Don’t look now, but the Philadelphia Flyers might actually be good. Four games into the 2023-24 season, the Broadstreet Bullies are 3-1-0, capped by a 4-1 win over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
Last season was John Tortorella’s first as head coach of the Flyers. They finished with a 31-38-13 record and 75 points, good for seventh in the Metropolitan Division and second-last in the Eastern Conference.
However, there’s lots to like about the team this season. Travis Konecny has three goals and five points so far, and after only playing 74 games through the last two seasons, Sean Couturier is back with a bang, with a goal and three assists to start the year.
On Friday’s episode of "Daily Faceoff LIVE," Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the Flyers getting off to a hot start and a common thread in their last two games.
Tyler Yaremchuk: What do you think about the Flyers’ hot start? They got Sean Couturier back and producing, Cam Atkinson with a couple of goals last night. Is this just a flash-in-the-pan hot start or are the Flyers about to prove a lot of people wrong this year?
Frank Seravalli: I said it in our division previews in the Daily Faceoff Rundown, and I think people were looking at me like I had nine heads when I said “I think the Flyers are going to be better this year than a lot of people realize.”
Consider this common thread: you heard Oilers’ head coach Jay Woodcroft drop an F-bomb during his post-game, and you heard Vancouver Canucks’ head coach Rick Tocchet call his team soft. Those are back-to-back nights in Philly for the Oilers and Canucks. News flash to everyone around the NHL: John Tortorella’s teams work. If you don’t show up to play and compete, you won’t win.
You can watch the full show here…
More must-reads: