Breaking Down the Flyers’ Offensive Struggles

After the Flyers’ 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, John Tortorella challenged some of his most prominent names to be better and start scoring again.

“Our roster has changed, but we have some guys that can score some goals, and those are the ones (that are) going to have to step up,” said the Flyers’ coach.

Tortorella challenged the following players: Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, and, most notably, Travis Konecny.

The Flyers are on a five-game losing streak, their longest pointless streak of the season. Their roster has become even more depleted, as they traded away two everyday players at the deadline.

Needless to say, the Flyers need to get those guys back on track. Especially since the NHL trade deadline, it has been a struggle for the Flyers, but how bad has it really been?

Read More: 3 Flyers’ Thoughts: Big Mistakes, Bad Goaltending Leads to Loss

Matvei Michkov

Michkov has been the most productive Flyer since the 4 Nations break. Michkov has tallied 11 points since play has resumed, and has re-entered the Calder Trophy race, if he was ever out of it.

However, of those 11 points, just one fell after the trade deadline. Granted, the Flyers have played just three games since, with Michkov going scoreless in the previous two.

Michkov is definitely not the issue with the Flyers’ productivity, but one thing is for certain: when he is scoring, the Flyers have a better chance at winning games. The Flyers will look to get Michkov scoring if they want to snap this losing streak.

Read More: More Tough Love: Tortorella Benches His Rookie, Again

Sean Couturier

The Flyers’ captain was never expected to carry a load of the Flyers offense this season. However, Sean Couturier has played his best this season when playing between Michkov and Owen Tippett.

While he is not scoring at an astronomical clip by any means, Couturier is certainly playing better than expected this season, especially with his new linemates. The line was put together after the 4 Nations break, and they looked like they had the potential to be a lethal scoring group.

However, the line has hit a stalemate, as production has dropped off. After the first two games, when the line looked dominant, Couturier’s production has fallen significantly, earning just two points (1G, 1A) since. Again, it was not expected that the Flyers’ captain would be a big-time point producer for the Flyers. However, he needs to find a way to get more involved with the offense to help get the Flyers out of their offensive woes.

Owen Tippett

Owen Tippett was firing on all cylinders after returning from injury. Tippett scored four goals in his first three games back. Since then, Tippett has just one goal, which is the only goal scored by the players Tortorella challenged since the deadline.

He has been inconsistent for the Flyers during his tenure in Philly. When he is on, he is ON. When he is off, it can be quite dreadful. Tippett has the offensive ability to be an absolute game-breaker. The tools are there for him to be a star; he just needs to find that consistency.

In six games in March, Tippett only has one point, his goal against Seattle.

The Flyers need Tippett to find his scoring groove again, now more than ever.

Read More: PhHN Daily: Pick Watch; Vet Goalie Extended; Next Flyers Mailbag

Tyson Foerster

Tyson Foerster put together a solid rookie campaign last year, scoring 20 goals and 13 assists. He is poised to be an offensive weapon with a massive shot. He has improved in his sophomore year, but by how much?

Foerster currently has 16 goals and 14 assists, just three points shy of his number from last year (33).

While a massive next step would have been nice to see, Foerster seems to be more of a two-way player this season compared to last year, which may be holding him back from smashing his production from last year.

While Foerster has undoubtedly been one of the more exciting players to watch all season, his production has also stalled since the break. He has had five points since then, but the consistency is just not there. After each game he has found the score sheet, there have been two games between his next point.

The Flyers need to let Foerster unleash his offensive abilities. Maybe adding Travis Konecny to that top line with Foertser and Noah Cates will allow the young forward to explode, and help him find consistency.

Travis Konecny

At this point, it’s hard to tell what is wrong with Travis Konecny. He was ole reliable for the Flyers in 2024, but since the calendar flipped, he has gone missing.

It is hard to come up with different ways to describe Konecny’s funk, so I continuously fall back to the term snakebitten. Nothing can go right for the Flyers’ star. Not much has changed about his game; he still shoots the puck consistently, makes plays, and is on the Flyers’ top power-play unit. Even with the lack of a break, Konecny’s ice time is still the most amongst the forwards.

The only thing that makes sense is the absence of his steady center, Morgan Frost. If you look at when his struggles really began to show, it is right after the Flyers traded Frost to Calgary. After, it was a heavy diet of Scott Laughton as Konecny’s center.

Konecny needs to find a center with Morgan Frost’s vision and playmaking ability, which may go underappreciated as far as Frost’s Flyers tenure goes. Unfortunately for Konecny, the Flyers don’t have anyone like that on their team right now. Since the break, Konecny has just four points. Since the trade, he has just seven points, and only one of them is a goal.

Was Frost what helped make Konecny so good? Playing with Laughton and Ryan Poehling did not help Konecny continue his scoring; maybe lining up to the right of Noah Cates will.

Read More: Flyers’ Draft Prospect Profile: A Physical Swede Center (PhHN+)