PITTSBURGH — Christian Dvorak didn’t know Travis Konecny before signing with the Flyers last summer.
And as Konecny’s opponent, that usually means one thing.
“I mean, if you don’t know him, you probably don’t like him,” Dvorak said with a laugh two days ago. “That’s kind of how it goes, that’s his game. Once I met him, he became a good friend of mine and he’s a great teammate, too.”
No doubt, Konecny can agitate with the best of them. But teammates love him. You want him on your side.
Dvorak, more of a stoic, laid-back type, has seen Konecny’s value up close. And the Flyers have seen why Dvorak was such a valuable guy on a playoff team last season in Montreal. This season, it’s very possible the Flyers would have missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year if they didn’t acquire Dvorak.
“He has fit in seamlessly here with our group,” Nick Seeler said Friday. “He’s such a good teammate, but he’s a heck of a player. He’s kind of a jack of all trades, he’s a good 200-foot player and he can put the puck in the net.”
The 30-year-old center had a career year with the Flyers, putting up 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 80 regular-season games. He had a plus-11 rating and a 54.5 faceoff win percentage in 18:28 minutes per game. He also recorded only 27 penalty minutes.
In the Flyers’ playoff opener Saturday night, a 3-2 win over the Penguins, Dvorak had an assist, a plus-2 mark and played the most minutes of any forward on the team.
Last season, Dvorak played all 82 games for the Canadiens and scored a pair of goals in the playoffs.
He has turned into one of the more popular teammates in the Flyers’ locker room.
“He’s just a great guy, he’s a guy that wants to be at the team dinners, he wants to be involved in the card game,” Konecny said Saturday. “He’s just involved in everything. He’s friends with everybody. It’s a great thing for a leader, he’s great to the young guys. He fits in everywhere.”
Before signing a five-year extension in January, Dvorak joined the rebuilding Flyers on a one-year deal. He believed the team could win.
“I did, yeah,” Dvorak said. “When I thought I’d come here, I thought we could make the playoffs or else I probably wouldn’t have signed here. That’s a part of it. I knew there was a lot of talent on this roster and we believed the whole time. There were ups and downs through it all, but we always knew we had a chance. Made a great run after the Olympics and put ourselves in position here to be in the playoffs, which is great.”
Dvorak has played on a line with Konecny and recently the 19-year-old Porter Martone. Dvorak and Konecny have made each other better this season.
“He has become one of my good buddies,” Konecny said. “And it’s not often you get to play with one of your good buddies. We enjoy every game, we laugh about a lot of things and it helps to get through some of the swings of momentum throughout the games. You kind of just shake it off. He has done a great job, he kind of helps me a lot, too, on the ice, he’s calming when he’s out there. It just helps you relax and get into a game.”
When the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4, the Flyers will have their first home playoff games since 2018. With Konecny back in the postseason for the first time since 2020, Dvorak knows that’s where his friend belongs — in the middle of things, when the games matter most.
“I think his style of play is meant for playoff hockey, so I’m excited for him,” Dvorak said. “I know it has been a while, especially with fans in attendance for the playoffs, it has been a while here. I’m excited to see him out there and enjoy it.”
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