Nothing but good vibes for the flight to Toronto!
The Flyers closed out their latest home stand in a back-and-forth contest with the Arizona Coyotes. John Tortorella called it "a different way of winning," but everyone could agree that it wasn't a bad way to take the victory. A third-period comeback and some standout performances extend the Flyers' win streak to four games, and gives them plenty of positives to take into the rest of their week.
Morgan Frost Is So Good at Hockey
I said it once (okay, definitely more than once), but I will keep saying it—Morgan Frost cannot be traded. With the form he's in, he's one of the Flyers' most important players, and his impact on games has become indispensable. His vision, passing, skating, his overall ability to read the game is impeccable. Without Frost, the Flyers' scoring chances would decrease significantly. In the game against the Coyotes, Frost drew three penalties with his shiftiness and uncanny ability to rile up the opposition with some simple cleverness.
He's proving doubters wrong game after game. It's time that people stop being wary of this being a fleeting streak of unsustainable brilliance and time for people to start having some real confidence in a player that has well and truly earned it. Tortorella said that this game was "one of the best I've seen [Frost] play" and that the 24-year-old "tried putting the team on his back." High praise indeed!
Flyers Never Say Die
Although the Coyotes were able to take the lead a couple of times, Jamie Drysdale gave some insight into how the locker room responded in between periods, highlighting how one of the staples of this Flyers team is the fact that "everyone picks each other up" when things get tough.
"Torts came between the second and third [periods] and just said that he had a good feeling about this one," Drysdale said. "It just motivates the group to go out and play to win.
"Everyone just tries to pick each other up. I've seen it pretty much every game—if someone's made a mistake or anything, you come in here, shake it off, and pick your head up. It's just a great group, great environment, and I think everyone wants to win here."
The Importance of a Versatile Defense
The Flyers' had a little bit of a shakeup in their backline when it was reported during warmups that Rasmus Ristolainen was unavailable due to a minor upper body injury. Some teams might have been thrown off by the sudden change, especially in the face of what Tortorella called "a very tough team to play against," but the response from the Flyers showed how far they've come in terms of being able to adjust wherever and whenever needed.
"I thought our defenseman and our team defense—we lost ourselves a little when we had the lead, we just got a little bit tentative—but I thought our team defense did a pretty good job," he said. "Most of the night, blocked shots, did our job."
The Flyers' next game will be away against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 15 at 7 pm EST.