October 16, 2023
The Flyers' home opener is Tuesday night, but with the Phillies in the NLCS and pushing for the World Series across the street, it's clear that Philadelphia's attention is elsewhere.
And that's OK.
If the Flyers want it back in full – the packed arena, the ravenous crowds, and that distinct and fearsome feeling of 20,000 fans on top of you that hasn't been felt in so long – they know they have to earn it, and that doing that is going to take time.
"I've said that to you from Day 1," head coach John Tortorella said Monday. "That's our goal, is to be a competitive team in this city, in this league, and get it back to an atmosphere that the building's used to, that we're all used to."
But that's the endgame for what's only the start of a rebuild, so settle in.
Monday morning down at the Wells Fargo Center was a small step, but one good for building a bit more goodwill.
The Flyers held an open practice for fans, and all the while, Comcast Spectacor CEO and team governor Dan Hilferty and president of hockey ops Keith Jones moved throughout the sections shaking hands and making conversation.
Will that make the Flyers an overnight Cup contender? No, of course not. But those are small gestures that can go a long way in what's expected to be a long season – a sign that they're genuinely trying to get this right and are aware of where they're at and how far they have to go.
"This organization's really built on effort, so getting back to playing Flyers hockey, I think we have the team to do that," winger Joel Farabee said after practice. "I think the fans are gonna get behind that, and be the rock for us."
But the team has to earn it, and that's going to take time, so settle in.
"This organization is really built on effort."@FarabeeJoel discusses the identity of Flyers Hockey ahead of Tuesday's home-opener. #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/d8OnN1nh9g
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 16, 2023
The Flyers' home opener against the Canucks on Tuesday was moved up to a 6 p.m. puck-drop to make way for Game 2 of the NLCS over at Citizens Bank Park and the Mexico-Germany soccer match at Lincoln Financial Field – both at 8 p.m.
Plan accordingly if you're heading down.
Sean Couturier didn't participate in Monday's open practice, which, given his history of back issues, was a cause for concern.
Tortorella said he's banged up, per NBC Sports Philly's Jordan Hall, and that it isn't connected to his back.
John Tortorella said Sean Couturier is banged up, it’s not related to his back. Tortorella didn’t want to say anything else about his first-line center who missed over 21 months.
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 16, 2023
The Flyers' coach didn't go any further than that.
Couturier returned as the Flyers' top-line center after a nearly two-year long injury layoff and held up pretty well through the club's first two games of the season, skating at least 20 minutes in each, working on the penalty kill, and notching the assist on Farabee's goal last week in Columbus.
Defenseman Emil Andrae's "Welcome to the NHL" moment came quick in his debut Saturday against Ottawa.
Chasing after the puck in the corner, Ottawa's Ridly Greg knocked him straight down to the ice, which allowed former Flyer Zack MacEwen to pick it up and feed a pass directly out to Jakob Chychrun in front, who buried the shot past Carter Hart for an early 1-0 Sens lead.
It was a brutal play for Andrae in what went on to be a 5-2 defeat for the Flyers, but how the 21-year-old rookie responded in the shifts that followed was exactly what Tortorella wanted to see out of him.
"Made some mistakes, made some really good plays," Tortorella said. "I've said that right from the get-go when I watched him play. He gets banged around, gets right back up, makes a play, bangs himself. I liked his game. He made a lot of mistakes, turned the puck over quite a bit, but I liked how he answered, and that's what I'm looking for."
"He just needs to be aware," Tortorella added of that play specifically. "He got hit hard, and I don't think he was ready for it. I still think he's getting used to the size of the building. But I like a lot of things about him."
Andrae played 16:27 against Ottawa skating on the third defensive pairing with Nick Seeler and finished minus-1, which all things considered – given how Saturday's game went – isn't too bad.
But he only just got to the NHL and is learning how to survive within it. Mistakes are inevitable. It's just a matter of how he responds to them and progresses.
"With him, especially at that position, I just want him to continue to act the way he does when he makes a mistake," Tortorella said. "Our league in the NHL is filled with mistakes. It's the guys who are willing to get back up and go back and maybe make that same play and accomplish it, I don't want him to lose that.
"I'm not sure where it all goes. With some of the youth on our team, we have to make decisions along the way here – 'Is it too much right now? Do we need to send him [to the AHL]? Or can he handle some of the mistakes here and live through it and stay here?' - We'll be talking about that all year long with these guys."
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
