Tocchet takes blame off Konecny, says Flyers need him in Game 3

Travis Konecny pretty much put the Flyers’ Game 2 overtime loss on himself.

But Rick Tocchet wasn’t going there.

The Flyers’ head coach pointed out that Konecny wasn’t the only player who didn’t capitalize on a scoring opportunity Monday night. Konecny couldn’t deliver on a breakaway with 4:45 minutes left in the bonus period, a wide-open look that he has buried so many times throughout his 10-year career.

The Flyers outshot the Hurricanes 15-8 in overtime, but they suffered a 3-2 loss with a 1:06 minutes to go.

“There were a few other guys that had some really Grade A chances, so that’s just the nature of the beast you’re in,” Tocchet said Tuesday. “If you’re not getting chances, then you’d be concerned. … We had a ton of chances. I’m sure he’s upset, but, hey, we need him on Thursday night and hopefully he can connect.”

Thursday night is when this best-of-seven second-round playoff matchup shifts to Philadelphia. The Game 2 loss was a gut punch for the Flyers because they wasted a 2-0 lead and now trail the series 2-0.

In real time, it appeared Konecny had missed the net on his shot. But that was not the case. Frederik Andersen got a piece of it for one of his 34 saves on the night.

Still, in Konecny’s eyes, it was a miss. In his postgame media availability, three separate answers reflected that.

“I should have finished that, it should have been over, we’re going home with a win,” Konecny said. “But we’re going home to our fans, we know what it’s like there, so we’re excited.”

One could understand if some frustration has crept in for Konecny. He has one goal and three assists through eight games of these playoffs. In 2020, his previous playoffs, he finished without a goal over 16 games and had seven assists. He was 23 years old then and on a team with a lot of veterans up front.

“You always want to encourage your guys,” Tocchet said when asked about Konecny’s possible frustration.

As Tocchet said, the Flyers need Konecny in Game 3. They’ve scored just seven goals in their last five games.

Konecny is not the only one looking for an offensive spark. Owen Tippett, Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster have combined for three goals. Tippett has missed the first two games against Carolina with an undisclosed injury.

But Konecny knows it probably all starts with him. The next shot comes Thursday night in Philadelphia.

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