PHILADELPHIA \u2014 It\u2019s more fun to be the hunter than the hunted when playoff spots are at stake. The Flyers, who began Tuesday four points out of postseason consideration, looked calm and relaxed in a recent three-game sweep in California, with two that went past regulation.<\/p>\n
About two weeks ago, the Flyers were nine points back, and hockey followers pretty much wrote them out of the chase for the Stanley Cup. Then a 5-0-1 streak put them right back in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are pressure moments in games,\u201d coach Rick Tocchet said after morning skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. \u201cYou try to deal with the moment of the pressure. And I think we\u2019ve dealt with it pretty good, knowing time and score, knowing when to go and when not to go. I think we did a nice job. We have to stay out of the penalty box but game management is getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are times when the Flyers execute very well, and others where they look like a nervous high school team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still looking for execution but we\u2019re getting better at it,\u201d Tocchet said. \u201cThere has to be execution all over the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coach liked the way the Flyers finished up the San Jose game Thursday, protecting a 2-1 lead into the final minutes when a pair of empty-net goals put the game out of reach.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Noah) Cates\u2019 line, they were going,\u201d Tocchet said. \u201cThey were forechecking, not backing off. We got to get in that mode. Listen, you want to be calculated but you don\u2019t want to back up. You want to play the game the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a case of staying cool under pressure. Travis Konecny says that\u2019s the best way to play. It leads to more minutes of mistake-free hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a fun spot, we\u2019re playing high-pressure games,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a good chance that if we keep playing the way we do, we can actually get in (to the playoffs). At this point we know that the teams ahead of us have the pressure. So just keep putting it on them. Just enjoy the games.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n
The Flyers\u2019 power play finally broke through against San Jose. The team can use a reversal of fortune from the NHL\u2019s worst power play this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a huge part for our push here toward the playoffs,\u201d Carl Grundstrom said. \u201cSo hopefully we can keep scoring goals. Those are going to be really important coming down the stretch here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n
Much of the credit for the Columbus Blue Jackets\u2019 turnaround has been given to coach Rick Bowness. Tocchet once played for Bowness and had nothing but good things to say about him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a guy you want to play for because he simplifies the game,\u201d Tocchet said. \u201cHe lets you be who you are. If you are a goalscorer, be that. But there are certain rules that he has. There is a tough side to him. But there\u2019s also that father figure, really nice guy. But he can get in your face, too. You can tell that they love playing for him. Great coach, get guy, one of my favorites.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 It\u2019s more fun to be the hunter than the hunted when playoff spots are at stake.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5112],"tags":[1468,5,4,1467,56,5205,43,5095],"class_list":{"0":"post-521001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-flyers","8":"tag-flyers","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","13":"tag-philadelphiaflyers","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-top-stories-tmc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116286668761580049","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}