After dropping another dud offensively, the Philadelphia Flyers enter Game 2 needing to shuffle their lines in an attempt to get their game back on track.
Owen Tippett could potentially miss out again due to his undisclosed injury, which leaves a massive void in the top-6 that needs to be filled. There are a myriad of options that head coach Rick Tocchet can go to, but it almost seems like the perfect opportunity for Matvei Michkov.
The Russian sophomore has been playing alongside Noah Cates dating back to the regular season, and while it worked on their road to the playoffs, it’s been a completely different story ever since. They’ve been hemmed in their own zone quite a bit during the playoffs, and it should come as no surprise that they’ve been on the ice for several goals scored.
Cates is one of Tocchet’s go-to shutdown players who is usually tasked with matching up against the opposition’s top-6. Against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tocchet had Cates mirroring Evgeni Malkin, whereas Sean Couturier was tasked to keep tabs on Sidney Crosby.
Couturier’s line, which features Luke Glendening and – usually – Garnet Hathaway are better equipped in handling those defensive assignments due to their skillset. All three players are solid penalty killers, Couturier and Glendening are good on faceoffs, and their forecheck has been on display throughout the first 7 playoff games.
Where things differ on the Cates line is that Michkov is none of those things. The former 7th overall pick is one of the team’s most creative weapons and having him out there with Cates has become a liability, especially during the postseason where matchups are magnified to the nth degree.
Rick Tocchet hasn’t wavered with his matchup assignments thus far and it came to roost during Saturday’s game, where Michkov was -3 and Cates and Tyson Foerster were -2. Granted the first goal came after an icing call and the third goal was on a line change and directly from a Noah Juulsen turnover, but the second goal was avoidable.
There were signs during their first round matchup against the Penguins, especially during crunch time in Game 6, but Michkov dispelled those notions thanks to his even strength primary assist on Cam York‘s winner.
However, the Hurricanes are a completely different animal, and Game 1 showcased exactly why the Flyers need to make changes. This has nothing to do with the “Michkov ice-time” debacle that is prevalent on social media. This has more to do with locating weaknesses and utilizing player’s strengths to their advantage.
Since Tocchet will continue to play matchups, he should look to replace Michkov with either Alex Bump or Denver Barkey. The former has seemingly fit into any line he’s played on with his solid two-way skills, whereas the latter plays similarly to Bobby Brink, who worked extremely well with Cates and Foerster.
Conversely, Michkov can take up a spot next to Trevor Zegras on the top line as both players need a creative partner to shine. If the Flyers are so concerned about the lack of two-way play from either player, they can tack on a forward like Travis Konecny, who also needs a bit of a refresh and a different look with his line struggling.
The Flyers have to drop the notion that they need a balanced top-9 to succeed. Offensively, they’re stagnant. They looked incredibly slow and mismatched in Game 1, and it really doesn’t help that they don’t have a go-to line for scoring. They know who to deploy for defensive purposes, but if they need a goal, they don’t have a consistent trio to trust at the moment.
If it’s too much shuffling after just one loss, at the very least they need to consider a different path for Michkov. Konecny can remain with Christian Dvorak and reunite with Porter Martone, Foerster can remain with Cates and play next to Barkey, and Bump can reunite with Michkov next to Zegras.
Bump and Michkov have showcased their chemistry already, the former played next to Zegras in Game 1, and the latter has fared well playing next to the former Anaheim Duck in limited moments, The Flyers can no longer be passive heading into an important Game 2 against the Eastern Conference’s best team.
They need to focus on scoring goals and taking chances, but they also need to shore up defensively and look to utilize their lineup as best as they can. That means allowing Michkov to thrive offensively with Zegras, Cates playing with two like-minded forwards to match up against Stankoven, and look to replace Tippett with offense over another two-way player.
Michkov cannot play next to Cates for the time being, and Tocchet has already used Barkey, Bump and Martone on top line, so why can’t he try Michkov? It will give the Flyers an offensive line, will solidify a second shutdown trio alongside the fourth line, and it removes their biggest liability at 5-on-5.
Trying to play the matchup game on the road will be difficult since they don’t have the last change, but they can match the ice-time of certain players appropriately and focus on offensive zone and defensive zone starts as best they can before Games 3 and 4.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login