As has been the case so often lately, Joel Farabee had the puck on his stick with only the opposing goaltender between him and the back of the net.
But Jeremy Swayman stopped Farabee’s breakaway attempt with three minutes to go in overtime Saturday afternoon at TD Garden. The Boston Bruins went the other way, and less than a minute later Pavel Zacha’s marker on a feed from David Pastrnak secured Boston a 4-3 win in which it erased a 3-1 third-period deficit.
It’s been a frustrating few days for Farabee, now 12 games without a goal and with only two assists over that span.
Joel Farabee had the game on his stick and couldn’t finish. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/wlqdmjxFFu
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) December 7, 2024
Thursday, Farabee cross-checked the Florida Panthers’ Sam Bennett half a second after Bennett ran Travis Sanheim into the wall in a home game, ultimately leaving them short-handed. It was retaliatory, of course — and sticking up for teammates is part of the Philadelphia Flyers’ DNA — but it came at an inopportune time, with the teams tied 5-5 and less than three minutes to go in regulation. Sam Reinhart’s goal on the ensuing power play probably cost the Flyers at least 1 point, and maybe 2, in their eventual 7-5 defeat.
Farabee acknowledged Friday it was “a really dumb penalty by me. I’ll be the first to admit that. But at the same time, I think Bennett throws a vicious elbow at (Travis Konecny) earlier in the game, and then he cross-checks Sanny from behind. I get slashed right before that. I don’t want to get into what the refs do and don’t do, but I think if you have some feel, that gets evened out and you keep playing.”
Coach John Tortorella said Friday the Bennett hit on Sanheim was more of “a shove,” and Farabee should have showed “a little bit more patience” in that type of situation.
At the same time, Farabee’s reaction was “a very important part of who we are,” Tortorella said. In other words, Farabee’s going after Bennett was only a function of what the coach and others in positions of authority have been preaching in terms of building a culture.
Farabee is one of the more intriguing players on the Flyers’ roster for a few reasons. Firstly, his drought hasn’t landed him in Tortorella’s doghouse or in the press box as a healthy scratch. In fact, Saturday’s game was the sixth straight he started on the Flyers’ top line with Konecny and Sean Couturier.
And, again, he’s getting plenty of chances to score. Since Farabee’s scoring woes began Nov. 11, he actually leads the Flyers in shots (30), and individual scoring chances at five-on-five (also 30), according to Natural Stat Trick. That includes 17 high-danger chances, tops on the team over that span.
He set up some teammates for prime chances Saturday, too. He found Sanheim for a dangerous shot from the slot in the second period and spotted Couturier stationed in front of the net in the third. Swayman made impressive stops on both.
“Joel’s played very well this year. He just can’t score,” Tortorella said Friday. “He’s ending up with chances, he’s made some really good plays.”
And even though Thursday’s decision to hammer Bennett backfired, it was still evidence Farabee hasn’t let his scoring woes detract from his team-first attitude. He also has a fight this season, coming in the third game against a similar player to Bennett, the Edmonton Oilers’ Corey Perry, who no doubt did something to irk the Flyers at some point that night.
Farabee is still just 24 years old, too, and considering his NHL experience, some younger players on a decidedly young team look up to him.
“He’s just been a good guy, a guy that pretty much everyone in the locker room is comfortable with,” Bobby Brink said. “He’s always kind of there for guys and he’s always around the boys. I think guys appreciate that. He’s been around for a while and is still a young guy, so definitely a guy that knows the ropes and you can kind of follow.”
That the Flyers value that kind of off-ice influence has been reinforced many times, most glaringly by their decision to retain alternate captain Scott Laughton at last season’s trade deadline.
Does that mean Farabee, signed for three more seasons at a $5 million salary-cap hit, is firmly a part of the future?
That’s still hazy. Remember, Farabee didn’t finish last season on a high note, either. He started six of the final seven games on the fourth line and posted just one goal and one assist in his final 14 games. Farabee led the Flyers in even-strength points Jan. 25 with 34 in 49 games — one more than Konecny. But after Feb. 8, he managed just five goals and 9 total points in his final 31 games.
After the season, general manager Daniel Briere lumped Farabee and Noah Cates together in labeling them as players who “maybe didn’t develop quite as much as I would have hoped for. … I think there’s more there.”
Whether Farabee’s abundance of checks not cashed lately counts as “more” is something only Briere can decide.
Something else that keeps Farabee in the spotlight is that he’s a player who could generate some interest in the trade market. One pro scout reached for comment via text figured “multiple teams would take a shot at him,” but was skeptical the return would be all that high if it were for Farabee alone.
As part of a package, though, perhaps for a much-needed center … maybe.
There does seem to be some smoke around the Flyers lately, too, after a few puzzling roster developments. Samuel Ersson, who has been practicing for the team for a week and was declared an option to start Thursday by Tortorella, was still on injured reserve for Saturday’s game. Tortorella said Friday he misspoke.
Further, the Flyers somewhat strangely don’t have any healthy spare forwards on the roster. Nic Deslauriers, who hasn’t played since Nov. 9 but has been practicing with the team, was suddenly declared to have an upper-body injury Friday and placed on injured reserve retroactive to that date. No one was recalled. Jamie Drysdale, also still on injured reserve, has been skating with the team for some time now, too.
Maybe there’s nothing to it. Or, maybe Briere is doing some sort of roster gymnastics because something is coming.
In the meantime, Farabee is just one of several Flyers forwards who will have to start getting on the scoresheet on a much more regular basis, chances or not, to remain with the club during its wilderness years.
“He leads by example. I think he’s had a good year,” Tortorella said. “His numbers don’t prove it, but he’s been doing a lot of good things for us.”
(Photo: Fred Kfoury III / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
