PHILADELPHIA — The more Flyers coach John Tortorella talked on Saturday, the more it sounded like a star was born.
That was Travis Konecny, who scored two goals to put the Flyers in position for a 3-2 victory over the Bruins, who came to the Wells Fargo Center with the best record in the NHL and have dominated the orange and black in the last two seasons. Konecny
Konecny started things off for the Flyers with a power-play goal in the second period, which held until 10:19 of the third period when Justin Brazeau tied the game. Konecny then scored again in the third period, marking his 30th goal of the season.
With the Bruins closely watching Konecny, rookie Tyson Foerster sent a pass from Ryan Poehling past Linus Ullmark with 1:29 remaining, and Flyers goalie Sam Ersson finished strong as the crowd went wild.
“You could feel that something was about to happen,” Konecny said. “We were all pushing for it.”
Konecny’s clutch performance excited Tortorella, especially the way the young player kept focused on the game instead of reacting strongly to something an opponent did to him or a teammate.
“It’s a very important time for him to lead in the right way,” Tortorella said. “As a player, you need to prioritize yourself, and he is completely focused on the game half of the time, and that's a major reason why he's the player he is. But I think he needs to find a balance here, not to become too overwhelmed because he has other people to take care of, and that's his team. When it comes to crunch time, it's crucial for him to realize that his actions shouldn't harm the team. He sometimes goes over the edge, but I believe he has taken control of himself.”
Konecny scored 31 goals last season to become the Flyers’ first 30-goal scorer since Sean Couturier scored 33 in 2019-19. In a league where goals are valuable, Konecny has become the main player for the Flyers, who are eyeing their first playoff appearance in four seasons.
“Honestly, I try not to dwell on it,” Konecny commented on the goal total. “It's amazing. But it's important to stay focused on the season.”
Although Konecny wears the “A” as the alternate captain, he commended the effort of team captain Couturier, who played on Saturday after being benched the previous two games.
“He did a fantastic job tonight,” Konecny said. “He was around the puck and it created opportunities for us. He handled (the benching) well. He's our leader.”
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Notes >> Ersson made 18 saves, including stretching for back-to-back, close-range stops of former Flyer James Van Riemsdyk with 10:53 left in the second period. Now 34 years old, JVR has 11 goals and 27 assists this season. … The Flyers are hoping that defensemen Jamie Drysdale (shoulder) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) will be back for the playoffs. … The Flyers on Saturday left out Nicolas Deslauriers, Cam Atkinson, Denis Gurianov and Marc Staal.
