Complete Win for Flyers Comes with Cost

The Flyers win on Tuesday night was not only a statement after one of their worst performances of the season on Saturday, it was quite possibly their most complete game of the season.

Yes, Steve Mason saw a lot of action, making 38 saves on the night. But for most of the night, Mason saw shots head on. There was very little that was contested or screened. The Flyers also made the most of opportunities, going 2-for-2 on the power play.

In playing a complete game and getting a well-earned two points, the win didn't come without a cost. The Flyers played almost 40 minutes without Sean Couturier, who left the game with an apparent leg injury — reportedly a left knee injury — and is headed back to Philadelphia for further evaluation, thus ending his week and almost certainly keeping him out long-term, just as the Flyers hit a grueling stretch of games ending November and starting December.

Couturier's loss doesn't necessarily hurt the Flyers on the scoresheet. Couturier has five goals and three assists in 19 games this season. In his last six games prior to Tuesday, Couturier had four points in his last six games, scoring two goals and adding two assists. But more than anything, Couturier's average ice time is where he is most missed.

Couturier is averaging 18:42 of ice time per game. Only Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek and Wayne Simmonds have more — likely a product of being on the top power play unit. The Flyers challenge in the coming games will be how they fill the second-line center role. Options include elevating Nick Cousins to the role or moving Brayden Schenn back to center on the second line with Voracek and Simmonds going to the top line with Giroux.

However the Flyers fill the role, the fact remains that losing a second-line center is a tough blow to a team. Couturier is on the ice a lot during the course of a game. He has been a fixture of the Flyers penalty kill for years and the team has often struggled in his absence.

How the Flyers played on Tuesday, even after Couturier's departure, was excellent. One of their most complete games of the year was the result of timely scoring, good defense and neutral zone play and remaining a physical presence in a game where every goal mattered.

Getting another solid game from Mason helped too, as he continues to string together some solid starts, Saturday's 3-0 loss aside.

With another game against Tampa Bay on Wednesday and a meeting with the Rangers on Friday, the Flyers face some tough tests without Couturier in the next three days followed by a stretch of nine games in two weeks from Nov. 27 to Dec. 11. It would seem realistic that, at the very least, Couturier will be out that long, making the timing of his injury tougher to take.

That said, the Flyers delivered a strong performance on Tuesday that they will need to build on in the final four games of November, starting on Wednesday in Tampa.