Five thoughts: Flyers' post-holiday rut continues in shootout loss to Blue Jackets

The Flyers came back from the annual and arduous Disney on Ice trip – because Disney on Ice here during the holidays is non-negotiable – on a 1-2-1 skid after heading into the holiday break on an impressive run with the whole hockey world starting to take notice. 

Finally coming back home to the Wells Fargo Center Thursday night, the post-holiday rut continued as the Flyers fell to the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in the shootout. 

They're still walking away with a point, but have they finally hit a wall after playing so well for so long over the past couple of months?

Here are five thoughts...

Forecheck foresight

The Flyers were on a roll approaching the holiday break with an offense that was thriving in transition and off the rush. However, John Tortorella was adamant that the team needed to start forechecking, because when they came back after – for when the "real" season began – grinding out and wearing opponents down becomes name of the game for the clubs serious about making a playoff push. 

They got a taste of it right before when Nashville checked them into the ground in a 4-2 loss, then buckled down and dug deep with similar tactics to climb out of a 5-1 hole against Detroit the next night, though that ultimately ended in a 7-6 shootout loss. 

Heading to the northwest after Christmas: The Flyers pounced on Vancouver's mistakes through the neutral zone to take a 4-1 result off turning the puck the other way quick, but it caught up to them against Seattle, Calgary, and then Edmonton when Connor McDavid went off for a five-point night. 

Credit where it's due: Against Calgary on New Year's Eve, the Flyers did attack harder in the offensive zone and got two goals late from cycling and just getting shots on, problem was, it was too late by that point. The Flames had enough to hold on. 

Against Columbus, the Flyers had their foot on the gas and looked mostly in control in the former half of the game, but in the latter, the Blue Jackets started tilting the ice downhill and made a real battle of it all the way into the shootout, which leaves Philly still with a list of things to tighten up away from the puck now that they're back home. 

Calgary's coming back around again on Saturday, a Pittsburgh team clawing to stay in it now is up on Monday, and Western Conference powerhouses like Winnipeg, Dallas, and Colorado loom on the near horizon. 

Before the break, when fans and media really started eyeing the standings and potential playoff positioning, Tortorella dismissed the idea of looking himself. It was too early. He knew from experience.

"We're in the end of December...You don't know what your team is until the end of January," he said. 

And the moment(s) of truth are coming. They're going to be fast, and they're going to hit hard. 

If these Flyers are for real, they'll have to buckle down and match that. 

"At this point, they're all pretty difficult," winger Travis Konecny, who scored both of the Flyers' goals Thursday night, said of the games to come the rest of the way. "This time of year is where a lot of guys, for us, are learning. It's tough. Every game's gonna be that way. 

"There's no gimmes, so it's a good point, we'll take that, learn from it, and play."

Press box reset

Noah Cates, who's nearing a return from a broken foot, might help in that regard. 

He wasn't having the greatest of stretches to start the year before going down in late November, but he's an ultra-aggressive checker who can stay on top of puck carriers. His return to the lineup – which looks like it'll be soon as he's been back skating with the team – could be exactly what the Flyers need for the back half as the aggression, and the stakes, continually ramp up. 

With that being said, Cates is a center, and his return will mean someone in the forward corps will have to come out. 

Immediately, this points to Morgan Frost, who's always seemed to be the first in line to sit whenever Tortorella has had to make a lineup decision with everyone healthy. 

Frost was scratched from the lineup again Thursday night, and so was veteran Cam Atkinson. Rhett Gardner went in on the fourth line, and the Flyers elected to run with 11 forwards and seven defensemen (Marc Staal was the extra blueliner). 

Frost has been a sort of an enigma all season. Since Cates went down, and he gained steady minutes in turn, Frost has flashed solid speed and playmaking ability, but nothing that regularly stood out – at least not in terms of pure production with only five goals and 11 points through 27 games. 

But, when he was on the ice, more often than not, the Flyers were driving the puck and good things were happening as his rating stood at plus-6. 

He has made some notable plays of late too, even with the Flyers on their skid out west.

Against Calgary on Sunday night, in particular, he picked a pass right in front of the crease from MacKenzie Weegar for a quick scoring chance in the second period, then hounded the puck carrier along the offensive zone half wall to knock the puck loose for Atkinson to carry straight to the net for an open shot. 

Neither opportunity ended in a goal, however, and perhaps it's the lack of finish of late for a more offensive-minded player that has yielded yet another trip to the press box. 

It's a bit of the same for Atkinson too, who hasn't scored since November 11 out in Los Angeles, but his issues haven't been for a lack of chances. It's just that whenever he has had a shot, he's been sending the puck straight into the goalie's pads. 

He's a winger though, and a key veteran presence, so he'll more than likely be back in the lineup quickly. 

Still, maybe he needed a view from up top to reset. 

All-Star Konecny

Konecny was named to the All-Star Game – his second trip – before puck drop and had the honor acknowledged during a stoppage late in the first period. 

Then he and his line with Joel Farabee and Sean Couturier took it down the ice and scored to make it 1-0, Flyers, before the intermission. 

Fitting, for sure. 

The goal was Konecny's 19th of the season and his 34th point through 38 games, which both lead the team. Then he tacked on another for a 2-0 lead in the third off a sharp drive and cut inside to the net. 

Going back to last season, with no more Claude Giroux and Tortorella in the very early workings of re-establishing the culture of the team, it might be a bit understated at times how much Konecny has truly stepped up. 

He's routinely been flying up and down ice from night to night, has taken the leap into a 30-goal scorer, and has been one of the main reasons why the Flyers shorthanded hasn't been the advantage other teams would think it to be – he has four of the Flyers' nine shorthanded goals this season. 

All of which is to say Konecny's earned this one. 

The Flyers' real game-changers aren't in the building yet, and won't be for a bit. 

But Konecny's more than proven he can be one of the stars to hold down the fort until then. 

And hopefully he holds up better in fastest skater this time if he gets the call for it again.

While we're still on the topic of acknowledgments, here's Tortorella reluctantly giving one to the crowd for his 1,500th game as an NHL coach:

Man of the people. 

"Shoooooooooooooot!"

Deep into the first period, Columbus gave the Flyers a gift of a 5-on-3 opportunity. 

Mathieu Olivier went to the box for interference on Garnet Hathaway, then no sooner did Justin Danforth take his trip to the sin bin as well for a faceoff violation and delay of game. 

So there it was, a 5-on-3 advantage against a bottom-five team – as golden of a chance as any to pile on some serious damage. 

The Flyers did not score. 

They cycled it around, somehow unable to get a solid enough look through Columbus' wedge setup, and fans got impatient. The infamous "shooooooooooot!" chants came back out. 

The Flyers did eventually settle up and started firing some shots off, but they either went into goaltender Daniil Tarasov's pads or sent trickling away from the net. 

This power play is still very much struggling. 

And look, if you're a Flyers fan who's been around for a while, then you definitely have feelings about the "shoot!" chants one way or another. Sometimes they're justified, other times – a lot of times – not at all. 

But when you're power play unit is at a league-worst 10.2 percent success rate entering Thursday night, yeah, maybe it's time to start firing away instead of making that one extra pass. 

Bonus thought: There's a guy who might really be able to help with that soon...

Ovechkin-like setup right in the circle there, but we'll get to more on Cutter Gauthier in the morning – UPDATE: Here is more on Cutter Gauthier.