Is it time for the Flyers to break up their dominant fourth line?

Ever since Luke Glendening was claimed off of waivers at the tail end of trade deadline day, the Philadelphia Flyers\' resurgent fourth line has been a surprising revelation. But is it time for a change of pace in the playoffs?

Down the stretch run and early into the first round, the combination of Glendening, Sean Couturier, and Garnet Hathaway have found a rhythm together as a defensive-focused checking line. It all came to a head in Games 1 and 2 of the first round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, where Couturier led the charge and looked like the prime version of himself, adding a physical element to his game that his linemates were more than happy to contribute to.

In addition, they were able to clog up the neutral zone and make life hard for a Pittsburgh team that seemed to lack the speed necessary to secure any sort of controlled zone entries. So much so that Penguins head coach Dan Muse changed up their entire approach to the game, trying to dump-and-chase more than ever before to find an answer to the Flyers\' suffocating play in the neutral zone and that fourth line was a major reason why. That’s not even to mention the key roles that all three played in locking down leads late, both at even strength and on the penalty kill.

But as the Penguins started to find their footing in Game 3, the effectiveness of the trio started to wane. The footspeed between the three is lacking, and realistically, expecting them to continue to hold the Sidney Crosby’s and Evgeni Malkin’s of the world for an entire series was wishful thinking. They play a role for certain, but if they aren’t able to be a reliable shutdown option, their offensive limitations make for a lot of nervous shifts spent defending in your own zone.

And as the Flyers\' series lead has narrowed from 3-0 to 3-2, after two consecutive disheartening losses, a shakeup could be warranted.

Flyers could use a different look in their bottom six

Alex Bump came in for Matvei Michkov and played like one of the Flyers best forwards in Game 5, so it\'ll be hard to justify taking him back out. That being said, leaving Michkov in the press box when the team is struggling to finish their chances seems a little counter productive.

The problem early in the series was that, outside of Barkey-Cates-Michkov, all three other lines were clicking at a pretty high level, and winning their shifts. That easy Bump/Michkov for Glendening swap in order to try to inject more skill into the lineup wasn’t available because it risked upsetting a mix that was definitely working. Thus Bump came in for the struggling Michkov to play with Cates, while Foerster and Barkey swapped spots, and the fourth line remained intact.

But as the Penguins claw their way back and, more crucially, start to break down the Flyers neutral zone barricade, the reality of having your three oldest players on one line isn’t necessarily the most exciting prospect while you’re trying to close out a series. And Rick Tocchet seemed to realize this too, as all three members of the fourth line were among the three least played Flyers forwards as they played from behind. As both teams tire mentally and physically, the series has transformed into something that is much harder to just control with rigid system play, and it seems like as good of a time as ever to sit one of Hathaway or Glendening, and get Michkov back into the lineup after a momentary absence.

Something like a Barkey-Couturier-Hathaway combination would let Michkov back into the top nine, while providing a jolt of speed and puck-moving to a fourth line that could really use it. Barkey has shown to be enough of a hard worker, even when he’s struggling, that he can provide enough defensive presence to continue to use the fourth line as part of the shut down rotation to throw out against the Penguins’ top two lines. Carl Grundstrom also waits in the wings, and would be able to keep up a more defensive stance on the fourth line while also bringing some fresh legs. That would additionally allow the Flyers to not entirely gut their veteran presence.

It might not even be necessary to actually changing the team\'s fortunes in Game 6, but with the Flyers having so many different totally acceptable options, they\'d be foolish not to try and use them.

Talking Points