That acknowledged as a side-entrance variety of compliment, the last 12 months did include a Super Bowl, an MVP, an NLCS, plentiful star-level players and ownership willing to inside-out pockets to acquire talent.

Could have been worse. At least no one was willing to postpone winning in order to draft Jahlil Okafor.

So before it fades into the mist as another parade-free waste of parking-lot fees, here is the top 10 list of sports figures who made 2023 captivating on or around Pattison Ave. For the record, the individual who decided Craig Kimbrel deserved his own cockamamie light show finished dead last.

1. Jalen Hurts: While there is no printed rule for choosing the essential Philadelphia Sports Figure of the Year, having an MVP candidacy and leading a team to within a possession of a Super Bowl championship works. And while the Eagles’ quarterback finished the year performing as something less than the highest-paid footballer ever, as he was for a moment earlier this year, he still has the Eagles likely to finish 13-4 and contend in more games that end in Roman numerals.

2. Joel Embiid: Don’t remember who first declared in print six years ago that the center was the most talented player, skill for skill, ever to play for the Sixers — wait a minute, it was right here — but by 2023 there was no disputing Embiid was the best player in the NBA. Finishing as the leading scorer for a second consecutive season, Embiid was named the 2022-23 MVP, then went on a statistical rampage of historic proportion to help the 2023-2024 Sixers win 21 of their first 30 games.

3. Howie Roseman: After stitching together the Eagles’ second Super Bowl team in six years, the most effective personnel director in the NFL chased the achievement with a Draft Night for the ages, winding up with the player said to be the best in the draft in Jalen Carter and a linebacker he wanted in Nolan Smith, while rolling some capital to Detroit for D’Andre Swift to upgrade the running game.

4. Bryce Harper: It is one thing for a player to blabber about how hard he wants to play in order for a city to enjoy a championship. It’s another to insist on coming back from complicated elbow surgery in such record time that hair-combing still brings pain, then learn another position, then bang clutch, late-inning hit after clutch, late-inning hit to push a team into the postseason.

5: Tyrese Maxey: In addition to his continued rise to All-Star-level backcourt play, the 21st overall pick in the 2020 draft came to embody the reality that it takes scouting instincts — not lost games — to add franchise-changing talent. Nightly displaying breathless joy for his job, he’s made himself into a reliable three-point shooter and is maturing into a winning point guard.

6: Nick Sirianni: Only four coaches have led the Eagles to a Super Bowl, and he did so by winning 14 games in just his second season largely by committing to and benefiting from the development of Hurts as an MVP candidate. And even if he did take it one Sixers throwback jersey too far, he did exhibit an appreciation for the city and its sports history.

7: Dan Hilferty: After too many years of lost leadership and cheap, rarely to be delivered promises, Comcast-Spectacor finally turned to a proven business leader with a life-long grip on what works in Philadelphia to restore relevance to the Flyers. That, he did by trusting the institutional knowledge of Keith Jones and Daniel Briere while promising to rebuild without tanking. By December, the Flyers already had their image cleansed. To boot, the Saint Joseph’s grad breathed life into the wheezing Big 5 with a one-day, Wells Fargo Center tournament successful beyond expectation.

8. Jaron Ennis: At 26, he scored impressive victories over Karen Chukhadzhian and Roiman Villa — who were a combined 47-2 — to finish the year as the IBF welterweight champion. At 31-0-0, the North Philadelphia product was named Philadelphia’s Most Outstanding Pro Athlete by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.

9: Jim Curtin: As he has through his nine-plus seasons in charge, he did more with less and managed the Union into its sixth consecutive postseason, reached the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League and finished third in Leagues Cup play.

10: Zack Wheeler: He struck out 212 batters in 32 games, earned a Gold Glove and allowed six earned runs over three postseason starts, reinforcing his status as one of baseball’s more reliable and dominating starting pitchers.

Next up, 2024. Nick Nurse and John Tortorella already have their hats in the ring. Hats are never the problem, though. Rings are.

Contact Jack McCaffery at jmccaffery@delcotimes.com.

