The Philadelphia Flyers are hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning for a very weird sequence of back-to-back contests but they’re both going to be at home. And it is just perfect timing for the Flyers to lose a whole lot of their talent from the lineup after Bobby Brink, Travis Konecny, and Jamie Drysdale have suffered injuries this week.
With these injuries, the Flyers’ depth will be tested and of course they are facing a Lightning team that has won their last eight games and have the Eastern Conference’s best point percentage. Peachy.
Now that those players, and especially those two forwards in Brink and Konecny, will likely be out for Saturday night’s game, the Flyers’ depth will be tested and that fact is extremely evident by the lineup that head coach Rick Tocchet put out there at morning skate.
Flyers unveil new lineup and some fans might like a certain combination
It might have taken multiple forwards to suffer some freak injuries either caused by an Anaheim Duck that wanted to bash a winger’s head in, or a random puck to the face, but Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras are playing on a line together and they will be given ample opportunity to work their magic.
Per The Inquirer’s Jackie Spiegel and others, Michkov and Zegras will be flanking Christian Dvorak on the Flyers’ top line. The combination that has stayed in-tact is the second line of Denver Barkey, Sean Couturier, and Owen Tippett; while Nikita Grebenkin gets a promotion up to replace Michkov on the third line next to Noah Cates and Carl Grundstrom with Nic Deslauriers coming back into the lineup.
Matvei Michkov — Christian Dvorak — Trevor Zegras
Denver Barkey — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin — Noah Cates — Carl Grundstrom
Nic Deslauriers — Rodrigo Abols — Garnet Hathaway
And to take the joyous occasion for a section of Flyers fans who have disliked Tocchet’s limited usage of Michkov so far this season, even further, Michkov will be on the top power-play unit next to Zegras and, well, a collection of other players.
The Flyers’ first unit will be Tippett, Michkov, Zegras, Dvorak, and with Rasmus Ristolainen at the point; while the second will be Cates, Barkey, and Grebenkin playing in front of a rare two-defenseman unit as both Travis Sanheim and Cam York will be deployed.
What to possibly expect from this lineup
It’s going to be an interesting night, no matter what. With Michkov on the top line and top power-play unit, we wouldn’t be surprised if he surpasses his season-high 18:48 time-on-ice, or at least comes close to it. Plus, it’s coming at a good time to give the 20-year-old winger all the opportunity he can handle.
The Flyers don’t have a choice with the amount of skill on the sidelines. Even while Michkov is having a very down year compared to the numbers he was able to put up during his rookie campaign, he is more capable of pulling off high-end plays more than any other possible winger they would put up with Dvorak and Zegras, to just try and potentially squeeze out a win with a couple of timely goals.
It is interesting how Tocchet has decided to somewhat top-load this lineup, though. That bottom six is not one that inspires a whole lot of confidence in some game-breaking way — even while the third line is three guys we have enjoyed this season, putting them together doesn’t really make it seem like they can score that all-important game at some point on Saturday night.
Of course, it’s hockey though, and we’ll just have to see what happens. Maybe Michkov being handed this massive opportunity is just what he needs to get his season truly started.