Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Flyers

Power Outage: Power Play and Cam York are Issues for the Flyers Right Now

Anthony SanFilippo

By Anthony SanFilippo

Published:

Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Losses like Saturday night are going to happen.

The Flyers are a rebuilding team. They’re going to have rough outings. They’re going to get bulldozed by good teams – and the Los Angeles Kings are a wagon.

It was also their third game in four nights – with travel in between – which is a very difficult thing to do in the NHL, regardless of how good a team you are. Heck, Los Angeles coach Todd McClellan even said so much after his team manhandled the Flyers 5-0.

“Sometimes you have to recognize and understand where the schedule takes you and they were a team playing their third game in four nights who played (the night before), so we had to find a way to get on the board first,” McClellan said. “That’s not a sagging team, that’s a character team. …It’s hard to play three games in four nights in this league. We have to do it numerous times. We know that things will have to go right for us on those nights, find ways to manage our way through a game and scratch one out. We took advantage of a team that was a little bit tired. They’ll come back and hunt us and we’ll have to manage that.”

Not only were the Flyers tired, but they were playing their second straight game without starting goalie Carter Hart (mid-body injury) and No. 1 center Sean Couturier (lower body injury).

All this to say, the “L” was inevitable.

But that’s not what this story is about. That’s just setting the stage for the two things I want to bring to your attention that goes far beyond the outcome of the contest.

The first is the Flyers power play and the second is top-pair defenseman Cam York.

Let’s start with the power play. It’s struggling mightily. And saying it that way is me being kind.

They are 4-for-41 so far this season. That’s a clip of 9.8%. That ranks 30th of the 32 teams in the NHL. (Amazingly there are two teams worse – Washington at 9.7% and St. Louis at 3.7%).

Of course this is nothing new. Check out the date of this tweet:


A big part of the problem is the Flyers are getting too cute. They pass the puck – a lot. They don’t shoot the puck enough. They have just 53 shots on 41 power plays. And the shots they’re taking are not necessarily from the highest percentage scoring areas.

It’s as if they’re overthinking this and looking for the perfect play, but would probably be better suited to just simplify things and just get shots through and try to jam in a rebound. It sounds too easy, but the Flyers lack a lot of high-end skill, so they need to show that character McClellan was talking about and go get greasier goals.

Even coach John Tortorella identified this as an issue after a loss to Buffalo earlier this week.

“The decision-making needs to be simplified,” Tortorella said. “I think there are some shots to be taken. I watch (Owen Tippett) just slapping it around. Even Bobby Brink. I think we need to simplify that and generate more shots to the net and then I think things will open up for other plays after that.”

Well, it didn’t get any better Saturday. Because there was a lot of “slapping it around” and not a lot of shooting. The Flyers were 0-for-4 on the power play. On one advantage in the second period, they had the puck in the offensive zone for the entire time, and didn’t get a shot on goal. They passed the puck a lot. They did a good job of winning 50/50 pucks to regain possession. But shoot? Wasn’t happening.

It wasn’t long after that power play when L.A. scored to make it 3-0 and then just before the end of the period scored again, and it was 4-0, and that was that.

“There are things we need to learn,” Tortorella said. “We almost made it 2-1 on the power play, and then a few little things happened and the next thing you know it’s 4-0. Those are the lessons we need to learn against a really good hockey team. Those are the lessons we need to figure out.”

One other thing they need to figure out is why Morgan Frost, who is a skillful playmaker, is serving as the net-front presence on the power play. He’s not a big guy who is going to set up shop down low and be tough to push out of a spot. He’s not a guy whose going to outwork a defenseman to get in position to tip pucks past the goalie, or gather in a rebound. Frost is better suited on the half wall where he has the vision and passing ability to set up his teammates.

I know Couturier is usually the guy down low on the top PP unit and he’s not in the lineup, but why Frost is the answer makes little sense. I know Tyson Foerster is fighting it because he hasn’t scored, but he’s a guy who is more suited for that role than Frost. Heck, why not flip Frost and Tippett? Tippett has a nose for the net. Yeah, he’s got that shot from the circle that you’d like to tee up, but if he’s not going to take that shot, why not try him from a different spot on the ice?

Either way, the power play is hurting the Flyers, and needs to be corrected to help support the otherwise solid play the team is providing at 5-on-5.

As for York…

He’s not a top-pair defenseman. Plain and simple. The guy has looked overmatched playing big minutes. He made a bad pinch on a goal by Buffalo on Wednesday. He whiffed at a puck that became the first L.A. goal.


(Terrible play by Tippett to start that play, BTW… )

He took a stupid delay of game penalty on what should have been an easy zone exit for the Flyers, and the Kings scored on the resulting power play.


And then his turnover in the waning seconds of the second period led to a fourth goal.


Torts had seen enough after that play, and rooted him to the bench for the third period. York didn’t take one shift in the final 20 minutes as Yegor Zamula played most of the period with Travis Sanheim.

When asked about what’s been going on with York, who seems a bit over-exposed in the bigger minutes, Torts didn’t say much, but said a whole heck of a lot at the same time.

“I don’t know,” he said. “You’ll have to ask him. But I have my thoughts.”

That sounds like a coach who doesn’t like a player’s drive or willingness to play with a bit more intensity.

It’s going to be a concern for the Flyers if he doesn’t kick it into another gear. He needs to play a harder game. Right now, he looks too laid back on the ice and it costs him too many times.

Ultimately, York probably isn’t a top pair defenseman, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Torts and his coaching staff stop treating him like one – for a bit anyway.

Anthony SanFilippo
Anthony SanFilippo

Anthony SanFilippo writes about the Phillies and Flyers for Crossing Broad and hosts a pair of related podcasts (Crossed Up and Snow the Goalie). A part of the Philadelphia sports media for a quarter century, Anthony also dabbles in acting, directing, teaching, and strategic marketing, which is why he has no time to do anything, but does it anyway. Follow him on Twitter @AntSanPhilly.

Advertise With Us