Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett returned to the lineup, and the Flyers snapped a three-game skid with a 6-3 win over the Mammoth tonight.
Matvei Michkov, Konecny, Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak, Oliver Bonk and Cole Knuble all scored at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Five Flyers had multi-point games, and Jamie Drysdale picked up three assists. Philadelphia is now 4-8-4.
"High-energy guys and great players," Dvorak said, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. "It was huge to have them back and they made a huge difference tonight."
Konecny has played just six of the Flyers' 16 games this season, and Tippett has played 10. Those absences hit hard, and the loss of Konecny and Tippett before the Capitals game is part of why this start got away from them.
Tippett said Konecny's impact went beyond the ice. "He made himself known, for sure," he told NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I skated with him when we were both out. I told him he worked for that one."
Konecny backhanded a shot off Artyom Duda to make it 2-1 early in the second period. Later in that frame he leveled Duda with a hard hit. He has led the Flyers in points in each of the last five seasons, and they badly missed that.
Konecny also addressed the noise around a team that started 4-8-4. "People can doubt us, that's fine, they did last year," he said. "Let's get back on track, let's chip away and see where we are at the end."
Jordan Hall highlighted the message from the room: the Flyers are tuning out the doubters, just as they did a year ago.
Flyers' honest locker-room talk and a tighter defensive plan
The Flyers had three days between games and used them. Rick Tocchet said before puck drop that the team spent a lot of time and commitment on defending, adding that they need another level of it.
Sean Couturier said the group challenged itself after its last loss. "Sometimes some hard things need to be said," he said. He added that nobody in the room was surprised by how the team had been playing.
That honesty showed up on the scoreboard. Dmitry Simashev tied it for Utah in the first period, 1:35 after Michkov's opener, and the Flyers didn't flinch.
Michkov's 10th goal came with 7:11 left in the first. It was his eighth in his last eight games. Last season he needed 45 games to reach 10, and this time it took 16.
Daniel Vladar stopped 19 of 22 shots and has allowed three or fewer goals in four of his last five starts. Tocchet called him good, then added that the Flyers have to do it consistently.
Dvorak, Bonk and Knuble scored in the third, and Knuble sealed it into an empty net. But the late stretch got sloppy. Cates and Couturier took penalties, and Utah scored on both power plays. That's a habit Tocchet won't tolerate against better teams.
Trevor Zegras gave everyone a scare in the second when Duda fell on him after Konecny's hit. Zegras went up the tunnel, then returned to the bench and finished the game. The Flyers will see how he feels over the next couple of days.
Philadelphia hosts Minnesota on Tuesday, November 3, with a healthier lineup and a chance to string two wins together. The Flyers see the Mammoth again March 13 at Delta Center.
