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VOORHEES, NJ – All signs of Saturday morning’s skate indicate that the 2019-20 Flyers’ top scorer and goalscorer will be benched for tonight’s game against the Islanders at Wells Fargo Center.
Travis Konecny was not on either of the two power play units in training as he stayed on the side and then skated with the other scratches noticeable (Robert Hagg, Nate Prosser and Brian Elliott) after the morning.
Samuel Morin, the club’s 13th forward who has yet to make a game this season, led the team’s post-training periods. Usually, when a player is doing stretches, this matters. In addition, teammates often tap their sticks or clap for such a moment, depending on the reason, but it was rather quiet and low-key on Saturday given the circumstances under which Konecny appeared to be out of the roster.
Head coach Alain Vigneault’s pre-game media availability is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. ET. We’ll find out more before the puck drops (7 p.m. ET / NBCSP).
Konecny failed a shot on goal and earned two gifts in 17:33 minutes of the Flyers’ 3-1 win over Thursday against the Devils. He only played 4:20 in the third period and played about 30 seconds in the final five minutes of the game. After the game, Vigneault remained unhappy and perplexed with the performance of his first two attacking lines in the first two periods.
Getting Morin into a back-to-back game would be one thing, but doing it at the expense of Konecny’s place in the lineup says it all. This is the Flyers’ first game against the team that knocked them out in Game 7 of the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Unless Konecny is physically fatigued, and it doesn’t look like he plans to participate in training and stay for extra work, that’s a strong message from Vigneault nine games into the season. 2020-2021. Konecny was an All-Star last season and led the Flyers in goals (24) and points (61) in 66 games. The 23-year-old winger has scored five goals, three assists and a plus-5 mark in the first eight games of this season.
The message would not only be sent to Konecny, but to the entire Flyers list as well. Despite starting 5-2-1, the Flyers have been edged out in seven of their eight games, including five with double-digit margins. Last season, the Flyers allowed the fewest shots in the NHL per game.
Philippe Myers should return on Saturday night from a fractured rib. He skated alongside Travis Sanheim and looks ready to go. Carter Hart will start in the net, while Brian Elliott is set to play the second straight game on Sunday.
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