point here in the next little while we’ll find out that he’s a dad, but he’s not there yet.”
AV on Carter Hart, “There’s no doubt. The reason we didn’t put him in practice basically today is because it was a scrimmage and he hadn’t skated for the last two days. We felt that it was smart. In talking with Kim and Jim, we felt it was smarter to put him out on his own. Let him take a good number of shots and see how he feels. He came out and feels good. Everything should be good to go tomorrow.”
Dave Scott Presser:
“I think you know our history and our culture. It really started with Ed Snider, but we come in and we invest. We really go for it every year. We made some big changes couple years ago, which needed to be made. I like the team we have together now, the front office and the coaching staff. Expectations are high. I think we’ll continue to forge ahead. We’re still early in this thing and I think we’ll know a lot more as we get into the next couple weeks and going into the playoffs. I’m optimistic. I think we’ve worked hard and we have as good a chance as anybody up there.”
Scott on Oskar, “He’s just such a wonderful young man, quality guy. I did get to spend a little bit of time with him through this. I actually had him and his family in my suite a couple times, with just us so I got to know him better. Can’t say enough about him. He’s such a fighter. He’s so passionate. We all love him. The Flyers organization, the players. He loves us. We’re thrilled that we were able to come to terms on next steps with him. I know he’s going to have a great future with us.”
