Friday Forecheck: November 3, 2023

The Flyers arrived at the 10-game mark of the 2023-24 season with a somewhat deceptive 4-5-1 record. The process -- establishing a forecheck, generally playing with good pace, generating a healthy volume of scoring chances, being more aggressive in defending their own blueline and playing as five-man units -- has been much improved from long segments of last season. 

Unfortunately, converting 5-on-5 chances into goals and converting on power plays has been elusive. The Flyers have lost three straight games in regulation. However, among the Flyers' six losses, there have been avenues to winning four of them (at Dallas, at Vegas, vs. Carolina this Monday and vs. Buffalo two nights later). The Flyers carried the majority of play for at least 40 minutes -- or more -- in all of those matches.  Even in the Flyers' 7-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks last Saturday afternoon, the Flyers controlled the territorial battle for most of the afternoon.

Opportunity for Ersson

If Carter Hart misses time with the "mid-body injury" he suffered in the first period of Wednesday's game against Buffalo, the Flyers will need to call upon Samuel Ersson to run with the primary starting job in goal until Hart returns. 

It goes without saying that Ersson is off to a slower start than he would’ve liked and will need to show mental fortitude to get himself back on track. The Flyers will absolutely need Ersson to start making some momentum saves.

Ersson has faced a relatively low volume of shots (59 in 171 minutes of play) but has accumulated 45 total saves for a .763 save percentage. He's a significantly better goaltender than the stat line currently shows.

He's also been victimized by untimely miscues in front of him, opposing goals off broken plays and bad bounces. This was especially true in the loss to Anheim. In that game, three of Anaheim's seven goals came on broken plays. Another was on a play where Flyers' defenseman Nick Seeler accidentally slid into Ersson and a puck went into the net off the goalie's backside. Two others were scored within moments of a Flyers' turnover.

Frost created a bushel of scoring chances

It was not unexpected that Morgan Frost started out slowly in Monday's game against the Hurricanes. He'd just stepped back into the lineup after six games as a healthy scratch. The second period was a little better both for the player and the team. In the third period, the Flyers were downright dominant against one of the Eastern Conference's best teams. Frost was a big part of it. 

Of the Flyers 17 scoring chances -- seven of the high-danger variety -- that the Flyers generated in the third period, Frost was instrumental in six (three on the playmaking end, three on the individual scoring chance side), with four being high-danger opportunities. None were slicker than this set-up of Travis Konecny at the doorstep while the score was still tied at 2-2. It was immediately followed up by Frost and Konecny combining to set up Tyson Foerster near the right post.

One period earlier, on a Flyers power play, Frost made an excellent set up pass to Foerster below the right dot and just outside the hash marks. This chance is from a prime shooting range. Unfortunately, the snakebitten Foerster was unable to bag his first goal of the 2023-24 season. There will come a time, hopefully very soon, when Foerster will bury a high percentage of such opportunities. Right now, he can't get anything to go.

Frost's game against Carolina wasn't flawless. One of those areas was the face-off circle, which remains an area of focus. Early in the game, Frost seemed more hesitant and struggled keeping the puck on his stick at times. All in all, though, it was a positive first game back for the 24-year-old center.

From a 200-foot-game perspective, Frost had a much better night against Buffalo on Wednesday than he did in the tilt against Carolina. Frost was a downright defensive asset against the Sabres, making several strong plays -- especially with his stick in the lane -- to break up plays. He stole a pair of pucks to be credited with two takeaways. That included one against the much bigger Tage Thompson. Frost broke even on faceoffs (6-for-12) but it should be noted that he was 4-for-5 over the first and second periods and just 2-for-7 in the third including a couple of clean losses on offensive zone draws.

Offensively, Frost only had one individual scoring chance against the Sabres -- he missed the net from the slot -- but he set up no less than five bonafide scoring opportunities for teammates. Here are several of his best plays:

In this early second period sequence, Konecny and Frost have Foerster set up in the center slot for a near tic-tac-toe goal. Unfortunately, Foerster was not able to get his shot attempt on the net.

The next clip starts with Frost showing a good defensive stick in the Flyers' own zone to take the puck away from Dylan Cozens and create a transition opportunity. At the other end of the ice, Frost sets up Konecny at point- blank range. Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who took first-star honors with a 38-save performance, made the save.

The Sabres had the game locked up by the time this final highlighted sequence happened on a power play near the end of the game -- it would not have changed anything but the Flyers' final margin of defeat had it resulted in a goal. Nevertheless, it's worth checking out Frost's quick stutter step to shake off a defender, move in from the right point and tee up a one-timer opportunity for Owen Tippett from the left dot. The puck is delivered in the wheelhouse but Tippett whiffs on the shot attempt.

Hath Showing the Way

Veteran winger Garnet Hathaway came to the Flyers this offseason with a reputation for being an ornery, abrasive and relentless presence on the ice and a rock solid citizen off the ice and in the dressing room. He's lived up to both. 

Hathaway is tenacious on both sides of the puck. He finally got rewarded in the Carolina game when he stuffed a puck through goalie Frederik Andersen's pads for his first goal of the season. His real value, though, is in his play along the boards. He doesn't take shifts off.

Off the ice, Hathaway built a much-deserved legacy in Washington of being a player who truly cares about giving back to others. Within the past week, Hathaway was exemplary in how he treated the active-duty families in the USO's visit to the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, especially the kids.

Hathaway, who was raised in Kennebunkport, Maine, was one of the driving forces behind the efforts of Flyers players to support Flyers Charities' support efforts for the families of the victims of the Oct. 25 mass-shooting tragedy in Lewiston. 

Players sported blue tape on their sticks during warmups before Wednesday's game. Flyers Charities will auction off the sticks, along with a Flyers jersey signed by Hathaway, with proceeds going to the Lewiston Strong Fund created by the Boston Bruins Foundation.

“Being from Maine, my family and I were devastated to hear about the tragedy that took place in Lewiston. I’m extremely thankful for my teammates, the entire Flyers and Sabres organizations and my friends from around the NHL for supporting the Lewiston Strong Fund and Maine community," Hathaway said.

Flyers Go 2-for-2 in Coach's Challenges

In both the Carolina and Buffalo games, would-be opposing goals were taken off the scoreboard as a result of successful coach's challenges initiated by Flyers head coach John Tortorella for offside entries that preceded the would-be goal.

While it's Tortorella who issues the challenge, it's the Flyers video staff headed by Adam Patterson that is responsible for spotting such sequences in timely fashion and quickly alerting Tortorella on the bench. After looking at the play himself, Tortorella then makes the final decision on whether to challenge. An unsuccessful challenge results not only in the goal being allowed but also a delay of game penalty against the challenging team.

What's Next: An Energy Management Challenge

The Flyers are in the midst of their first three-in-four gauntlet of games. Following Wednesday's home game against the Sabres, the Flyers and Buffalo will rematch at the KeyBank Center on Friday. The next night, the Flyers will be back in action again as they host a more rested Los Angeles Kings club that will already be in Philadelphia a day ahead of the game. 

In an effort to get some rest where they can, the Flyers canceled a scheduled Thursday practice in Voorhees. 

Come Sunday, the Flyers will depart for the west coast as they start a four-game road trip with a trek through California. The Flyers' next home game after Saturday's match against the Kings is not until Nov. 18 when the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center.