The glory went to Sean Couturier, who slammed home an elevated Travis Konecny pass with 1:05 left in the extra session. The Flyers had won the opener of the home-and-home series in Pittsburgh Saturday night, Couturier again with the winning stroke, that one in a shootout.

While there indeed have been highs and lows through the season’s early months, a Flyers team that a season ago had the look of a long-time loser emits only positive vibes now, an emotion brought upon easier with the returns of Couturier and Cam Atkinson from long-term injuries.

This anticipated rebuilding team is 13-10-2, and the only thing keeping everyone grounded in their talk is the reality that there are months still to go.

While the veteran forwards like Couturier, Atkinson and Konecny have been driving forces, the performances in goal have underscored each and every closely contested outing.

On this night, it was No. 1 goalie Carter Hart with another outstanding performance, stopping 31 shots from the aged but still explosive Penguins.

“When we couldn’t get out of our end for a time, he gave us seven or eight great saves,” Tortorella said of Hart after the game. “It’s helping us; the goaltending has been good. They’ve been giving us an opportunity to stay in games. Hartsy’s been doing that all year long. He’s been really good.”

Hart (6-6-1, 2.68 goals-against, .909 save percentage) is now playing in front of a solid support system with the recent resurgence of backup goalie Sam Ersson, who not only recovered from a slow start but has been lights out of late.

Ersson has won four starts in a row. That includes a victory over the Pens Saturday in which he played a major role during overtime and a shootout, along with a shutout victory on Long Island the game before that.

“I just think he’s found his rhythm,” Tortorella said of Ersson, who has recovered enough to boost his record to 5-3-1 with a 2.78 GAA and .885 SP. “It is what it is, that’s the way camp was, that’s the situation he’s in. He didn’t start off well but each start he plays he just seems more and more confident.”

Tortorella referenced the look Ersson had in Pittsburgh, saying, “Watch him in the shootout, you don’t see any net. He makes a save on (Sidney) Crosby, you can see his confidence. …. That’s the way he feels and that’s a big part of Sam’s game,  his mindset. I’ve said that every time we talk about him. He’s got the right type of arrogance. I just think he feels good about himself.”

• • •

Another improving player in Tortorella’s eyes is defenseman Cam York. While the future beckons a player originally identified for his offensive potential, Tortorella is happy to see York living up to his position name.

“He’s just a good skater, and I think that’s what makes him a really good defender, because he can get his body turned sideways … or whichever way he needs to go to defend,” Tortorella said. “He’s just that athletic.

“He’s maturing. I don’t want to get too excited, because you never know, but when the season started … I hated his last quarter last year. I didn’t know what he was. A little bit of responsibility falls on me because we played him on the right side all that time. But I just think he’s matured.

“You talk about (York’s offensive game), but I’m not sure that’s ever going to be a mainstay,” Tortorella added. “But he’s a good defender because he’s that athletic and that willing right now. He’s showing me a willingness that I wasn’t sure he had.”

• • •

NOTES >> Tortorella on his players dealing with adversity in Pittsburgh: “The Pittsburgh game was great for us. It’s the ups and the downs, we’re almost going to win the game, we come back, but 15, 20 seconds (actually, 19 seconds left in regulation), and then they get scored on. But it didn’t affect (us). Then we get a couple of big saves from (Ersson) in the OT, and we find a way to win in the shootout. Those are all good things as you continue to grow.” … Tortorella said he’d like to start limiting minutes for Travis Sanheim to keep him a little fresher. First change: “A few minutes off the power play,” Tortorella said. “There’s been some struggles there and just to get him a few minutes off could (help).”

PHILADELPHIA — Mika Zibanejad scored two goals, Chris Kreider added a goal and an assist and the New York Rangers skated to a 3-1 victory over the Flyers Friday afternoon.

Blake Wheeler chipped in a pair of assists for the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers, who have won 12 of 14 contests. Igor Shesterkin made 36 saves for New York.

Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers, who have dropped two straight after winning five in a row.

“I thought our guys had to play a certain way and we did,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.

Laviolette tied Dick Irvin for 10th-most career games coached with his 1,448th contest. Laviolette was the head coach for the Flyers in 272 games between 2009-14.

“Every day I think about how fortunate I am to coach in this league,” he said. “Always an honor when something like that pops up. I’m blessed.”

New York jumped on the Flyers early, scoring twice in the opening 1 minute, 53 seconds to take command.

Zibanejad netted the first of his two tallies 45 seconds into the game when he shot high over Carter Hart to finish a 2-on-1 with Wheeler. Just 22 seconds later, Kreider took advantage of a turnover by Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim and shot past Hart for his team-leading 11th goal of the season. Sanheim was trying to pass to a teammate after the Flyers won a defensive zone faceoff, but his errant try went right to the stick of Kreider all alone in front of the net.

“That’s a play I make regularly,” Sanheim said. “He just makes a good read. Maybe a little more awareness it’s him there.”

The Rangers went ahead 3-0 7:41 into the second period when Zibanejad finished another 2-on-1, this time poking the puck over Hart’s right shoulder after another setup from Wheeler.

“We fought, just too many odd-man rushes,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “We weren’t crisp.”

The Flyers got on the board with 2:21 left in the second when Couturier deflected home Nick Seeler’s shot from the point.

It looked as if Kreider had padded the Rangers’ lead to three goals when he beat Hart with a backhander after a pass from Zibanejad with 6:30 minutes to play, but the goal was overturned after video review showed Kreider was offside when receiving the pass.

Hart had 16 saves.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Boston on Saturday afternoon.

Flyers: At New York Islanders on Saturday night.

They went 0-for-6 on the power play, drawing boos from the 60 percent of that audience not wearing Rangers blue.

John Tortorella?

“I’m not,” the coach decided, “going to talk about the power play now.”

Maybe later.

Actions have spoken louder all year anyway, with the Flyers’ second consecutive loss providing a snippet of a season-long problem. For the season, they are 7-for-68 with the personnel edge and after a pip of a performance Friday, they took a bus to Long Island for a 7:30 game Saturday night in a 4-for-41 slump.

“Once I get away from you guys, we’re getting on the bus and going,” said Tortorella, charming the press as usual. “So can I leave?”

With that – though already having answered several other questions – he bolted toward the door. As for inside the dressing room, the power-play answers were more plentiful, even if providing not much more clarity.

The Flyers did have some chances, but their struggles were magnified by a strong performance from Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin, who made 36 saves. Though Sean Couturier’s goal drew the Flyers within 3-1 at 17:38 of the second, bringing the bulk of the crowd to life, Shesterkin stopped all 14 shots he faced in the final 20 minutes. The Flyers wasted two third-period power play chances.

“They’re pretty good on the penalty kill,” Travis Sanheim suggested. “We had some good looks. I just think we have to be more straightforward, generating shots and getting to the net.”

• • •

A second-period clearing pass from Cam Atkinson caught Noah Cates on the lip. Thirty stitches later, the centerman was back on the ice.

“They finished with that right as the third period was starting,” Cates said. “I wanted to get some water and kind of regroup, take a breath and start moving again. But I got back out there as soon as I could.

“They did a great job. It is kind of different to do that, but it’s hockey and it happens.”

• • •

As has been a trend for more than a year, Rangers fans occupied much of the building Friday. It’s what happens when one team is in first place, the other will fight for the playoffs and electronic apps make ticket-transfers easy.

“They are a good team, a top team in the league,” Garnet Hathaway said. “It was Black Friday, with fans of both teams. It is something you are excited for. I wasn’t as happy coming out if it. But we were excited getting ready for it.”

Hathaway did bring the Flyers fans to a boil when he threw a first-period beating on Barclay Goodrow.

“It’s a division game that’s worth four points,” he said. “Those are huge when you come down to it, whether a team makes the playoffs or not.”

With that, Hathaway shrugged off his contribution to the physical nature of the event.

“It’s just part of the game,” he said.

• • •

The mood of the Flyers fans was not boosted when the Rangers scored twice within the first 1:53.

“We fought,” Tortorella said. “But to me, there were just too many odd-man rushes. That’s been a staple of our team this year, our discipline with that, and it was nowhere to be found with our backchecking.”

• • •

The Flyers are in 1-2 in the midst of a six-game test against Metropolitan Division opponents.

“We had a nice stretch there,” said Cam Atkinson, of a recent five-game winning streak. “But at the same time, these are division rivals (that) concern four points. These games are so crucial for us, both for the way we are playing now and later down the stretch. Saturday will be another key test against (an Islanders) team that just beat us (3-2 Wednesday). So we have got to be ready to go.”

John Tortorella should be Coach of the Year in the NHL.

Nick Nurse should be Coach of the Year in the NBA.

Jim Curtin is the sitting MLS Coach of the Year.

All right, it’s early, even in an NFL season with 41 percent of the games still to play. At that level, all coaches are one losing streak away from a plane dragging a banner demanding that so-and-so must go. But on a weekend set aside for the purpose, Philadelphia sports fans should be thankful for such a rare convergence of coaching wisdom on Pattison Ave., west of Broad.

Not that Doc Rivers didn’t win games, but Nurse has bettered the locker-room atmosphere, defensive commitment and ball-movement to set the Sixers on an early pace to win 63 games.

Not that the Flyers are ready to inspire the placement of tin-foil Stanley Cups on every lawn in the region, but Tortorella has taken less than two years to rid his roster of players otherwise assumed to be special while pushing his club close to the front of the Metro division race.

Sirianni wins all the time and, with a victory in Kansas City, has shown his team is championship-ready.

Curtin has done more with less for 10 years than any other coach in his league and in modern Philadelphia sports history.

A title from one of them would not be rejected. But that takes a little luck. All that has been proven recently, though, is that Philadelphia has assembled enough sports brainiacs to preserve that hope.

• • •

You get the lion up on his hind legs featured in every family crest?

• • •

Unless the NFL forgets why it exists, the tush-push will become illegal by next season.

Nothing against the Eagles, who have run it to near-perfection for two years, but the short-yardage endeavor has robbed fans of a genuine football treat: A tense, evenly matched, fourth-and-inches defensive stand.

If the rule is not changed, every coach will find a way to run the play as successfully as the Eagles. It’s just how natural selection works in sports. But the NFL – and all pro and high-level college sports – exists to provide entertaining suspense. Once that begins to be chipped away, there is less reason to charge admission.

Free the goal-line stand.

• • •

John Middleton this week invested $172,000,000 in a 30-year-old 12-9 pitcher with a 4.46 ERA who just surrendered 32 home runs in 32 starts and has a history of fading late in seasons.

Aaron Nola is a good teammate with strikeout stuff who would not be out of place in any championship-level rotation. So good for him – and good for Phillies fans – that ownership will overspend for a pitcher inching closer to No.3 status than to re-establishing himself as an ace.

• Mere days after the Phillies were ousted from the NLCS because Rob Thomson wouldn’t budge from his agenda, Johan Rojas was essentially demoted to the bush leagues and Craig Kimbrel was effectively told to schedule an Uber.

That’s the same Rojas who Thomson refused to pinch-hit for in Game 7, and the same Kimbrel he insisted on using in late-season, high-leverage situations to disastrous results.

In related news, Thomson will be allowed to wander into the 2024 season on an expiring contract.

• • •

If you have to promote yourself in the process, giving away Thanksgiving turkeys is not an act of generosity. It is an over-played publicity stunt.

• • •

Head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for three games after the Big Ten ended an investigation into an alleged University of Michigan football signal-stealing scheme.

But no matter what allegations strike certain college sports programs, the boosters will demand more. That is, whatever Michigan – for instance – is accused of doing, 107,601 will show up at the next game, buy overpriced swag and make fun of the losing team that didn’t steal any signs.

The only way bad deportment will end is if it proves to be humiliating, not worthy of celebration. As if.

• • •

If there is no traffic around the airport on a holiday travel weekend, that’s a story. TV stations have it backwards.

• • •

As the uncomfortable front man for a weird rebuilding endeavor, former 76ers coach Brett Brown routinely promised that by the time Ben Simmons was 26, he would be a useful distance shooter. Simmons is 27 and had not attempted a three-pointer all season through last weekend.

Time’s up.

Shot clock violation.

