VOORHEES, NJ – All signs of Saturday’s morning skating show that the Flyers’ leading scorer and goal scorer 2019-20 for tonight’s game against the Islanders is ending in the Wells Fargo Center.
Travis Konecny was not in practice on one of the powerplays, as he stayed on the sidelines and then skated with the other scratches (Robert Hagg, Nate Prosser and Brian Elliott) after the morning session.
Samuel Morin, the club’s 13th forward who has yet to appear in a game this season, has led the team’s positions. Usually, when a player is ahead, there is some significance to it. Teammates also regularly tap on their sticks or cheer during such a moment, depending on the reason, but it was quite quiet and muffled Saturday, given the circumstances that Konecny apparently was not in the series.
Head coach Alain Vigneault’s availability of the predictive media is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. ET. We will know more before subject falls (19:00 ET / NBCSP).
Konecny did not shoot the goal cage and had two presents from the Flyers’ 3-1 victory over the Devils in 17:33 minutes. He played only 4:20 in the third period and played about 30 seconds in the last five minutes of the game. After the game, Vigneault was left unhappy by the performances of his two front lines in the first two periods.
Getting Morin a match in a rugby set is one thing, but doing so at the expense of Konecny’s place in the series says something. This is the Flyers’ first game against the team they eliminated in a second round Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2020.
Unless Konecny is physically tracked down, and it does not appear that he is considering taking part in the practice and continuing for extra work, it is a loud message that sent nine games from Vigneault in the 2020-21 season. Konecny was an All-Star last season and led the Flyers in 66 goals (24) and points (61). The 23-year-old wing has five goals, three assists and a plus-5 point through the first eight games of this season.
The message would not only be sent to Konecny, but also to the entire list of Flyers. Despite their 5-2-1 result, the Flyers were eliminated in seven of their eight games, with five of them with double-digit limits. Last season, the Flyers allowed the NHL’s fewest shots per game.
Philippe Myers is expected to return from a broken rib on Saturday night. He drove past Travis Sanheim and looks good. Carter Hart will start in the net, while Brian Elliott is expected to play the second game of the rugby game on Sunday.
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