Flyers shift gears after game vs. Islanders postponed by snow

NEW YORK - The Flyers went home Saturday without a point, but unlike their previous two games, against Toronto and Pittsburgh, they had a valid reason for being shut out this time: You can't get a point if you don't play.

Before they boarded a morning team bus from their Manhattan hotel to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Flyers found out that Saturday's snowstorm had forced the postponement of their game against the New York Islanders. No makeup date was set. The Flyers and Islanders are both off Sunday, but that date was unavailable because the Brooklyn Nets play the Oklahoma City Thunder at 3:30 p.m.

Despite the postponement, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol put his team through a morning practice at the Barclays Center. Center Sean Couturier, who missed Thursday's game with a lower-body injury, did not participate.

"No change," Hakstol said. "He's still day to day."

The Flyers are scheduled to play again Monday against the Boston Bruins at the Wells Fargo Center.

"I think everyone has been through different situations with weather," Hakstol said. "It's hard to make that mental switch from a game day where you're coming over for a morning skate getting ready for a 7:30 game and all of a sudden you have to flip that switch and increase the intensity a little bit for a morning practice. We did a decent job of that. We got a little bit of work done, and that's the best we could do today."

Hakstol's players were hoping to get back on the ice after consecutive losses to Toronto and Pittsburgh. The Maple Leafs scored with 7.5 seconds left to beat the Flyers on Tuesday, and the Penguins overcame a 2-0 deficit for a 4-3 win Thursday.

"Two different games," Hakstol said. "We didn't play that well in either of the two. We didn't play complete games for sure in either of those games."

The Flyers had won five of six games before the back-to-back losses.

"Obviously with this stretch where we don't play for a few days here, we should be at least a little physically energized," Hakstol said.

Of course, they still had to face a long bus ride home in awful weather conditions after practice, but the Flyers understood why the game was postponed.

"We wanted to play and get back at it, and we were looking forward to this game tonight, but there is nothing we can do about it," veteran defenseman Mark Streit said. "We have to take advantage of the break here. We had a pretty good practice, and now we'll go back home and get ready for Boston."

Streit admitted he was a little baffled about why the game was not postponed sooner, which would have allowed the Flyers to escape New York Friday, ahead of the storm.

"The forecasts were pretty clear, and they saw it coming, so I don't really understand why the call wasn't made a little bit earlier," he said. "It is what it is, so you have to go with the flow here."

Hakstol said he tried to take a taxi from Manhattan to the Barclays Center at 8:30 a.m., but that attempt failed. The bus ride, on the other hand, went smoothly.

The Flyers settled for practice and the trip home. It was the best alternative, although Jake Voracek wasn't all that opposed to a different itinerary.

"Obviously you want to go home to be in your own bed, but New York City is New York City, let's be honest," Voracek said.

bbrookover@phillynews.com

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