VOORHEES, N.J. — Sean Couturier admitted his top line could improve on the defensive side of the puck.
John Tortorella more than agreed with that assessment.
"I think they've been awful defensively," the Flyers' head coach said Monday after practice.
Couturier centers Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny on the Flyers' first line. In six December games, Couturier and Konecny both have a minus-2 on-ice goal differential at even strength, while Farabee has an even mark. They know they can finish more offensively, perhaps bury a few more chances and then they're playing less defense.
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But "awful" may be a tad harsh for describing their defensive play of late. However, Tortorella clearly holds his top line to a high standard. Couturier has a Selke Trophy on his résumé, Konecny is a two-time All-Star and Farabee is a young forward who was challenged this offseason after having a career year.
They're tasked with the toughest matchups and if they're losing those matchups, the Flyers are likely going to be an up-and-down team.
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"I think they have struggled defensively not so much on the rush," Tortorella said. "I think they make me dizzy they spin so much in our end zone. They need to stop in our end zone. … I always talk about arrivals. How you arrive on that rush coverage is key to coverage, it's key to getting [the puck] back. If you're spinning all over the place, no one knows where you're going to be, no one knows if you're going to be the low man or you're going to be covering a point, and that's where your defense ends up playing in between and playing off.
"So that arrival, that's where they've really struggled because they don't want to stop, they keep on spinning. But they're smart enough people and they're good enough players that they'll rectify that. We've certainly shown them some clips of that the past week or so. They've been brutal."
The Flyers enter this week 14-13-4. They've gone 13-8-3 after starting 1-5-1. Following that start, they haven't lost more than three games in a row, but they also haven't won more than three games in a row.
Over this season and last season, the Flyers are 24-11-6 when Couturier records at least a point.
"You just don't want to be a defensive liability," the 32-year-old captain said. "You want to help out in different areas, whether it's being solid defensively, blocking shots, establishing the forecheck. There are different ways you can get involved and help the team win when you're not producing. I think that's important.
"It's one thing to not produce, but you don't want to be a liability also. As long as we're responsible on both sides of the puck, we'll be all right. I think as a line, we've created a lot of chances; we maybe haven't finished as much as we'd like to. But I think we need to be maybe a little more tight defensively and it'll help us offensively."
Starting Wednesday when they visit the Red Wings (7 p.m. ET/TNT), the Flyers play three games in four days. After a day off Sunday, they had a competitive, high-paced, 45-minute practice Monday.
"As much as you're playing, you can almost lose your legs a little bit," Konecny said. "And a good skate like that can help. I know the math part doesn't add up, but it's just the way it works. It's like a morning skate, sometimes you just need to get it out of your system and grind it out. It felt good today getting our legs going and grinding a little bit."
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