NEWARK, NJ – The start of the season wasn’t pretty for the Flyers.
They were ambushed early by the Devils en route to a 6-0 loss Monday night at the Prudential Center.
The club’s decision-makers couldn’t take much positive away from it because there simply wasn’t much to evaluate.
The Flyers looked like they had nerves, rust and little chemistry, which could be the reality of the preseason.
“Especially at the beginning of camp,” Sean Couturier said. “I think if we have the same problems in two weeks then that should be a concern. For now we just have to keep going, build things together and go from there. I think it can only get better from today’s performance.”
The Flyers conceded four goals in the first 5:50 minutes of the game before finally finding their footing.
Ian Laperriere, head coach of AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley, led the Flyers behind the bench. His group was superior in two periods with 24:11 and in the game with 34:21.
• The big storylines Monday night were the return of Couturier and the absence of Cam Atkinson.
Couturier played his first game in over 21 months, an arduous layoff that resulted from two back surgeries.
“It’s been a year and a half,” the 30-year-old center said after his morning skate. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while, I’ve been thinking about it all summer. Now I’m here. “I’m just excited to start warming up, get off the first shift and just play hockey.” That’s what I miss the most.”
Overall, Couturier looked good given the circumstances. He didn’t shy away from contact and showed his cleverness on the wall. He went 10 for 18 in the faceoff circle and played over 18 minutes.
“The body felt good,” Couturier said. “I just have to build on it. Mentally I think I felt much fresher and clearer after that first shift. I think I just need to get better in terms of execution and plays. There were times when plays were just not quite successful.
Atkinson, who was scheduled to play on the second line in the morning, ended up being a scratch.
The 34-year-old winger missed the game due to pain from a lower body injury. If there’s anything positive for the Flyers here, it’s that the problem isn’t related to what kept Atkinson out all last season. He missed the 2022-23 season with a neck injury that required surgery in December.
Time will tell how serious Atkinson’s lower body problem is and whether it continues into preseason.
“Of course I would like to have such an experienced player in a game like this. I’m sure he’s disappointed, he wants to play,” Laperriere said. “But I don’t think it’s anything big. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. He’s a competitor, he wants to go back. Like Coots, he wants to test himself and I’m sure he will soon.”
Wade Allison played in Atkinson’s place on Monday.
• The Flyers fielded a roster that featured kids and six players with over 100 games of NHL experience.
Ondrej Palat’s opening goal came after just 1:08 minutes. The Flyers were hit in the net right after a faceoff.
Erik Haula made it 2-0 with an easy goal as the Flyers had a gap in coverage.
New Jersey’s third ball fell forward for a rebound and Cam York had a turnover along the backboard that led to the fourth goal.
“As a team, we were off tonight,” Couturier said. “We weren’t good at forechecking, they came at us hard, couldn’t break out, we couldn’t really do much to be honest.”
• Top prospects Tyson Foerster and Emil Andrae couldn’t do much to stand out in their quest to make the Flyers’ roster.
Foerster didn’t make a shot and the Flyers’ power play ended 0-for-3.
“They were tired,” Laperriere said of some of the young talent. “I hate to be the guy to say this, but you look at the camp, it’s a lot of skating. They have a day off tomorrow, everyone is happy, they are happy. But they fought through. That’s what I wanted.” to see, that’s the thing [John Tortorella] wanted to see. They didn’t give up, they just kept fighting and kept working.”
Andrae had a powerful shot in the first period that seemed to surprise Vitek Vanecek, but the Devils goalkeeper still made the save.
“There’s a lot to like,” Laperrière said of the 21-year-old defender. “He’s always looking for the right play, the beautiful play, which I think guys at this level love. They don’t like defenders who just turn the puck out and put it in the glass. He doesn’t do that. He likes it.” does these nice little plays. I know his future here is bright.”
The Flyers still have five exhibition games left. Foerster and Andrae will take a long look at it.
• Cal Petersen, who came to the Flyers as part of the Ivan Provorov trade, made 19 saves on 24 shots in two periods. His rebound control was shaky at times, but he didn’t have much help either.
“I think I have the ability to stop any goal, I want to do that for my teammates,” Petersen said. “I look at that and look at what I could have done to make those saves. Sometimes you do things right and the puck still goes in and you process the play a little better.
“That’s what this time of year is for, to look at these things, analyze them and then not get too caught up in the outcome.”
Felix Sandstrom played the third period and stopped nine of ten shots. Michael McLeod took him to a silky breakaway.
Vanecek and Erik Kallgren pitched the shutout for New Jersey.
• Sean Walker, fighting for a spot on the blue line, had a solid game overall.
• After an off day on Tuesday, the Flyers visit the Islanders on Wednesday for their second preseason game (7 p.m. ET).
The team will host a skate at 10 a.m. ET in Voorhees, New Jersey. The non-playing groups practice at 10:00 a.m. ET and 11:00 a.m. ET at the adjacent rink.
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