Last week, the Philadelphia Flyers had a stretch of three games in four days, where the team went 1-1-1, with two of the games heading to overtime.

After a 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Flyers turned around and got on the road for a back-to-back against St. Louis and Dallas. The team is back home, preparing for a game against that same Blues team they beat in a shootout on Friday.

It was a week where the Flyers did not control play in the neutral zone, often being pinned in their own defensive zone. Head coach Rick Tocchet often said the team was being “backed in” throughout that stretch.

Now, the Flyers have had two practices in three days since Monday. They have worked on correcting their mistakes from the past week.

Tocchet talks Flyers’ practice

“We were too passive in backing up,” said Tocchet after Wednesday’s practice.

At Wednesday’s practice, the emphasis was on the neutral zone. “Today, we had a neutral zone drill. It was probably our best practice with the defense basically breaking up the play. Todd [Rierden] did a today.”

Earlier in the week, Tocchet said the Flyers held a video session and drills focused on supporting the puck.

The Flyers’ bench boss is appreciative of the time the team had to practice and correct its mistakes. “When you’re playing three in four, then you have to play another game; it’s hard to correct mistakes on the fly. But now, we have two days of practice and two really good video sessions.”

Another area the Flyers have struggled with is their slow starts to games. That has been evident even in their past few games. Tocchet said he knows he has to be better, along with the team, but expects a faster start on Thursday. “I [have] to help out too. It falls on me. But, we’ve had four days here off. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t start on time tomorrow.”

After two good practices, the Flyers’ focus shifts to their Thursday meeting with the Blues. Tocchet expects a good fight from his team.

“I’d be shocked if we don’t have a good game, because I thought the guys bought in this week what we want from them.“

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