October 26, 2023
Bobby Brink, after so many chances stopped short, finally broke through to score the first two goals of his NHL career.
Owen Tippett finally broke his scoring drought as well on a breakaway that put the Wild away, and Travis Konecny just continues to produce as the Flyers crushed Minnesota, 6-2, down at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
Don't look now, but the Flyers are an undefeated 3-0 at home and moved to 4-2-1 on the season with maybe their most complete effort yet.
"Right now, I think they're together," head coach John Tortorella said of his team postgame. "There's a belief, and belief is a very strong thing. If we can just stay about ourselves and keep that type of mindset, we'll stay competitive."
Here are five thoughts from the victory that helped instill it...
Joel Farabee, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink make up the fiercest line the Flyers have going right now, and you could see why right away Thursday night.
On their first shift, they had Minnesota pinned down in their own zone nearly the entire time, generating a couple of early chances and setting the tone for what went on to be a pretty dominant first period for Philly.
And when you think about it, those three are actually a pretty nice combo of skaters.
Cates forechecks like crazy nonstop, giving whoever has the puck a hard time all the time, and can hold his own in the faceoff circle.
Brink has been skating like there's no tomorrow ever since he made the team and has flashed a playmaking ability that has produced shots, kept the puck sliding downhill for the Flyers, and on Thursday night – finally – resulted in his first and second career NHL goals. He, and the rest of the team, were really pushing for that hat trick by the end too.
First NHL goal for @BobbyBrink19! 🚨
— NHL (@NHL) October 27, 2023
📺: @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l pic.twitter.com/5VLQczBGmQ
BOBBY BRINK DOES IT AGAIN! 2ND OF THE NIGHT, 2ND OF HIS CAREER. GREAT PLAY BY JOEL FARABEE. 5-2 IN PHILADELPHIA.#PHIvsMIN #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/NfEQ829jsB
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) October 27, 2023
While Farabee, as the line's elder statesman – as weird as that is to say for a 23-year old – has the natural skill and vision to find the open ice and jump to where the puck is going to be to keep possessions alive.
They've just been a consistently effective unit, with all three being 24 or younger too, and with a continually building case for more ice time, especially Farabee.
"I just look at Beezer's concentration, he's changing on time – things people don't notice in games, but I watch it," Tortorella said after the morning skate in Voorhees earlier Thursday. "He is a concentrated athlete and comes in in much better shape, had a much better opportunity to be in better shape, more weight. Quite honestly, I think I need to find him more ice time...
"I don't want to forget about him, because I think he's prepared. I think he's shown us that."
Farabee went on to skate 16:23 for the game.
The Flyers' power play success rate entering Thursday night: A whole five percent.
Yeah, it hasn't been great..at all.
But on Thursday night, there were finally signs of life.
Toward the halfway mark of the second period, as the Flyers continued to hem the Wild down in their own end, they drew two Minnesota penalties and capitalized on both of them.
The first with Sean Couturier cleaning up the garbage in front:
And the second with a puck off a random skate catching Bobby Brink's stick just as he was wheeling around to the front of the net.
He slipped the ensuing shot right under goaltender Filip Gustavsson's pad for what had become that much-elusive first NHL goal.
SEAN COUTURIER!!! #FLYERS pic.twitter.com/6v51Bvqc8j
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) October 27, 2023
And the smile when he returned to the bench after? Couldn't have been any bigger.
We love a proud Torts. 🧡🖤#MINvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/E58bF05ctr
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 27, 2023
"Lot of years of hockey to get to that point," Brink told ESPN during the second intermission.
The Flyers' power play went 2-for-3 in the win, getting the job done with some pretty fluid and quick puck movement, and with the help of a couple of fortunate bounces, which usually do come with the former.
It may not always work out that way – if the man advantages through the first six games prior are anything to go by – but hey, take it, and build off of it.
From Nick Seeler's zone entry and drop pass to Travis Konecny's laser of a wrister to the weakside corner of the net, this sequence, end-to-end, was a beauty, and an early sign that this was going to be a good night for the Flyers:
The quick wrisTKer. #MINvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/pTujrS4qyn
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 27, 2023
That snipe was Konecny's sixth goal of the season and eighth point through the team's first seven games.
In a lot of ways, he picked up right where he left off from last season, when (excluding time missed due to injury) he was flying up and down the ice as the Flyers' best player.
He still is, and the Flyers – though it's still early and far from perfect – have been looking decent.
It'll be interesting to see what might happen if this pace keeps up.
Minnesota was pressing in the third period and had quickly cut it down to a one-goal game.
Owen Tippett, the Flyers' breakout star from last season, had yet to score in this one, and they needed a momentum shift.
See where this is going?
You don't simply stop @TippettOwen on a breakaway. #MINvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/57vVlULKxr
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 27, 2023
Dagger, which was soon followed by Brink's second goal of the night on a great pass on the rush from Farabee.
BOBBY BRINK DOES IT AGAIN! 2ND OF THE NIGHT, 2ND OF HIS CAREER. GREAT PLAY BY JOEL FARABEE. 5-2 IN PHILADELPHIA.#PHIvsMIN #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/NfEQ829jsB
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) October 27, 2023
Tippett has been doing a bunch of the little things right since the season began, but skating on the left wing now instead of the right, the production just hadn't matched yet.
Hopefully a breakaway goal is what finally opens up the floodgates.
Great, aggressive turnover forced at the defensive blueline by Cam Atkinson too to get the whole sequence going.
Again, it's still early, but the Flyers have yet to lose at home.
After Thursday night, they're a perfect 3-0 at the Wells Fargo Center, and have outscored their opponents, 12-3.
Like the aforementioned power play, this won't stay that way, but I think there's something to be said about the Flyers showing that they can put on a good, competitive show for the hometown crowd.
Look, a rebuild can be brutal to watch night-to-night – remember the early Process days with the Sixers? But that might not have to be the only way.
Where it leaves the Flyers in terms of draft position in a few months, yeah, that's going to be heavily scrutinized, and understandably.
But at the same time, the team on the ice doesn't care, and they're playing some surprisingly solid hockey right now, which has been a hard thing to come by around here the past few years.
The vibes are good right now all things considered. Take them as they come.
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