• If the Sixers are better this season – and they are – it is largely because Daryl Morey was able to rid his roster of a certain player early in the season. Now, P.J. Tucker – you were thinking someone else? – is averaging less than two points a game in Los Angeles.

• And how long before someone points out that one team scored 124 points in the paint and the other had 120 in an NBA game on one of those colorized in-season tournament courts?

• • •

Charging shoppers for a bag to carry home the items they just purchased … I don’t get it.

Contact Jack McCaffery at jmccaffery@delcotimes.com

Yes, on a Saturday afternoon Star Wars-themed game (a Bill Murray lounge singer video is always welcome at a hockey game), the Flyers displayed spots of concern and weakness, yet also seem to be a team that for the first time in years doesn’t let that those little flaws slow it down.

In spite of yourself, on the heels of a 4-3 overtime win over the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights ended by Sean Couturier exactly one minute into the 3-on-3 period, you found yourself admitting that what you just witnessed was … fun?

Fun? Didn’t that used to be a hallmark of a John Tortorella-coached team?

“Oh, I’m out of the way,” the Flyers’ fun head coach said. “I want them to enjoy it. I’m not saying to them, ‘I want you to be careful,’ I just know that it’s such a long year, I just want us to enjoy it now. But we play at 5:30 (Sunday, against Columbus), and I just think we need to be a little flatlined, too. I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves when (we) win a couple of games in a row, because that’s when you head down the wrong road.”

Face it, the Flyers were a dead-end team the past two seasons. Losses mounted, attendance dropped. The last time they appeared anything like contenders was under Alain Vigneault in 2019-20, an anomaly of a season shortened by a pandemic in which they went 41-21-7 and that ended in a tough playoff series with the New York Islanders.

That postseason included their one winning playoff series since 2012.

But even through those struggles, fans may not have been prepared for the past two seasons in which the club frequently appeared to be a comedy of errors. It seemed no coincidence that Couturier and Cam Atkinson had to watch most of it from the injury ward.

Couturier, a de-facto captain without a C on his jersey, is healthier than he’s been in more than two years. He says those un-funny times are in the past now.

“I think all year, we’ve played some really good teams, we’ve had tough travel, and yet we’ve shown up and made it a battle every night,” Couturier said. “Right now we’re getting results, and they’re paying off. We’re trusting the way we play and we just try to play that way all the time. … We just have to keep it up.”

Not only have Couturier and Atkinson been back on top of their skillful games of late, the Flyers have had generally superb goaltending from maturing Carter Hart, while veterans Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim have had outstanding seasons and young players such as Tyson Foerster and Owen Tippett have developed.

The impact has been noticeable.

Following a bad home loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 5, the Flyers left town and promptly lost to the sad-sack San Jose Sharks. But they won the last three games of that trip, the last two against the Kings and powerful Carolina Hurricanes. Then they came home and thrilled what actually was a significantly sized WFC crowd Saturday with an overtime victory over those kingly Knights.

“We played them in Vegas, we were up 2-1, and a couple of goals go in and we lost a point there,” Hart said. “But we came back here (today) with a really strong effort. We weren’t going to let them beat us in our own building.”

Now, at 9-7-1, they trail only the Rangers in the Metropolitan Division with 19 points.

There remains vast room for improvement, something Tortorella wasn’t going to let anyone forget, even in Saturday’s joy.

“Results are important, but I want to see how they handle situations as we go through it,” Tortorella said. “If they stay concentrated and stay together, we’ll win games. How many wins I don’t know, but we’ll win games.”

And maybe have a little fun doing it.

SHEFFIELD, England — Police in England arrested a man Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of former Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Pittsburgh Penguins hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was cut by a skate during a game.

Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers against the Sheffield Steelers on Oct. 28 when he was struck by an opponent’s skate blade in the Elite Ice Hockey League game at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.

South Yorkshire Police did not name the suspect or provide his age. He was in police custody.

Matt Petgrave, 31, who plays for Sheffield, was the other player involved in the grisly incident that reverberated around the hockey community and led to moments of silence in the NHL.

