Voracek disappears, but ‘Ghost’ shows jump in scrimmage
VOORHEES, N.J. » Taking one more step toward the resumption of what has developed as a promising season, the Flyers Saturday engaged in an intrasquad scrimmage.
The game-speed affair, the first in their post-hiatus training camp, featured five goals, a little edginess, some welcome jump from demoted defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and, to the amusement of some, assistant coach Ian Laperriere working as a linesman, in full officials’ dress.
It did not, however, feature Jake Voracek, who was unavailable for undisclosed reasons.
“Philadelphia Flyers forward, Jakub Voracek, is unable to participate in today’s scrimmage,” is all a press release from general manager Chuck Fletcher said.
The absence of Voracek was curious but not immediately horrifying. With the sensitivity of the NHL and its teams releasing news relating in any way, shape or form to the coronavirus pandemic, there was reason for concern.
The consensus on site, though, was that it was unlikely that just one infected player would be quarantined, considering that Voracek had been a full practice participant in recent days.
It’s also a continuing NHL practice for general managers to be overly protective of any injury information, somewhat of a specialty for years in Philadelphia.
In that spirit, head coach Alain Vigneault offered nothing useful, saying only, “I can’t give you more than what Chuck sent out in the memo there.”
Either way, Voracek’s absence did not create a teamwide panic.
“No concern,” said Scott Laughton. “We’ve still got lots of time until Toronto. We’ve got a week coming up. We’ll be all good to go.”
As for the game, there were some Laperriere moments worthy of mention.
“A couple of tough calls,” Laughton grumbled, in mock horror. “We thought their second goal was offside but we didn’t say anything about it. A couple tough icing calls. I think Lappy was putting on the cape a little bit with the icing calls.”
The calls, and the players’ reaction to them, were not as relevant as the activity itself. The Flyers will practice for another week in the Skate Zone before traveling to Toronto next Sunday, July 26, to begin pool play for postseason seeding. The playoffs will soon follow.
For that, the ramp-up intensified Saturday, with Team B defeating (you guessed it) Team A, 3-2, on goals from Gostisbehere, Travis Konecny and Connor Bunnaman. Justin Braun and James van Riemsdyk scored for the A’s. Brian Elliott (Team B) and Carter Hart did the bulk of the goaltending.
“I can’t say that one guy in particular stood out,” said Vigneault, who watched from a secondfloor balcony. “I definitely like our intensity. The execution and decision-making is going to get better. This is the first real scrimmage that these guys have had in a long time. There were some real good plays made.
“There were some decisions that will improve, but overall I liked the intensity of our group. I liked the pace that was out on the ice and I believe day by day we’re going to get better.”
Among those showing improvement Saturday was Gostisbehere, the formerly developing superstar whose progress has stalled at age 27, a result this season of minor surgeries on each knee. His activity was eyecatching and his goal mattered and, should he regain something of his earlier career form, could be a bonus addition for the summertime playoffs.
“This is sort of a new time for everybody,” Vigneault said. “Also, so far in these first six days, I’ve really liked Ghost on the ice. He’s got more jump than I expected coming back from that second surgery. He’s got a lot of pop, a lot of jump on the ice. That’s very good for us as a team.”
The Flyers finished the regular season 41-21-7, good for a first-round playoff bye. Instead, they will join the Bruins, Lightning and Capitals in a round-robin series for postseason seeding. The Flyers entering that set-up as the No. 4 seed, they will enjoy the oddly soothing consciousness that whatever they do in the roundrobin scramble cannot worsen their position.
That will also allow them to work on line combinations and defensive pairings, game plans and goaltender rotations without penalty. Among the decisions facing Vigneault is whether to use Laughton at center or on the left wing.
“I was talking about this a little bit this morning,” Laughton said. “I think probably earlier in my career, I would be more comfortable at center. The way the last couple years have gone, kind of switching back and forth, I think I’m comfortable at both positions and pretty much wherever they need me I’ll go. I’ve played enough at both positions in the last couple of years where I am definitely more comfortable at wing now than I was at the start of my career. Either-or is good.”
Saturday, it was just good for the Flyers to play competitively at NHL speed for the first time since March.
“I think from the start of camp, the intensity has been pretty high,” Laughton said. “The pace has been good. Guys want to be here and compete. I think you saw that a little bit today. It gets a little chippy when the game gets closer and everyone wants to win. I thought the pace was good.
“It’s a little sloppy. It’s hard to replicate game situations, but the way the guys were skating and competing, I think that’s what you have to look at early on in these skates. Once that comes, your vision comes back and your surroundings, time with the puck and your space, everything like that. I really liked the pace not only today, but so far in camp. I think guys are bringing it.”
The Flyers will practice again Sunday, then have off Monday. They have another scrimmage scheduled for Tuesday. The Skate Zone is not open to the public.
“That was fun,” Robert Hagg said after the game. “It was a lot of fun. You want to play games. Today was actually a really fun day to go out there and play some scrimmage. I think we’re going to do it a couple more times before heading to Toronto. I am all for it.”