Andrei Kuzmenko’s addition could help remedy some of the Flyers’ power-play issues
According to NHL Edge, the Flyers spend only 54.8% of their power play time in the offensive zone — over three percentage points below the NHL average.
It may be a “New Era of Orange” but the Flyers power-play struggles are not.
Even before coach John Tortorella and his staff got behind the bench at the start of the 2022-23 season, the Flyers struggled to score with the man advantage. Since the league started tracking this statistic in 1977, the 2021-22 season was the worst in Flyers history (12.6%) — but was quickly supplanted.
Under the guidance of Tortorella and assistant coach Rocky Thompson, it rose slightly to 15.6% the following year. But it was still the worst-ranked power play in the NHL. It plummeted to 12.2% effectiveness last season, setting a new franchise record while swimming — er, sinking — in the league’s basement.
This year has been a roller coaster. Things started well, powered by rookie Matvei Michkov’s ability to score from the right post; six of his first seven NHL points, and 14 of his 36 this season, have been on the power play.
But then it slipped. Horrifically.
It has rallied since a New Year’s Eve’s 4-0 win against the San Jose Sharks that included a power-play goal. But in the early hours of Jan. 31, the Flyers’ man advantage lost Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. It came amid a 1-for-12 stretch into the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
“It would only be frustrating for me if our guys weren’t trying,” Thompson said Thursday. “They’re trying the best that they can to execute. We go out early — you guys don’t see it — we go out on the ice and we get the pylon thing and those obstacles out there, just to kind of walk through things five-on-zero to improve skill sets, all of those things.
“They’ve bought [in] completely, and they want it to be successful as well. They’re trying so I don’t get frustrated because of that, because they’re putting in the effort.”
Unfortunately, the effort isn’t popping.
According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers have the second-fewest shot attempts (341), the fewest shots (157), and the third-fewest high-danger chances (80) on the power play in the NHL. The one positive? They have 13 high-danger goals, which puts them in the middle of the pack.
When they can set up, the Flyers can score. But they often struggle with zone entries and setting up. According to NHL Edge, the Flyers spend only 54.8% of their power-play time in the offensive zone — over three percentage points below the NHL average. They are above the league average in time spent in the defensive zone, and that’s not a good thing.
“I don’t think in terms of pressure, pressure never bothers me. Whether I was a player, pressure doesn’t bother me. I handle it,” Thompson said. “It’s a strength of mine, I guess you would say, because I’m prepared, and I work, and I ask for help. … I just want to be better. I want the guys to be better. We’re trying to find something.”
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That something could be Andrei Kuzmenko. Thompson is excited about the addition of the Russian goal scorer, who has scored 32.3% of his career points on the power play. In his rookie season (2022-23), Kuzmenko was tied with Alexander Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Matthew Tkachuk, and Drake Batherson with 14 power-play goals.
“He’s a shooter,” said Scott Laughton, who Thompson mentioned will be back on the first power play. “I think he can bring that really good release from the slot and we’ve got to find him there. He’s got good energy to move his legs and find space. So hopefully, him and Mich got a little chemistry there, and we can put a couple in the back of the net tomorrow.”
The Flyers will face the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (1 p.m., NBCSP) and could probably take a few notes. Backed by stars Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, the Oilers have the sixth-best power play this season (25%). Draisaitl is tied for fourth with 11 power-play goals and the dynamic duo each has 23 power-play points, tying them with a bunch of guys at 10th.
What could help the Flyers’ power play is that the Oilers have the 23rd-ranked penalty kill (75.6%). The hope is they can take advantage of that and defenseman Jamie Drysdale, known for his speed and quickness, will be a key for the top unit. He knows that confidence and trusting reads are important to the man advantage clicking, but are also what he needs to work on internally.
“At the end of the day, I feel like I’m a pretty good judge of my game, and it’s not where I know it can be, to be honest,” Drysdale said. “Honestly, more so just on the power play, I feel like my game’s gotten better on the other end of the game.
“I think power play can be a lot better, more effective ... maybe a little [less] robotic. Just try to create and make confident plays, I think that’ll help but as a group, we’ve got to stick together.”
Breakaways
According to Flyers general manager Danny Brière, forwards Owen Tippett and Ryan Poehling, and defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Egor Zamula are available to play Saturday. Poehling (head injury) and Zamula (upper-body injury) would need to be activated off injured reserve. Tippett and Ristolainen have each missed time with upper-body injuries.