Flyers Retool Power Play, Insist Winless Sharks Won't Catch Them Looking Ahead

The Philadelphia Flyers spent their Monday practice in San Jose reworking their power play, a unit that has produced little through the first month of the season. The session at SAP Center came ahead of a game against the winless Sharks and followed a 5-0 defeat to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday in which Philadelphia failed on all four of its man-advantage chances.

Head coach John Tortorella and assistant Rocky Thompson ran the units through an energetic, fast-paced workout, and several personnel changes were visible. Noah Cates moved up to the first unit, while Joel Farabee dropped to the second. Sean Walker took over at the point on the second unit in place of Cam York, and Tyson Foerster was moved to the front of the net.

Tortorella said the team was not planning a full overhaul. "We're not going to just blow it up. We're trying different people in different spots on it and see what happens," he said, adding that the club does not want to panic and hopes small changes will build confidence. He pointed to finishing as part of the problem, saying the team gets chances but does not convert them.

The numbers bear that out. In 12 games, Philadelphia has scored four goals on 41 power-play opportunities, a 9.8% success rate that ranks third-worst in the NHL, even though the team is 11th in power-play time per game at 6 minutes, 4 seconds. The Flyers also had the league's worst power play in each of the last two seasons, converting 15.6% last year and 12.6% in 2021-22.

Farabee said the focus is on simplifying and generating more shots. "It's just trying to funnel as many pucks to the net as we can and I feel like if we get one I feel like it's really going to start to come for us," he said. Defenseman Travis Sanheim said players sometimes concentrate too much on what they think they must do, and should let their skill and instincts take over. He acknowledged that new faces may need some time to mesh.

There was encouraging injury news as well. Goalie Carter Hart and center Sean Couturier both took part in practice after sitting out games against Buffalo on Friday and the Kings on Saturday, respectively. Each lasted the nearly hour-long session and stayed late for extra work. Hart, listed day-to-day with a mid-body injury, appeared to move comfortably in net. Couturier, day-to-day with a lower-body injury, skipped some drills and served as an extra forward at times.

The opponent is in rough shape. San Jose is 0-10-1 and has been outscored 54-12. According to Sportsnet Stats, the Sharks are the first team since the 1965 Boston Bruins to allow 10 goals in consecutive games, following a 10-1 loss to Vancouver on Thursday and a 10-2 defeat to Erik Karlsson and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. That makes the matchup a possible trap game for Philadelphia.

Tortorella dismissed the idea. "We shouldn't even be able to spell trap game," he said, noting that players must be ready every night and that the Flyers should be focused only on improving on their performance against Los Angeles. That game was one of their weakest for puck possession, with a 5-on-5 Corsi For Percentage of 40.38, according to Evolving Hockey. Over 12 games, Philadelphia ranks 10th in the league at 52.42, while San Jose is last at 38.97.

Veteran center Scott Laughton said the team's identity rests on effort. "I think our game's built off work and how hard we work and we can't stray away from that because I think we'll go south pretty quick," he said. He expects the Sharks to come in hungry and said the Flyers must match that, adding that players are eager to return to the win column.