Here’s what the Flyers can look to accomplish as they play out the string

Less than a year ago, there was a lot of positivity among the Flyers as they headed into the summer months.

Expectations were low heading into the 2023-24 season, but the Flyers scoffed at outsiders and came close to making the Stanley Cup playoffs. While hoping to build on it this season, the team has struggled to find the same footing and now sits eight points back of a postseason spot with too many teams in its way.

Saturday was another reminder of where the Flyers are and where they could be. Facing the Carolina Hurricanes, they were handed their sixth loss in seven games and were shut out for the sixth time this season.

The Orange and Black have 14 games left. While they face some of the NHL’s top teams down the stretch, they need to head into the offseason with some positivity again.

Here are three things the Flyers can focus on between now and Game 82.

Someone needs to sage Travis Konecny’s equipment or maybe whip up a potion to break the spell cast over him.

Because it’s time.

The Flyers winger has not scored in 11 straight games and has just one goal in his last 21 games. Yikes.

It’s not that he isn’t getting chances. On Saturday, Natural Stat Trick had him down for eight shot attempts, including three from high-danger spots, and five scoring chances across 18 minutes, 19 seconds of ice time. And that doesn’t even include the pass by Ryan Poehling that was flubbed during a shorthanded two-on-one. As he went off for the line change, you could see the frustration mounting.

“It’s never effort with him. Keep putting him on the ice,” coach John Tortorella said. “Hopefully something happens for him the right way, because he’s trying. And just have to keep putting him out there.”

Konecny has been moved to the right wing with Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster. That duo, along with Bobby Brink, who has sparked Poehling and Olle Lycksell, have been fantastic for weeks. The hope is their puck support and connection can reignite Konecny.

“It’s not always pretty. It’s, especially when you’re getting out of a funk, it’s just something simple that goes in and then you find your confidence, and you go from there,” Cates said. “So just trying to do that and help him get the puck in spots where he thrives.”

One positive is that despite only one goal in that 21-game span, the Ontario native does have 10 assists. And despite the slump, he is just three points shy of last season’s career-high 68 in 76 games.

Entering Sunday, Matvei Michkov sat five points back of the rookie points leader, Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens. The Flyers winger has 47 points in 66 games and is one goal behind Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks for the top spot with 20. And he’s doing all this despite playing fewer minutes.

“It’s impossible to not watch [other rookies] because every time it’s on the Jumbotron,” Michkov said Friday through a team translator. “The other rookies are playing good and collecting points as well. I’m trying to score and give the passes too.”

Unlike his competitors for the coveted Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top newcomer, Michkov is the only one with multiple rookie of the month awards. He came out like a barnstormer in October, collecting four goals and nine points in 11 games to win the award for the organization for the first time since James van Riemsdyk in November 2009. The 20-year-old won it again in February with five goals and 10 points in seven contests.

Of course, Michkov will tell you that the most important thing is to try to enjoy hockey and try to make the playoffs. “Whatever happens, whether I achieve it or not, nothing will change. My main thing is to keep working,” he said.

And that is one thing he can focus on as the season winds down. Although he has 14 multipoint games, including four games with two goals, he does need to improve his defensive game while continuing to work on his offense.

Skating with Owen Tippett and Sean Couturier has brought stability — and now he needs to build on it. And, of course, getting the power play going. Then maybe he can snag the Calder, a first for the organization.

In the second period Saturday, Emil Andrae had the puck and got closed out along the boards when he tried to spin away from Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal despite having the easy option of moving the puck around the boards to an open Couturier. Carolina ended up with control and two shot attempts across the next 20 seconds.

It was the kind of moment Tortorella spoke about regarding Andrae.

“I want him to respect the league and when I say respect the league, I want him to understand that there’s a process for him to come into this league. And respect is a big part of it,” Tortorella said Friday. “You can’t do some things sometimes. You’ve got to wait your turn to try those certain plays or think you can do that.”

It probably didn’t help Andrae that the forechecker was the 2024 Selke Trophy runner-up. But maybe that’s what Tortorella meant by respect.

Regardless, there is no denying Andrae’s talent.

His ability to be a top-end puck mover is a reason the 23-year-old defenseman so often gets mixed up with Michkov — they have a similar skating style and jersey numbers and are both lefties — that Michkov’s mother and Andrae’s buddies don’t even know who is whom. Earlier on the shift, after Couturier won the defensive-zone faceoff back to him, he moved the puck up to Tippett and was flying up the ice with him.

Andrae isn’t Bobby Orr or Denis Potvin, but according to Natural Stat Trick, when the Swedish defenseman is on the ice at five-on-five, the Flyers have 51.67% of the shot attempts. Among Flyers who have played at least 200 minutes at five-on-five, he is the only one above 50%.

And he’s just 32 games into his NHL career. Flyers general manager Danny Brière said Andrae will be here for the rest of the season. It’s time to let him figure things out and get acclimated to the timing and tempo in the much faster big league. Because, like his doppelgänger, he’s the future of the organization.

» READ MORE: John Tortorella addresses Emil Andrae’s growing pains: ‘I want him to respect the league’