PHILADELPHIA — Travis Konecny, chaos gremlin that he is, was apparently keeping one corner of his eye focused on the half-dozen local media members sitting in the stands at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday morning.
Konecny knew what was coming. Tyson Foerster, previously believed to be out for the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injury, took a line rush with Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett ahead of a pivotal game against the Detroit Red Wings. It was a pretty blatant sign that Foerster, who had been skating with the team for a few weeks, was surprisingly ready to return after a 49-game absence.
Tweets needed to be tweeted.
“I was getting a crack out of watching you guys scrambling to your phone in line rushes,” Konecny said in the dressing room, after the skate’s conclusion. “I was watching all of you guys.”
The 24-year-old Foerster’s return brought some extra exuberance to a group that’s now as healthy as it’s been this season.
“Guys were buzzing,” coach Rick Tocchet said of the morning skate. “He’s a big part of our team.”
That buzzing continued for most of Thursday’s game, too — even if it resulted in a frustrating 4-2 defeat. Playing in front of a juiced-up home crowd that’s pining for playoff hockey, the Flyers outplayed the Red Wings for much of the evening to the tune of a 72-39 advantage in shot attempts and a 4.96-2.67 edge in expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.
Yet, too many defensive miscues and not enough offensive finish burned them. It was the Flyers’ second straight regulation defeat. And although many of the other teams battling for playoff position in the Eastern Conference also lost on Thursday, it makes Friday’s meeting with the New York Islanders at UBS Arena as close to a must-win as there is.
The return of Foerster and the continued emergence of rookie Porter Martone, who recorded a whopping nine of the Flyers’ 34 shots on Thursday night, combined with a team that seems to have relocated a relentless work ethic in recent weeks that was common under former coach John Tortorella, all suggest that they’re going to continue fighting until the very end — whether that’s on Friday, or beyond.
“This locker room in here, we all believe we’re better than any opponent we’re playing right now,” Konecny said after the game. “Tough to get the loss, but we have all the confidence in the world that we’re going to keep playing good.”
Foerster and Martone will help.
It took just 31 seconds into the second period for Foerster — who was leading the Flyers with 10 goals at the time of his injury on Dec. 1 — to get on the scoresheet. With the Flyers trailing 1-0 on Alex DeBrincat’s late first-period power-play goal, Owen Tippett’s flubbed shot early in the second took a fortuitous bounce to Foerster in the slot. A quick flick of Foerster’s wrists sent the puck buzzing high over goalie John Gibson’s shoulder.
“Look at the shot — in the slot. Boom,” Tocchet said. “That’s what he can do.”
The Flyers kept up the pressure in the immediate aftermath of that equalizer, aiming to take the lead. During one sequence with about 12 and a half minutes remaining, Foerster had another dangerous shot turned aside, threw a thunderous hit on Jacob Bernard-Docker and then nearly set up Tippett between the circles.
In 16:19 of ice time, Foerster finished with four shots alongside his 11th goal of the season. He wasn’t made available to chat after the game, as a team spokesman said he was getting treatment ahead of the Flyers’ flight to Long Island.
Regarding Foerster’s return, Konecny said: “What a lift for the team. It’s frustrating again we lost tonight, but it’s still encouraging. You go to the rink tomorrow, you have Forey around the locker room — big lift, big boost.”
Tyson Foerster, left, and Owen Tippett combined for six shots and two points in Foerster’s debut from injury. (Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)
Still, while Foerster was the story before the game and some moments in the first half, it was Martone who was all over the ice in the latter half, as six of his shots came in the final 24 minutes. So did his first career assist, when he threw the puck towards the front of the net and saw it bounce off of Konecny’s pants and in at 10:29 in the third, cutting the Red Wings’ lead to 3-2.
Earlier in the period, Konecny found Martone alone cutting in on the weak side in the opening minute. Martone ripped it on Gibson, who denied the shot and froze the puck.
Another prime chance came with 13:20 remaining and the Red Wings leading 2-1. Martone helped the Flyers gain possession with an aggressive forecheck, handed the puck to Travis Sanheim, got it back, cut to the high slot and unleashed a wrist shot that Gibson barely got a piece of with his shoulder.
It has taken no time for Martone, the sixth pick in the 2025 draft, to look comfortable in the NHL.
“I feel like I could have scored a couple,” Martone said. “I think I’m building some really good chemistry with (Konecny and Christian Dvorak), and one’s going to find the back of the net soon enough.”
Konecny, who played with Martone at last year’s World Championships on Team Canada, was asked if he’s surprised by Martone’s immediate impact.
“No. No. Just the way he plays, he’s not a risky player,” Konecny said. “He kind of reminds me of (Foerster) honestly, the way he plays north, he gets in on the forecheck hard, he’s a big body in front of the net, and he gets in good shooting areas and finds ways to get shots off. I’m not shocked.”
There was also one odd sequence in the second period, in which Martone seemed to be at the receiving end of a tongue-lashing and a slight shove in the back from referee Cody Beach after Martone seemed upset with a non-call.
“Just a little verbal, I don’t know, interaction there,” Martone said. “I just continue to keep playing and try not to worry about that.”
What burned the Flyers were avoidable mistakes. Jamie Drysdale’s misplay at the offensive zone blue line late in the second period helped lead to Lucas Raymond giving the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at the intermission. Then, just 15 seconds after Konecny’s third-period goal made it 3-2, Sanheim didn’t get all of a cleaning attempt. DeBrincat chased it down in the corner and funneled a shot towards the net that ricocheted off of Rasmus Ristolainen’s stick and over goalie Sam Ersson on what was a momentum-killer for the Flyers.
“We didn’t give them much,” Tocchet said. “What we gave them, they obviously put in the net.”
Tocchet also bemoaned the Flyers missing the net 20 times.
“It’s become a problem this year,” he said. “We had our chances, we just didn’t put them in.”
What the coach has now, though, is options with his lineup. While the top two lines were effective almost all night from a possession standpoint, the third line of Noah Cates, Denver Barkey and Matvei Michkov was not, with just a 26.7 percent shot-attempt share. Meanwhile, Alex Bump has not played the past two games as a healthy scratch despite six even-strength points (3 goals, 3 assists) in 12 games.
Whether Bump plays against the Islanders is to be determined, but it’s worth wondering whether Tocchet does something to change up that particular line. Barkey scored a late goal against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday by going to the front of the net, but didn’t have any shots against the Red Wings. Michkov has now gone 25 straight games without a single five-on-five goal, his move to right wing after the trade deadline doing virtually nothing to jump-start his game.
“There are some guys that aren’t going to play that are good players,” Tocchet said. “That’s good, and bad for them, but it also breeds competition.”
Foerster and Martone are obviously safe. And, they may have to replicate their efforts against the Red Wings again on Friday against the Islanders if the Flyers are to remain alive.
“Something in this room that they’re preaching for the rest of the season,” Martone said, “(is) just continue to keep going, and not having any quit.”