The standard for this team is being set up right in front of our eyes and whether we like it or not, it may cost the Flyers a win early on in the season. With the benching of Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny in the 3-0 loss to the Sharks on Sunday, this is the first true taste of adversity that this veteran core is dealing with this season.
The Flyers as a whole were not playing the Torts brand of hockey and were just lazy and flat. It does not help that they had a Farabee goal called off because of Laughton being offside on an odd man rush, but it seemed to take all momentum out of the sails for the entirety of the game.
The Flyers were turnover prone and just could not seem to get themselves going. They were generating little to no high danger chances, let alone any decent chances. The Flyers were just seemingly out played in every facet of the game. Coach Tortorella was asked about how he thought his team played and responded accordingly.
Tortorella: The whole performance sucked....I'm not going to assess anybody tonight... We're 0-2 in b2bs and didn't give ourselves a chance... In 3rd pd, we went after it more, had some chances but didn't score.
— Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) October 24, 2022
Torts is not going to sugarcoat anything and everything he will say is 100 percent genuine. He wants his guys to be the best they can be. He wants to see what Hayes and Konecny are made of, and he is going to push these guys to their limits just to see how resilient and the mental toughness that he is looking for in his veterans and leadership group.
Torts was willing to roll what seemed like t offensive lines for the entire third period. With van Riemsdyk leaving the game with an injury and the benching of Konecny and Hayes. This led to Deslauriers, MacEwen and Sedlak being the main line to play.
Torts wasn’t looking to discuss why he benched Hayes and Konecny and said, “I’m going to keep it in the room.” but overall, it seemed like Konecny didn’t take the benching as a bad thing.
The rest of the interview shows just how much Travis Konecny has grown and is more than just that chirping, goofy kid we have come to know and love. It seems like he is becoming a leader on this team and a guy Torts is going to rely on to help bring this new standard to light and to fruition in this locker room.
Flyers forward Travis Konecny meets with the media following #SJSvsPHI. https://t.co/VRliOwhW0X
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 24, 2022
Watching the rest of the interview, you can see just how much Konecny has bought in to the Torts effect. He knows they are a much better team than they showed, and they can play better. This team will get better and eventually healthy, and when that happens, the league should be put on notice.
The fans should be prepared for events like this to happen in the future. It is something Philadelphia hasn’t exactly seen before and is truly a breath of fresh air. While two points are always important, sacrificing two early on in order to set the standard will ultimately bring change to both the franchise and personal. This is going to be a roller coaster ride and the end is a winning culture.