Fresh off his first NHL hat trick, Tyson Foerster continues to look ‘more comfortable in his own skin’
The 23-year-old winger has posted career highs in goals (22) and points (39), but Brad Shaw is most impressed with his two-way play.
In the final stretch of the Flyers’ season, Tyson Foerster is finally finding his groove.
After snapping his 14-game goal drought against the Montreal Canadiens on March 27, the 23-year-old has scored six goals in his last five games, including his first career hat trick, on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
His line with Bobby Brink and Noah Cates has been the Flyers’ most consistent one this year. Together, that line is outscoring its opponents 28-21, and earning 59.18% of the high-danger chances.
“What that line does better than the rest of our team in general is the next two or three seconds,” interim coach Brad Shaw said. “There’s an intent there to get the puck back as soon as possible, or to be disrupted as soon as possible. And [Foerster’s] a big part of that. I think Cates is a big part of that. I think Brink’s a big part of it. I don’t know how you divvy up who gets what percentage, I think they all feed off one another.”
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Brink said that it was “special” to see Foerster score his first NHL hat trick, and that the entire team is playing with confidence and making plays, especially since Shaw replaced John Tortorella five games ago. But Foerster was more nonchalant about his big game.
“I guess, yeah, but it would’ve been nice to make the playoffs for sure,” Foerster said after the 8-5 win in New York. “I couldn’t have done it without my linemates, obviously [Cates] and [Brink] helped me a lot.”
Up for his first contract extension this offseason, Foerster, who will be a restricted free agent, came into 2024-25 looking to improve on his 33-point rookie campaign. His 22 goals and 39 points this season are both career highs, and with four games left, there is still time to improve on those numbers.
But what has impressed Shaw the most is the growth of Foerster’s two-way game. Midway through the season, Shaw took Foerster off the penalty kill, which initially frustrated him.
“He wasn’t real happy earlier this year when I took him off and made him sort of a bit player,” Shaw said. “He didn’t talk to me for about a month, but I thought at the time it was good for him to watch. When you don’t just hand it over to them, I think they do pay attention.”
But after Scott Laughton was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline, Foerster got another opportunity, and he has run with it. After playing zero shorthanded minutes the game before Laughton was dealt, Foerster’s penalty kill time has steadily increased.
Since the deadline, Foerster has played 25 minutes and 15 seconds on the penalty kill, the second-most shorthanded minutes of any Flyers forward. Shaw praised Foerster’s mindset during that time off as a big reason for his recent success.
“He’s an impressive young man, as far as his maturity, as far as being a pro, I think he’s never taken anything for granted, which some young players can,” Shaw said. “It took him a while to maybe figure out where he fits in at the NHL level. He seems way more comfortable in his own skin.”
Breakaways
Forwards Ryan Poehling and Matvei Michkov were not on the ice Friday in Voorhees. NBC Sports later reported that both players missed practice for “precautionary reasons.” Both are expected to play Saturday against the New York Islanders.