Flyers’ Coach Not Happy with One of his Defensemen

Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella is not happy with the defensive play of one of his players.

This time, it’s defenseman Tony DeAngelo who absorbed criticism from his coach.

At Thursday’s morning skate, Tortorella used the words “defensive liability” when describing  DeAngelo’s recent play.

DeAngelo has contributed offensively- he entered Thursday with none goals and 31 points — but he was a team-worst minus-16. He was minus-5 over the last five games.

Tortorella wasn’t totally critical. He said DeAngelo has “done some great things,”

As for his defense …

“We want to try to help him,” Tortorella said. “We feel he needs to get better defensively — without taking away any of the great offensive ability he has.”

Added Tortorella: “The defensive liability is something we have to work on.”

DeAngelo was relayed his coach’s comments.

“Obviously, that’s his opinion,” he said before the Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. “He’s the coach, so you have to listen to what he says. I think I know how to defend. It’s a team game, too, at the same time. There is some stuff I would like to work on, do a little better job at.”

DeAngelo, 27, started the season on the top pairing with Ivan Provorov. Now he’s next to Nick Seeler on the third pairing.

A South Jersey native who grew up in Washington Township, DeAngelo said “everybody has room to get better. You’re not always going to agree with everything that is said. Offensively, I think I’ve been good, but the numbers are what they are. That’s the main part of my game. But just try to round it out.”

With a little over 14 minutes left in Thursday’s first period, DeAngelo nearly scored the game’s first goal, but his shot from the high slot hit iron.

DeAngelo played well in the Flyers’ 2-1 shootout win over Edmonton. He had five shot attempts, two hits, and an “even” rating. In overtime, he also made a good defensive play to prevent Connor McDavid from taking a shot.

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