‘That’s a big concern of mine’ – Tortorella trying to find the right message originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW YORK – John Tortorella is not immune to pressure.
External pressure probably doesn’t affect him much, but internal pressure from a coach looking for answers is real.
Just over a week ago, a passionate Tortorella felt he had “done a terrible job” in an attempt to take his young Flyers team to a different level, the level needed to make a playoff run. Since then, the Flyers have watched their season-worst eight-game skid with three more losses. The last two were disastrous, games decided by a combined score of 15-5 against teams at the bottom of the NHL standings.
The Flyers went from surviving a brutal seven-game streak against contenders only to, for some reason, completely lose track. In the next six games, they were outscored 32-12. Most recent defeat: a demoralizing 9-3 for the Canadiens in Montreal.
“Coaches are always worried about what’s going on with their team,” Tortorella said Thursday morning before the Flyers’ game against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP). “Are we doing things the right way, are they getting the right message? Obviously, after seven games of what we thought was going to be the really difficult part, we just haven’t been consistent.
“So I’m concerned about my message to them. That’s been a concern of mine here for a few weeks now, to make sure we’re giving them the right information. Are we giving them too much? Not enough? What’s the approach like? All of that That’s a big concern of mine and obviously we haven’t got the right message or the right timing of the message, whatever it may be, to help us try to win these games.
With three games to go, the Flyers hope to avoid elimination in the postseason race. They entered the season embracing a reconstruction. Before falling into that eight-game losing streak, they surprised everyone by holding onto third place in the Metropolitan Division for over two months. But now they have a 2.3 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to Hockey-Reference.com Odds Report.
“It doesn’t make sense to beat them,” Tortorella said. “There are certain times in the season where you’re trying to get guys going and trying to figure out who they are and where their game is. Not now. We’ve got to do it together. I’m still going to ask for more, we need to ask for more of our athletes based on the last game. We’re asking for more. But we’re asking in a way that we need to do it together. That includes the coaching staff.
“I just want them to be successful, I want them to get back in the win column to make this interesting with two games to go. I’m frustrated for them.”
As Tortorella continues to work alongside his team, the Flyers believe his message still resonates.
“It’s still happening,” Sean Couturier said. “The key is just not to give up. We’re going through a difficult time here, a difficult time at a bad time in the season. But we’re still in it, you don’t know what can happen here, especially the way our division has been going.” all year. There’s no giving up. Even in the last game, I don’t believe we gave up. Yes, maybe we were stupid at times and made some dumb decisions that cost us a lot, but there’s no giving up. I think that’s the point -key for us here.”
Tortorella said the Flyers had a really good meeting Thursday morning before the skate.
“Your message is definitely getting through,” said Garnet Hathaway. “We play for each other and for our coaching staff. The further we go, we have to continue to lean on that message and lean on each other. That’s something we’re working on and we’re trying to grow as well. You find out how strong Those bonds are when you go through adversity, that works to tear you apart. Luckily, we have the foundation here that we’ve been working on all season to build on.”
The Flyers have the difficult challenge of trying to stabilize things on the road against a 110-point Rangers team that has yet to secure first place. The Flyers want to rediscover their defensive principles and overall style of play.
“We’re a pretty smart team,” Tortorella said. “That’s my job, is to try to calm this down and structure it with intensity.”
And try to leave New York feeling better.
“You’re going to see this team struggle the rest of the season,” Hathaway said. “We want this game more than any other game of the year. We need this game. So this is an opportunity for us to play our game, show belief in this group and continue to play for each other.
“That’s what we built on, that’s what this organization brought to create a culture that plays for each other, that builds that team camaraderie. .”
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