Video of the incident shows Johnson skating with the puck toward the Steelers net. Petgrave skates toward Johnson and collides with another Panthers player. Petgrave’s left skate kicks up as he begins to fall and the blade hits Johnson in the neck.

Both players land on the ice. Petgrave immediately got to his feet. Johnson rose more slowly and as he is helped off the ice, his jersey is covered in blood. He later died at a local hospital.

“Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive inquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances,” Detective Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said.

It would be rare, but not unprecedented, for a hockey player to be charged.

Giacinto “Jim” Boni was charged in Italy with culpable homicide after he slashed Miran Schrott in the chest during a game Jan. 14, 1992, and Schrott died as a result of a cardiac event. Boni pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Two NHL players in recent history have been charged with a crime in Canada for an on-ice action: Marty McSorley and Todd Bertuzzi.

In 2000, McSorley was found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon for a two-handed slash to the head of Donald Brashear with his stick. He was sentenced to 18 months probation.

In 2004, Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to assault for grabbing Steve Moore from behind and sucker punching him. Bertuzzi agreed to a plea deal and was sentenced to one year probation and 80 hours of community service.

The Panthers said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Johnson died tragically following a “freak accident.”

Nottingham teammate Westin Michaud, who posted tributes to Johnson, also defended Petgrave for what he said was an “unintentional clip” with the other player that uprighted him.

“The hate that Matt is receiving is terrible and completely uncalled for,” Michaud posted. “It’s clear to me his actions were unintentional and anyone suggesting otherwise is mistaken. Let’s come together and not spread unwarranted hate to someone who needs our support.”

On Sunday, at the Steelers’ first home game since Johnson’s death, a moment of silence was held for him. Petgrave didn’t play in the game, but fans gave him a standing ovation when his team photo appeared on the scoreboard.

Johnson was a Minnesota native who appeared in 13 NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. He played with the Phantoms in 2021-22.

The English Ice Hockey Association, which governs the sport below the Elite League, reacted to Johnson’s death by requiring all players in England to wear neck guards from the start of 2024.

A spokesman for the EIHL said the league cannot comment on an ongoing police investigation. A Nottingham Panthers spokesman said the organization had no comment. Messages seeking comment sent to Johnson’s agent, a friend of the family, and Petgrave’s team were not immediately returned.

AP hockey writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed.

Scott Laughton, Louie Belpedio, Travis Konecny and Garnet Hathaway also scored, and Joel Farabee had two assists for the Flyers. Samuel Ersson made 22 saves in place of Carter Hart, who was injured against Buffalo on Wednesday and is day to day with a “mid-body” injury.

Henri Jokiharju scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves for the Sabres, who had their two-game win streak halted.

Laughton gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 1:03 into the first period on a give-and-go play with Brink. Laughton snapped a wrist shot high over the glove of Luukkonen. Belpedio scored his first NHL goal 27 seconds later after a shot by Morgan Frost was blocked, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

Konecny’s breakaway goal at 14:57 of the first made it 3-0. Konecny intercepted a pass by Peterka and beat Luukkonen on the glove side.

Hathaway gave the Flyers a 4-0 lead at 14:35 of the second when he tapped in a pass from Ryan Poehling. Jokiharju spoiled the Flyers’ shutout bid at 2:23 of the third period with a wrist shot that eluded Ersson for his first goal of the season.

Brink extended the lead to four goals by scoring on a partial breakaway at 11:28.

Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson left the game in the first period and did not return after suffering a lower-body injury.

Sabres 18-year-old rookie forward Zach Benson was placed on injured reserve on Friday. He is out week to week with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

Flyers: Host Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

Casey Mittelstadt also scored and Alex Tuch had two assists to help the Sabres get their third win in four games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had a season-high 38 saves — including two from point-blank range in the third — while making his fourth start.

Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson scored for the Flyers, who have lost three in a row and five of their last six games. Carter Hart gave up two goals on five shots and left the game midway through the first period with a ‘mid-body’ injury following a collision in the goalmouth earlier in the period. Errsson finished with seven saves the rest of the way.

Most of the game was played in front of Luukkonen, who stabilized the attack after surrendering the Flyers’ two goals in the first period. The Flyers outshot Buffalo 40-15 on the night and 30-8 in the final two periods.

