Philadelphia Flyers: Top 5 most clutch players of the 2019-20 season

4. Sean Couturier

Sean Couturier is the most important player on the Philadelphia Flyers. After proving himself a prodigious defensive forward through the first few seasons of his career, Couturier has evolved into a dominant all-around player.

He’s one of the best faceoff men in the league, matches up against opposing teams’ top lines while still managing to post a high-end Corsi (57.2 this season) and is fully capable of breaking the 30-goal barrier. For many, Couturier is clutch simply because he’s just always dangerous on the ice. Even by the criteria we’re using in this article, he still manages to find a spot.

Much like Provorov, Couturier is the guy you want on the ice late in the game and during high-stress situations (I mean, you kind of always want him out there). His four game-winning goals are good for third on the team and he has factored in on the same three overtime goals as Provorov and Voracek. Coincidence? I think not.

One of the more interesting developments in Couturier’s “clutchness” has been his newfound ability as a shootout ace. While Claude Giroux can still dazzle, his raw conversion percentage has taken a dip. Couturier has picked up the slack this season and provided his own shootout magic.

The most clutch example of this was early in the season on the road against the New Jersey Devils. Couturier had stopped taking draws in the game due to a bum wrist, so when his name was called for the shootout, it seemed like a head-scratcher.

However, Couturier pulled off one of the slickest shootout moves for the Flyers in quite some time, breaking out “the Forsberg” move and slipping the puck past Mackenzie Blackwood without having to raise his wrist above his waist. Just 4-for-22 in the shootout before the attempt, Couturier found a way to add yet another skillset to his game and deliver the Flyers a gutsy win.

As if he wasn’t perfect enough.