VOORHEES, N.J. — There are still certain non-negotiables in order to be even a middle-of-the-pack NHL team. Strong goaltending, strength down the middle and an ability to play fast are all generally required.
One calendar year ago, the Flyers had all of those things, on their way to exceeding everyone’s expectations. Sure, they lacked elite skill. But Carter Hart was a true No. 1 in net and Sam Ersson blossomed into a very good 1B. Sean Couturier looked like his former Selke Trophy-winning self despite nearly two full years off. The defense group, thought to be the team’s biggest weakness going in, was actually one of its strengths, keyed in part by a healthy, mobile Sean Walker fueling the transition.
By the time the season ended, all of those elements were gone. Hart and Walker weren’t part of the team anymore, and Couturier had an awful second half. Choking away a playoff spot was the result.
Those problems are already bleeding into this season. It could mean that the 2024-25 Flyers more resemble what everyone figured they would be last season: a team still in the midst of a rebuild, years away from getting to where they want to be.
It starts in net. Ersson has been fine, and at the moment is probably the least of the Flyers’ concerns. But Ivan Fedotov, through five periods, looks more lost than Amelia Earhart, allowing 10 goals on 55 shots for an .818 save percentage and a 6.09 goals-against average. At least half of the shots he’s seen arguably should have been routine saves.
There may already be a book out on him, too. The Flames had success shooting high on Fedotov in their 6-3 win on Oct. 12 at the Saddledome, while the Kraken converted a couple of goals through traffic, and another on a bad rebound that began with a wrist shot through some bodies from the top of the circle.
Fedotov spoke on Monday after the Flyers’ off-day skate about doing a better job of tracking the puck. Part of it is seeing around opponents, but another part of it is getting more used to his teammates attempting to get in front of everything they can, too.
“A couple times was bad luck with traffic — our D guys playing really well in front; they try to block every shot, but sometimes it (gets through),” Fedotov said. “They try really hard, I appreciate everybody trying to give (themselves) on the ice. But, of course, yeah, I have to play better through traffic.”
Coach John Tortorella hasn’t said much about Fedotov, declining to offer any sort of review of his game after the loss to the Kraken, in which Fedotov was pulled after two periods. But it seems likely he’ll play two more games this week, with the home-and-home against the Capitals on Tuesday and Wednesday, and home games against the Wild and Canadiens on Saturday and Sunday.
Ersson will be in net for Tuesday’s home game with Washington. As for Wednesday for the rematch in the nation’s capital…
“We’ll have to see. Whether it’s (Fedotov), I don’t know,” Tortorella said. “I don’t what I’m going to do. I’m just worried about the first game.”
Couturier is another concern. It remains likely that one of the main reasons rookie Jett Luchanko is still on the roster is because the Flyers are concerned with their captain’s pace of play. He’s been continually demoted since opening night, starting in the top six on a line with Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny, before he was dropped to the third line for the next three games. On Saturday, he lined up as a fourth-line winger with Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway for the listless 3-0 loss to the Canucks in the home opener.
Ice time has fluctuated for Couturier. He skated for just 9:52 in Edmonton on Oct. 15, but played a season-high 15:58 on Saturday. That includes 14:19 at five-on-five, third highest among Flyers forwards.
For Monday’s practice, Couturier was again in the middle between Farabee and Bobby Brink. But Scott Laughton missed the skate, and his status is uncertain for Tuesday because his wife is expecting a child. It seems as though Tortorella prefers Couturier on the wing, which would be a dramatic difference in the lineup compared to this time a year ago, when Couturier was still effective at shutting down top opponents.
“Sean, just like everybody else, has been up and down,” said the coach. “I actually thought his best minutes, more involved, was playing on the wing.”
Couturier touched on his usage so far this season.
“I’m being used more as a third-, fourth-line centerman, except for last game on the wing,” he said. “It’s on me to force things and kind of prove (to) the coaching staff that I deserve to play more.”
And physically?
“Feel great,” he said “Recovered really well from that (offseason core) surgery. I feel my legs are back like they were a couple years ago. I know we’re a fast-paced team and that’s on me to push myself to adapt to that style of play.”
The key phrase there is fast-paced. That’s something the Flyers did so well at through the first half last season, but they haven’t found quite that same gear yet this season.
There is at least some help on the way, beginning on Tuesday. Nick Seeler is expected to be to the lineup to make his season debut alongside Jamie Drysdale. That should help both Drysdale, who will have to play an important role to help fill what they had last season with Walker, but also the defense group as a whole.
Seeler, according to Tortorella, is “good at (transition). He bangs it around sometimes, but it gets up the ice quickly. Everything is done quick with him. … After five games, we still have a lot of things to work on, but that’s a part of the game we have to get better at. He’ll certainly help us.”
Something else that should help is that they should be more rested. The Flyers starting the season with four games in six days out west, and then playing their home opener one day after flying home from Seattle, made for difficult circumstances.
How much that affected them in their ugly loss on Saturday is impossible to determine, but Tortorella admitted on Monday that the schedule made it a “tough game for us.”
After leaving the ice Saturday, with their heads hung amid a chorus of boos from the sellout crowd, and as one of just three NHL teams still looking for their first win in regulation or overtime, the Flyers should be energized against a division rival that’s off to a strong start. They’re already in a slight hole, and won’t want to dig any deeper.
“Five games in, I’m sure a lot of coaches and teams are trying to struggle to find their identity, too,” Tortorella said. “We just don’t have a lot of time. We need to get at it right away, and get back to where our standard is.”
Whether they have the tools to do that is to be determined.
(Photo of Morgan Frost: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
