The Flyers just confirmed that Rick Tocchet and Trevor Zegras met with the media after Monday's practice.
It comes one day after Zegras left the Utah game hurt, and with the Flyers hosting the Wild on Tuesday, every word from the locker room matters.
The Flyers' official account noted that the head coach and the forward both spoke following the session.
Zegras logged 17:08 against Utah, finished with a +3 and one shot on goal, and did not reach the scoresheet. The Flyers won 6-3 anyway, which is the only reason Sunday night felt like a good one.
Now the attention shifts to what comes next for the player who leads this team in points. Through 16 games, Zegras has 4 goals and 9 assists for 13 points.
One of those goals came on the power play and one won a game. He sits at a -2, a number that says more about a team with a minus-19 goal differential than about him.
Last Friday, Zegras was given center time as Tocchet shuffled his lines again. A coach doesn't move a player into the middle of the ice unless he trusts him with the puck.
Three goals from 100 with the Wild in town
There's also a milestone hanging over this. Zegras has 97 career goals in 365 games, so 100 is three away.
The 2019 ninth overall pick has built that total with 169 assists alongside it, for 266 points. Hitting 100 in a Flyers sweater would be a nice moment on a rough season, but it only happens if he's in the lineup.
And the Flyers need every body they can get. They're 4-8-4, 27th in the NHL, and just 3-3-3 at home, so a win over Utah doesn't erase the standings.
Minnesota is a different kind of test. The Wild are 10-3-3, third in the league and first in the Central Division, and they come in off a 5-1 win in Washington.
Puck drop in Philadelphia is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the Flyers' lineup will tell the story of how Monday really went.
