Flyers' star winger named Third Star of the Week

It was a bleak week for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team went 0-3-1, dropping to 24-20-10 and a tie with the New Jersey Devils at 58 points in the standings--better than only the New York Rangers in the whole Eastern Conference. There were not many bright spots to behold.

Travis Konecny, however, was not a reason for the losing skid. He was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week, behind Jared McCann and Andrei Vasilevskiy, respectively. In four games, Konecny scored five goals and registered two assists for a total of seven points. The highlight of the week was certainly the hat trick against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a performance made even more impressive by the fact that Konecny looked quite hobbled from a shot block early in the game.

After the Columbus game, Konecny registered a goal and an assist against the Boston Bruins, and followed it up with another goal and an assist against the Los Angeles Kings. In all three games, the Flyers scored in (they were shutout by the New York Islanders, after all), Konecny was a factor on five of the six goals the team scored.

This isn't just a one-week flash, either--Konecny's been excellent the entire month of January, with nine goals, seven assists, and 16 points in 14 games played. He's blown past Trevor Zegras for the team's scoring lead and now sits at 22 goals, 30 assists, and 52 points in 53 games on the season. The Flyers may be scrambling as a whole, but Konecny's been outstanding.

It hasn't been easy lately, and the frustration has been weighing on the players, especially Konecny. He expressed that recently.

“I mean, it’s frustrating because I’ve been through this so many times. I just want to make the playoffs. That’s kind of all I look at right now,” Konecny said. “Just try to get points for the team. We need to figure something out.”

Konecny is in the first year of his eight-year extension, carrying an $8.75-million annual cap hit--a contract that sparked some controversy within the fanbase, as it seemed incongruent with where the Flyers were in their rebuild. The fact that he's performing this well in year one at age 28 should alleviate some of those concerns, as Konecny could be well worth the contract when the Flyers are contenders again.