Through eight playoff games, and his ninth Thursday night against Carolina, Flyers winger Tyson Foerster is alone in terms of Philadelphia forwards with zero points so far, and Emil Andrae is the only skater that has not had at least some sort of cheap secondary assist on a goal.
To say he’s in an offensive funk might be an understatement for Foerster and his critics have been loud — and some have even speculated that it’s now his turn to get scratched to give his minutes to someone who can bring more offense. However, considering he’s back from what assumed to be a season-ending injury, should be seen as a positive thing.
But one person who is in his corner and won’t let the critics get too loud surrounding Foerster is his head coach, Rick Tocchet, who lauded his play from the puck after Wednesday’s practice.
“The one thing is he’s not costing us stuff when he’s on the ice,” the coach said. “I know he’s not getting the goals. I’m a big believer that if you’re not scoring goals you can’t be a liability. And he’s not a liability in that end. So he’s doing that right. The goals will come. He’s just too good of a player.”
Tocchet acknowledged the obvious huge gap in Foerster’s season. From being injured against Pittsburgh in early December to returning to the lineup down the stretch, nearly everyone except Foerster believed he would be skating at training camp for 2026-27. There was no notion of him getting back into the lineup and providing a boost to the Flyers’ playoff hopes. The coach feels that the time off still lacking the physical and mental reps that come with a full 82-game season and live-or-die playoff rounds.
“He’s been out for a long time. And this is a playoff pace. And there are situations where you’ve got to play those reps in your mind and you also got to live it. I thought he was better last game. I’m not really worried about him offensively, but he has done a really good job of not being a liability defensively for us.”
Tocchet easing the pressure regarding the Flyers’ youth
After getting five shots in the first three games against Pittsburgh, Foerster has hit a wall of sorts, getting just six shots in the last five contests. From a team standpoint, those 11 shots are more than what Owen Tippett, Trevor Zegras, and Travis Konecny have generated. Sean Couturier leads all Flyers with an astounding 21 shots on goal playing essentially in a fourth-line role. Rasmus Ristolainen has 17 with Porter Martone and Cam York having 16 each. With Zegras now five games without scoring, and Konecny — who had a great chance in overtime of Game 2 but was foiled by Frederik Andersen — having just one goal in eight games (and now consecutive games without), the Flyers need a few of these streaks to stop if they’re to have any chance in making this a longer series.
However, with the internal pressure they’re feeling now to deliver, it’s crucial that Tocchet and his assistants do whatever they can to ease that pressure. And Tocchet feels a good way to do that is to highlight the other aspects of their respective games that they are doing right.
“It’s my job and the coaches’ job to give them (that confidence), 100 per cent,” Tocchet said. “Even Trevor, and TK said he’s not scoring. You got to give them confidence in the sense they they have to do the other things. And, you know what? Sometimes you’re going to have to win a game 3-2. That night you might not be scoring, but you can’t be on the wrong side of the puck if you’re not scoring.”
Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially in a short seven-game series where every shift or shot is magnified by the importance. But given just how raw and young this team remains, accentuating the positives is bound to help the likes of Foerster, Zegras, and even Konecny, out of their individual slumps. It’s doable, considering the Flyers put two behind the Carolina keeper in short order in Game 2. Another early goal before the fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday night would go a long way towards having Philadelphia relax a bit, just play, and react.
Regardless of the injuries and the players banged up, it’s clear that one of the offensive weapons the Flyers have will have to break out at some point. Otherwise, Philadelphia will need a bevy of puck luck and goaltender Dan Vladar to steal a few games, if not the series.
But back to Foerster. He can score and is capable (like Tippett) of getting streaky at times. And despite the metrics indicating that he’s not quite driving a lot of play up-ice, Philadelphia is going to need him to bring whatever he has offensively the next two games at home. As long as his two-way play doesn’t suffer, he’s not on a short leash when it comes to Tocchet and the coaching staff.
