Couturier (hip) a surprise start for desperate Flyers
>> Sean Couturier was able to play Monday night despite speculation that he could be facing an extended injury layoff. As it turned out, Couturier is apparently dealing with an old hip issue that wasn’t severe enough to keep him off the ice against the New York Islanders, who wound up stealing a 2-1 overtime victory from the home team at Wells Fargo Center.
For Couturier, who’s been around long enough to know a team desperate for wins when he plays for one, consolation came in how his team played, if not quite the way he was able to.
“It’s a typical hip flexor for a hockey player,” coach Alain Vigneault said about Couturier. “He said he felt fine tonight. Obviously no one at this point is at 100 per
cent, so he’s not 100 percent, but he’s good to go.”
Honestly, Couturier didn’t look all that good during the game. Or at least not like himself.
Perhaps surprised to hear in the post-game Zoom session that his injury had been more or less diagnosed, he said he just needed to build himself back up to speed. He had missed the Flyers’ forgettable 6-1 loss to the Isles Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum.
“It was a weird sensation that I had,” Couturier said. “I didn’t have any power (skating). But I got some treatments the last few days, and I was feeling good enough to go. I just have to find that strength again, that power, that explosiveness that enables me to use my body well and separate from other players.”
As for the way he played, Couturier was a little less descriptive: “I felt all right,” he said. “A little off with the puck, but other than that...”
Other than that the Flyers for the most part found an answer to their seriously hysterical defensive woes of late by effectively forechecking the Isles shift after shift over the first two periods. But the Isles cashed in on a couple of Flyers miscues, on the tying goal by Oliver Wahlstrom at 4:08 of the third period and then the winner by Anthony Beauvillier 3:41 into overtime.
The Isles outshot the Flyers 4-0 in the OT, but the Flyers put up a 37-15 shots advantage in regulation, an indication at what kind of game Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin turned in.
“It’s tough, we played a pretty good game,” Couturier said. “We outshot them, had our chances and couldn’t capitalize, and then they get two bounces their way and they cash in. It’s tough but we have to play tomorrow like that.” •••
Shayne Gostisbehere tried to snag an off-line pass by Joel Farabee during OT and managed only to chip it toward no one. That became the turnover that led to Beauvillier’s winning goal.
Otherwise, according to Vigneault, Gostisbehere played well. That would be good for him to hear since he was fresh off a threegame healthy benching.
True to the state of depth and confidence among the Flyers’ defensive corps these days, Ghost was promptly placed on the No. 1 pair with Ivan Provorov.
“We’re just giving him an opportunity to play tonight,” Vigneault said before the game, “and we expect him, like our team, to play well and be consistent.”
At least those boxes were checked after the club’s seventh loss in its last 10 games.
“They said my offense is doing fine. There’s a difference when you’re playing with confidence offensively; you can tell,” Gostisbehere said. “And you have to play with confidence defensively, too. You have to be hard on pucks, you have to win one on one (battles). I don’t think I’ve really been doing that, and obviously, I’ve paid for it. I’m going to learn from that and move on.”