Flyers Notes: Expectations coming in for Shayne Gostisbehere ‘probably not fair'

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VOORHEES, N.J. — Saturday afternoon will more than likely provide another sighting of Shayne Gostisbehere and Travis Konecny near the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center.
 
With the Kings coming to town to face the Flyers, head coach Dave Hakstol said Friday he’s “leaning towards a similar lineup” that forged a 3-1 win over the Canadiens on Thursday.
 
That would mean a second straight benching for both Gostisbehere and Konecny, who took extra reps after practice Friday, the routine protocol for impending healthy scratches. Gostisbehere and Konecny sat out Thursday for the third and second times, respectively, this season. Nick Schultz and Dale Weise were their replacements (see story).
 
“There’s going to be some good players sitting out of the lineup and nobody’s beyond that,” Hakstol said at Skate Zone. “All the focus seems to go on the one or two players that are out of the lineup. More of the focus for us is on the 20 guys that are in, the job that they’re doing and all the while, making sure that the players out of the lineup are getting in the proper work, so that physically and mentally, they’re in the right spot to take advantage of the next opportunity for themselves and come in, most importantly, to help our team win the next game that they’re a part of.”
 
Konecny, who has seven goals and 15 assists in 50 games of his first NHL season, is staying positive and understanding of the situation (see story).
 
So, too, is Gostisbehere, the 2015-16 Calder Memorial Trophy (top rookie) runner-up. Never one to sulk or complain, the 23-year-old is not questioning why he and Konecny are the ones losing ice time when others have struggled, as well.
 
“That’s the easy way out, you could always say that. That’s not the type of teammates T.K. and myself are — we would never throw our teammates under the bus like that,” Gostisbehere said. “I think me and T.K. took a long look in the mirror. I know I did. I really do realize there are some things I can clean up, I can be better for my teammates. And that’s what I’m going to do.
 
“We’re going to turn this into a positive and we’re going to turn it around.”
 
Gostisbehere took the Flyers by storm last season with an offensive eruption as a first-year NHL defenseman who started the season in the AHL (see story). Through 48 games this season, he has four goals and 17 assists for a minus-19 rating. Gostisbehere is currently on a 27-game goal drought, but offense is far from his concern.
 
“I’m more focused on defense first. I can care less about points,” Gostisbehere said. “The offensive will come, it’s something I’ve always had. I know it’s going to come, it’s just a matter of time. The defensive side of things, that’s all my focus right now — just being a sound, two-way player.”
 
Through no fault of his own, Gostisbehere’s play set the bar remarkably high, at least for outsiders — even too high, according to Flyers general manager Ron Hextall.
 
“The expectations coming in were probably not fair [this season],” Hextall said. “Things rolled along last year very well for him. Everything that could have happened right happened. That creates an expectation level that’s probably not fair.”
 
Like always, Hextall is wisely advising patience.
 
“When your team has the puck a lot, you don’t defend near as much,” he said. “We seemed to have the puck more last year when he was on the ice, and don’t have it as much this year, so there are a lot of contributing factors to it. And we can’t forget he’s played some good games. He’s done some good things, and some things need to get better. That’s the same with Konecny or whoever the next young kid is.”
 
Hextall approves of Hakstol's work with both foundation pieces.
 
“There’s a lot more to it than you guys think," Hextall said. "When these decisions are made, the coaches analyze everything up, down and all around. These decisions are not made lightly. They’re made with a lot of thought. I’m happy with those two kids."
 
Neuvirth in net
Michal Neuvirth will take the net against the Kings for his second start in a row. He had to make just 15 saves — a few big ones, though — in Thursday’s win over Montreal, but is 2-0-0 with 42 saves on 44 shots over his last two games.
 
Del Zotto update
After practicing Monday, defenseman Michael Del Zotto (bone bruise on leg) has now missed the last two practices, including Friday’s. Hextall said Del Zotto was at Skate Zone for treatment and remains day to day. The 26-year-old, set to be an unrestricted free agent after this season, has not played since Jan. 21.
 
Projected lineup
F: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Jakub Voracek
 
Dale Weise-Brayden Schenn-Wayne Simmonds
 
Nick Cousins-Sean Couturier-Matt Read
 
Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Roman Lyubimov
 
D: Ivan Provorov-Andrew MacDonald
 
Mark Streit-Nick Schultz
 
Brandon Manning-Radko Gudas
 
G: Michal Neuvirth
 
Steve Mason

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