Farabee got the Flyers on the scoreboard first, just 55 seconds into the game.

Mittelstadt tied it at 3:38 for his third and Biro got his first to put the Sabres ahead 2-1 at the 10-minute mark. Hart left the game after that.

Atkinson tied it with 3:43 left in the period with his sixth.

After a scoreless second period, Power put the Sabres ahead for good at 3:03 of the third with his first goal on a shot that beat Ersson on the glove side just inside the left post.

Thompson took advantage of a Flyers turnover to beat Errsson for his fifth with 6 1/2 minutes remaining and Biro had an empty-netter with 3:08 left to seal the win.

UP NEXT

The two teams will move the home and home set to Buffalo on Friday night.

Every once in a while, though, he will grab for the positives on an otherwise deflating night. Monday, when the Flyers lost, 3-2, to the Carolina Hurricanes, was one of those nights.

“I’m not going to stand up here all year long and talk about moral victories,” Tortorella said after his team lost for the fourth time in five games. “But I’ve got to remember where we are as an organization in the process where we are at. I’m certainly not going to boo the team. I am going to try to help.”

Though the Flyers controlled much of the third period against a team said to be championship-ready, they fell on a Teuvo Teravainen goal with 3:47 left. With that, the rationalizations began.

“We generated a lot of chances there in the third,” said Carter Hart after his 200th career start. “We just weren’t able to capitalize. So we have a lot to take from this game.”

So Tortorella would take a rare chance to do just that.

“That’s a potential Stanley Cup team,” he said. “And I watched how our back end played and honestly our whole team as we got going. My thought is I just wanted to keep believing. We came away empty with points, but I think we can talk about the good things.”

• • •

Insisting it was not because he hadn’t scored a goal through eight games, Tortorella rested Ryan Proehling and dressed Morgan Frost at center.

“He hasn’t been bad,” the coach said. “It’s not like he did anything to warrant coming out for something bad. I think this is the evolution of our team. We have more people this year and I think there has to be decisions made with our lineup.”

Frost had played in two games this season, both on the road, last appearing Nov. 14 in Ottawa. He had not scored.

“I wanted to get Frosty in there, because he didn’t do anything terrible to be out,” Tortorella said. “He wasn’t benched or anything like that. The other guys played better. Those are the healthy decisions I have to make with the lineup, and not just put a lineup out there every night with no thought.

“That’s healthy as the organization keeps growing.”

• • •

Among the reasons for preseason optimism — scant as they were — was the late development last season of Owen Tippett as a scorer. Through the first eight games, though, the left wing had one goal.

Then he made it two, muscling into the zone, taking a lead tip from Sean Couturier and beating Frederik Andersen to forge a 1-1 tie at 15:09 of the first.

“He’s had some chances,” Tortorella said. “He had five (chances) in the last game and set up a couple. I want him to have the puck more. I want him stronger on the puck.”

After arriving in the 2021 Claude Giroux trade with Florida, Tippett scored 27 goals last season, his first full-time with the Flyers. That included nine in his final 15 games.

“I think what turned Tip’s game around last year was that he started being more physical,” Tortorella said. “I think that really needs to come into his game. I think he’s adjusted to playing left wing as a right shot, how quick he comes off that wall and generates offense has been really good. But he tends to lose the puck sometimes and exposes the puck.

“I want more of him having the puck and keeping the puck and just being involved physically, because I think that will help his game even more.”

• • •

Sean Walker was popularly viewed as something of a veteran placeholder flipped by the Kings into the three-way deal that pushed Ivan Provorov to Columbus. But the 29-year-old has two goals, two assists and his coach’s attention through eight games.

“He’s been really good,” Tortorella said. “He’s probably one of our most aggressive defensemen in what we call ‘surfing,’ which is basically taking a chance as far as getting your gap very early, not waiting for them to cross the red line. He is surfing the offensive zone to create his gap and has done a terrific job.

“I talked to (Los Angeles coach) Todd McLellan when we got him and he loved him. One of the first things out of his mouth was, ‘He’s so competitive.’ And he’s done some really good things for us.”