November 25, 2016
It was an interesting decision that Travis Konecny faced in the first period of Friday afternoon’s Flyers-Rangers game. Rangers center Brandon Pirri had just boarded Brandon Manning, raising the arm of an official.
So the Flyers had a two-minute power play coming up, but Pirri also clearly hit Manning’s head on the play. It wasn’t the most egregious check you’ll see, but it was enough to draw the Flyers’ attention. And for the rookie winger, the decision wasn't difficult. Konecny went after Pirri, and he didn’t hesitate in doing so:
Brandon Pirri with a dirty hit on Brandon Manning
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) November 25, 2016
Travis Konecny and Radko Gudas both wrestle Rangers to the ground pic.twitter.com/lxZlxS1Hb7
“Yeah, we talked about team toughness and making sure we’re sticking up for each other,” Konecny said. “When a guy gets hit like that, I was the one in position to do something about it and I did what I had to.”
Both players went to the penalty box for five minutes, but Pirri’s two-minute boarding minor was canceled out by Konecny’s two-minute instigator penalty. On top of all that, Konecny (who, after all, is kind of good at this hockey thing) had to sit out an extra ten minutes.
Again, it’s an interesting call. If you’re simply looking at the box score, it looks like a dumb decision by Konecny. The Flyers didn’t end up with a single man advantage in the entire game, and the rookie passed up on one early with his decision to drop the gloves. That took the Flyers’ potent power-play unit (second in the NHL at 25.7 percent) off the ice. And just as importantly, Konecny had to sit out for close to an entire period.
"A 19-year-old kid coming to do that for Manning who is playing well this year for us, I think everyone sees it and we’re not worried about giving up that power play. We’ll decline those power plays any day when guys are doing that.”
But from a team-building and chemistry standpoint, it’s also possible to appreciate Konecny’s decision. In the locker room after the game, his teammates universally praised his decision to drop the gloves.
Brayden Schenn also thought that the timing, early in the first period, played a factor.
“I think when you’re early on in the first period, yeah you’re taking away a power play, but we don’t see it as that at all,” Schenn said. “We see it as a teammate stepping up and respecting another teammate and that builds chemistry and respect in this locker room. A 19-year-old kid coming to do that for Manning who is playing well this year for us, I think everyone sees it and we’re not worried about giving up that power play. We’ll decline those power plays any day when guys are doing that.”
Konecny’s coach felt that the instigator penalty shouldn’t have applied.
“I thought the Rangers guy dropped his gloves first,” Dave Hakstol said. “I don’t think we should have lost the power play there. You can go skate over to a guy. His gloves were off and he was ready to go before our guy even got to him. So, I liked what TK did in that situation.”
In the big picture, it’s possibly just a small detail in another loss for the Flyers. But make no mistake, Konecny’s teammates appreciated what he did.
“We got to stand up for each other and good job by the kid,” Claude Giroux said. “We want him on the ice but when stuff like that happens, he did a good job there.”
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
