Flyers Unhappy with ‘Disconnected’ Play in 4-3 Loss to Canadiens

“Disconnected” was the word Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton used to describe his team’s performance in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday night, and his teammates agreed.

Despite icing a team that is virtually unchanged from the one that finished the 2023-24 season together, the Flyers look completely lost on the ice. It’s costing them games and important points in the standings.

Rookie goalie Aleksei Kolosov, making his first NHL start, looked as if he might have given the Flyers some jump in his debut. The Belarusian made 10 saves on 11 shots in the first period, with Travis Sanheim and Nick Suzuki scoring goals for their respective teams.

And Suzuki’s goal came on a breakdown in coverage in front of Kolosov. Neither Nick Seeler nor Morgan Frost picked up Suzuki in the crease, so the Canadiens captain was unabated in his attempt to cash in on a rebound.

“A little disconnected, and you need to start supporting pucks better,” Laughton bluntly assessed. “I thought Kolie was great for us tonight. I thought he stood in there and did a great job for us.”

The Flyers’ controller disconnected-esque defense returned again in the second period, as Brendan Gallagher, Cole Caufield, and Jake Evans scored in quick succession to give the Canadiens a 4-1 lead.

For a team that has been struggling as bad as it has offensively, that was too great a hole to climb out of. The final score proved as much.

“We’re just not working as a group,” Sanheim said. “That’s something we got to change very quickly, because the way we’re going, it’s not a good path.”

The Flyers did manage to stage a dramatic comeback late in the game against the Canadiens, with Sanheim and Travis Konecny scoring 29 seconds apart to bring the Flyers within two goals and then one.

Even with a strong final shift with Kolosov pulled for an extra skater, the Flyers failed to come up with the equalizer, thus falling to the Canadiens by a score of 4-3.

There were some positives to take from this one, including Sanheim’s dazzling individual performance, but head coach John Tortorella knows the problems on the ice remain the same.

“I thought our goalie played good. I thought he made some really good saves,” Tortorella said. “Sanheim has been through the struggles early in the year. I’ve seen him bring it to a whole different level.”

With two goals and an assist, Sanheim factored in on all three of the Flyers’ goals on Sunday night. Kolosov finished with 20 saves on 24 shots, and despite the softie he allowed to Cole Caufield on a long-winded power play shift, the 22-year-old was rock-solid in his NHL debut.

“You need to play up the ice in fives. It not only helps you defensively, but it helps you offensively,” Tortorella said of his Flyers, especially as it relates to playing with possession of the puck. “So, we’re just not playing in the fives, and it’s something we have to continue to work out.”