John Tortorella, the face of the franchise, stood at the lectern Thursday night fresh off a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers and kept his answers short.
"Yeah, we started slow. I thought we picked it up in parts of the second period, and then we just hung in there," the Philadelphia Flyers coach told reporters. Tortorella was shaking his head as he said the "hung in there" part.
Tortorella is honest if nothing else. He values accountability and structure. Under his watch, nobody, not individual players or the collective group, will take shortcuts in his first season in Philly. Even though the 5-2-0 Flyers are off to an unexpectedly fantastic start, ranking fifth out of 32 teams in points percentage heading into Friday's slate of games, Tortorella isn't celebrating.
The non-celebratory attitude is a completely reasonable response since every positive development in the early stages of the Torts era deserves an asterisk.
Positive development No. 1: The Flyers own a winning record despite having three key contributors – Sean Couturier, Ryan Ellis, Cam Atkinson – sidelined with injuries. Rasmus Ristolainen (one game played), Owen Tippett (two games), and James van Riemsdyk (six games) have also missed time, further depleting an imperfect roster that seemed destined for a 2023 lottery pick.
Asterisk: You can tell Philly is missing those important pieces. According to Natural Stat Trick, the team has generated only 332 shot attempts, while the opposition has produced 511. The scoring chance count isn't much better, with 148 chances for and 275 against. The Flyers have certainly "hung in there" more than once, defeating teams by a single goal in three of their five wins.
Positive development No. 2: Carter Hart is playing at a Vezina Trophy-caliber level through five appearances, stopping 178 of 188 shots for a .947 save percentage – the NHL's second-best. Evolving Hockey lists Hart first in goals saved above expected, at a whopping 9.11. Yep, the 24-year-old's done his part.
Asterisk: At five-on-five, the Flyers rank 31st in expected goals for per 60 minutes and 29th in expected goals against per 60. In other words, Hart's dominance and a league-average power play have been papering over significant underlying issues at even strength. This isn't sustainable hockey.
Positive development No. 3: Kevin Hayes, who leads the team in points with 10, and Travis Konecny, the team leader in goals with four, both responded well to being benched in the third period this past Sunday, picking up two assists each on Thursday. Konecny, fiery, quick, and crafty, was buzzing all night.
Asterisk: Even if Hayes and Konecny are feeling it and the team is at full health, the Flyers still lack legitimate star power.