VOORHEES, N.J. — As the Flyers begin a five-game homestand this evening against the energetic Montreal Canadiens, their lineup is suddenly slower and less creative.
Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who has been having coverage problems in front of the net, and rookie winger Travis Konecny, whose turnover led directly to a goal in Carolina, will both sit the game out as healthy scratches.
The Flyers were spanked, 5-1, by the Hurricanes on Tuesday.
“It’s a little bit different in both cases,” coach Dave Hakstol said of the benchings. “There’s things both young guys can improve in their game. I won’t get into the specifics. There’s a couple different things that they’re aware of that they can improve.”
"Ghost" has been pressing the entire season offensively, with just four goals and 21 points. He hasn’t scored a goal in 27 games. His plus/minus (minus-19) is the worst among all Flyers.
Foremost, however, he has been manhandled in 1-on-1 situations at the net.
“I don’t see him pressing on the offensive side,” Hakstol said.
NHL
Gostisbehere had right hip and abdominal surgery last May which often requires a full year of healing. Hakstol said he doesn’t see any difference in Gostisbehere physically from last season.
To his credit, Gostisbehere says his recovery has nothing to do with his performance on the ice.
“It’s perfectly fine and I played in the World Cup,” Gostisbehere said. “I have no problems where I had surgery. If you are looking for excuses, there are no excuses. It’s myself. It’s my game and something I have to figure out.”
This is his third benching of the season.
“I don’t know what to think of it right now,” Gostisbehere said. “I’m definitely not happy. When we lose like that, it’s tough. It’s a team loss.
“You've got to change things up when you lose that bad. I guess it’s my turn. I could have done a lot better things defensively. It’s a learning curve right now.”
As for Konecny, this is his second benching. He has been warned by Hakstol about fancy plays that become turnovers. His drop pass in the defensive end resulted in an immediate goal for the Hurricanes.
Ironically, Konecny’s first benching was in San Jose in December in a game where the Flyers lost and players admitted afterward they lacked creativity against a very fast Sharks club.
“We’re trying to figure things out, we had a bad game the other night, and I made some mistakes so it’s not surprising,” Konecny said of this benching. “We all had a tough night.
“Anytime [this happens], you don’t want to handle it very easily. I have to work hard to get back in the lineup. It’s all part of it. I have to learn from my mistakes. Hopefully, the changes we make we can start getting some wins.”
Konecny, who has seven goals and 22 points, said he has to improve his defensive awareness with the puck.
Gostisbehere will be replaced by Nick Schultz, who has sat healthy nine of the last 10 games.
Dale Weise, a healthy scratch for five games, will replace Konecny on Brayden Schenn’s line with Wayne Simmonds. Schenn took the morning skates after missing practice Wednesday with the flu.
Schultz will likely be paired with Brandon Manning.
Schenn went through some benchings both in L.A. and here.
“[Ghost] is a good player and will get through it,” Schenn said. “The puck isn’t going in for him. Maybe if he gets one, things will change for him.
“I don’t think he is playing as bad as people make it out to be. He’s a good player for us and brings a lot of offense to our system and that’s what we need, especially when we are struggling 5-on-5.”
Gostisbehere said he’s not concerned about scoring goals.
“I’m more worried about being on the ice when pucks are going in my net,” he said. “I’m a defenseman first. I don’t care about goals. I don’t care about points.
“My job is to be a defenseman and defend. Right now, pucks are going in the net when I am on the ice and that’s not good.”
Last season, Gostisbehere was a Calder Trophy finalist. He led all NHL rookie defensemen in goals (17), assists (29) and points (46). His 17 goals were a Flyers rookie record for a blueliner.
The awful irony is that Gostisbehere will be honored Friday night at the Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, at the 113th Philadelphia Sports Writers banquet as Philadelphia’s top athlete from 2015-16, which was his rookie season in the NHL.
Eric Lindros will receive the Living Legend Award at the banquet, as well.
Shots
If the Flyers are going to have any chance of getting off to a better start in this homestand they need to muster more than the six shots they had through two periods during their loss in Carolina.
“Let’s be honest,” Voracek said, “we sucked. We had six shots in 60 minutes. That’s probably the worst performance offensively I have seen in nine years. To come from the break and play offensively like that.
“We've got a home stretch now. … We've got to be ready to play tomorrow. Every game right now is important, no matter what it is. We’re gonna have the crowd behind us. … Nine or 10 points can put us in a good spot.”
Loose pucks
• Michael Del Zotto (bruised leg) did not skate.
• The Flyers need to get off to a fast start because Montreal is 22-3-5 when scoring first and 19-1-3 when leading after two periods.
• The Habs' third-period scoring differential is impressive. They are plus-16; the Flyers are minus-11.
• The Flyers' 106 goals against at 5-on-5 is third-worst in the NHL …
• Steve Mason is 4-1 lifetime against Montreal with a 1.79 goals against average and .937 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth is 6-5-2, with a 2.36 GAA and .916 save percentage and will start tonight.
• Canadiens goalie Carey Price’s numbers: 13-9-0, 2.60, .918.
• Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Markov each have 31 points lifetime against the Flyers. Plekanec has played 42 games against them and Markov 41.