Sielski: Flyers still at a stage that requires patience
The Flyers have reached one of those stages in a long regular season that NHL teams often reach, so Travis Konecny had to move. Konecny, a 19-year-old rookie who played left wing throughout his first 42 games this season, lined up at right wing Thursday night with Claude Giroux at center and Michael Raffl on the left.
The Flyers have reached one of those stages in a long regular season that NHL teams often reach, so Travis Konecny had to move. Konecny, a 19-year-old rookie who played left wing throughout his first 42 games this season, lined up at right wing Thursday night with Claude Giroux at center and Michael Raffl on the left.
Why? Simple. The Flyers had won just twice in their previous 11 games ahead of their 5-4 shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks, which meant they had entered the Forward Line Changes Stage of their season, which is not to be confused with the Team Meeting Stage, the Make a Big Trade Stage, or, worst of all, the Fire the Head Coach Stage. Things aren't nearly so dire yet.
"It's just the other side of the rink," said Konecny, who scored his seventh goal of the season Thursday, during a first-period power play. "It's my forehand side, so it'll probably be a little easier for me coming down the wing. I don't know. I guess we'll see how it goes. . . . I'll be fine there. It's like riding a bike."
There was an air of calm in Konecny's words, and there ought to have been. He had played right wing for most of his career in the Ontario Hockey League. More, the notion that there ought to be abject panic over the team's subpar stretch seemed alarmist at best. For all the optimism that the Flyers' recent 10-game winning streak stoked - Hey, maybe they're closer to contending than we thought - their struggles over their subsequent 11 games were a sobering reminder of where they are in their rebuild and how general manager Ron Hextall is carrying out the plan.
The reasonable expectation for the Flyers was that they would remain on the periphery of the playoff standings all season. They'd be in by a hair if the season ended on one particular day. They'd be out by a nose if it ended on another. Ahead of Thursday, they held the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have done nothing more, really, than regress to their mean.
It's important to maintain that perspective, because anyone familiar with the Flyers' history has probably been conditioned to expect them to make a trade in an attempt to jump-start them on a postseason push. You could always count on them to acquire what they thought was necessary to make the playoffs that season, if it was scoring ability among the forwards (Tony Amonte, Kris Versteeg), depth on defense (Danny Markov, Mattias Timander), toughness (Dan Carcillo), or even a new goaltender (Sean Burke). But apart from the relatively surprising decision to keep Konecny and defenseman Ivan Provorov on the roster out of training camp, Hextall has shown no indication that he will accelerate the rebuilding project. And he's right to be so deliberate. Here's why:
There's been a longtime cliche that the NHL playoffs are completely unpredictable, that any ol' team (or goaltender) that gets hot at the right time can make a Stanley Cup run. Lately, though, that cliche has been little more than a misperception. Just five teams - the Chicago Blackhawks, the Los Angeles Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Boston Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings - have won the last nine Stanley Cups. Those five clubs also account for 12 of the 18 berths in the Finals over that same period. It's not the NBA, but the NHL has been relatively top-heavy for the better part of a decade now.
How does that recent history affect Hextall's decision-making? It forces him, or should force him, to be realistic about the distance between them and the league's elite teams. It's telling, for instance, that ahead of Thursday's game, just four teams were giving up more goals per game than the Flyers were, and that Provorov, as poised and polished as he is for a 20-year-old, is leading them in ice time per game.
Defense is supposed to be and should be the strength of the Flyers in the future, what with all the prospects that they've stockpiled, but as Thursday reaffirmed, it sure isn't a strength now. Konecny is supposed to be and should be a fixture among their forwards for years to come. He's a mature kid, but he's still just a kid.
"I've got a lot to clean up," said Konecny, who has three goals in six games since coach Dave Hakstol benched him against the San Jose Sharks. "I've been saying that all year, and it's difficult to overcome everything. You're trying to play the pro style of game when you've still got junior habits. It's not an excuse, but I've still got to study the game and fix that on my part. It's a hard league to score in. It's a hard league to stop scoring. It's a challenging game, and I'm pretty happy with my season so far."
He was fine Thursday, better than fine, actually, whacking a bouncing puck past Canucks goalie Ryan Miller, creating scoring chances on a night when the Flyers, even in winning, showed again they have a long way yet to go. It was a reminder that this entire Flyers season is a stage unto itself, one in a long process. Ron Hextall has been nothing but clear about that. Everyone else will have to learn to be patient.
@MikeSielski