VOORHEES, N.J. – Toward the end of last season, Cam York would have been excused if he threw up his arms in exasperation.

The Flyer defenseman, a former first-round draft pick, basically had been shoved to the perimeter of the team’s offensive strategy. His power-play time basically told the story: Nine seconds per game on average.

This year, with a new coach in place, the whole thing has been turned upside down. York is back with his old partner, Travis Sanheim, and when it comes to the power play, York is up to the better part of two minutes per game.

York’s been on the ice for seven of the nine power-play goals the Flyers have scored this season. Recently, coach Rick Tocchet has had Jamie Drysdale playing on a power-play unit with winger Trevor Zegras because it’s a righty-lefty combination. York is a left-handed shooting backliner.

With the high-powered Edmonton Oilers coming to town Wednesday night, you can be sure York and Sanheim will see a lot of playing time. They’re ready to see Connor McDavid scooting around the Xfinity Mobile Arena ice surface like an oversized waterbug, and the Flyers’ top defensive pair know they will have to be on their guard.

York doesn’t mind these pressure situations at all. Chasing McDavid and Leon Draisaitl around all night figures to be a challenge.

“Any time you play two of the best players in the world, it’s a challenge,” York said after Tuesday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center. “I think it’s something that we always look forward to. It’s a good test to see where we’re at. You have to be disciplined. They have probably the best power play in the league. When it’s five-on-four, their top players get more touches and that’s what we don’t want.”

No one in the NHL can stop McDavid cold. The idea is to limit his chances as much as possible.

“He’s going to get good chances,” York said. “You just don’t want them to be Grade-A chances. It takes a group of six guys to do that.”

With York playing bigger minutes, he has to make sure he gets proper rest, diet, hydration, etc.

“I feel like I’m good at the recovery stuff,” he said. “Playing big minutes with San (Sanheim) there. It’s something we are good at, managing it in the past.”

Sean Couturier has been playing directly against McDavid for a long time. Like York, he believes the only way to counteract him is to try to limit his quality opportunities.

At Tuesday’s practice, Couturier was working with Zegras and Matvei Michkov, a new line combination.

“Doesn’t matter who I play with, I take pride in my defense,” Couturier said. “Try to be tough to play against and not give up anything. And just let my offensive instincts take over from there.”

Cates in the spotlight

With the home-ice advantage, the Flyers get the last line change, so expect to see a lot of Noah Cates against McDavid. There will be some special meetings beforehand.

“There is some extra attention with certain guys like Cates,” Tocchet said. “It’s usually a team thing and then you break up into individual meetings.”

Added Couturier: “Definitely beneficial, I think, to have that kind of depth. It just makes the line matchups easier.”

Foerster getting closer

One of the Flyers’ top wingers, Tyson Foerster, is back off injured reserve and is eligible to play against the Oilers. But it sounds like it might be 50-50. Tocchet doesn’t want to rush things.

“It’s kind of his call,” Tocchet said. “A guy like Tyson, he’ll want to play. But he’s also had only one or two skates. Can you play with only two skates after being off eight days? Yeah, you can. But you also have to figure the safety of the player.”

Tocchet said the coaching staff and the player would probably talk about it on Tuesday night to see what’s best.

The Flyers play back-to-back games at St. Louis (Friday) and Chicago (Saturday), so there’s that to consider as well.

“Does he play three games? I don’t know,” Tocchet said. “If he plays tomorrow, we’ll deal with the next game. We want to make the right call safety wise but also certain injuries you can play so we’ll talk about that.”

Tippett’s slump

Owen Tippett started the season hot with five goals in his first six games but has cooled off with none in his last nine.

Any particular problem?

“One thing he’s been struggling a little bit with is he’s been getting chances, had some breakaways, but he kind of gets in and out of the game,” Tocchet said. “He’s got to stay a little bit more focused. I think that will help him. He knows it, he’s working on the mental part of it.”