The Philadelphia Flyers Hockey Club is not Flying too high right now. Sure, the Flyers are in the middle of the pack with 53 goals in 19 games (2.79 per game ranks 20th in the league), but the majority of that offense is coming from just a few players.
Travis Konecny is showing what he can do this season with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 19 games to not only lead the team but rank 15th in the NHL. Matvei Michkov has been impressive as well in his rookie season with 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 17 games. After that, though, the Flyers have been searching for answers up front.
A lot of that has to do with the complete lack of center depth. Sean Couturier (three goals), Scott Laughton (two), and Morgan Frost (one) have combined for six goals — and all of those efforts came in a single game by the respective centerman. Ryan Poehling and Noah Cates have yet to find the back of the net this season.
Fixing the center situation is going to be a long-term project for the Flyers. Jett Luchanko showed promise in his four games and the Flyers have three first-round picks in next year’s draft. But none of that helps them right now. And they need help right now. The struggling centers also negatively impact the wingers as well. Owen Tippett scored just his fourth goal of the night on Monday against the Avalanche in his 19th game. Tyson Foerster is heating up a bit, too, but also only has four goals in 18 games — and he’s been playing on the fourth line. Joel Farabee and Bobby Brink have three goals apiece.
That’s not good, and some may even go as far as saying it’s bad. So, what can the Flyers do to fix it in the short term? Well, attempting to mix up the lines a bit could be a start. Now, of course we don’t want to see new lines every game as we saw early in the season, but consistent lines are only worth it if they’re playing well.
The Flyers are getting that from the top line of Tippett, Couturier, and Konecny. They’re the Flyers’ most–used combination at 5-on-5 with 73 minutes together, generating 4.8 expected goals for and 2.9 expected goals against (60.6% xGF). Their actual numbers mirror that with a 4-3 goal differential in that time.
That’s all well and good. There needs to be a line that John Tortorella can rely on, and putting three of his best players together makes sense.
However, the Flyers’ second-most used trio of forwards has not had nearly the same success. As talked about on this week’s BSH Podcast, the Farabee – Laughton – Brink line simply isn’t working. In 67 minutes together at 5-on-5, the FLB line has been outscored 5-2 with 3.1 xGF and 4.3 xGA for a 41.9% xGF. The good news is that Tortorella may have finally realized that the line needs to be broken up. He switched things up in the middle of Monday night’s game with Michkov joining Farabee and Laughton while Brink slid down with Cates and Anthony Richard.
Of course, it’s not easy to put two good lines together, let alone four, with the forward group — specifically at center — that the Flyers have. But let’s take a crack at it.
Assuming the top line remains the same, the Flyers have 12 healthy NHL forwards to choose from for the bottom three lines. Frost has been in the doghouse for over a week now with two straight healthy scratches, but he could get back into the lineup after a loss. For as frustrating as Frost has been in Philadelphia, he’s unfortunately the Flyers’ second- or third-best center, and likely the only one that matches Michkov’s skill.
If the Flyers are unwilling to move Konecny or less so Michkov to left wing, the Russian rookie should have some sort of skill on his line. And while that Konecny – Couturier – Michkov line worked to the tune of a 60.6% xGF in 61 minutes together, you can’t blame Tortorella for wanting his two best players to stay at their natural positions and where they play best.
Michkov has hardly had any consistency in his linemates outside of those few games though. He’s played 25 minutes with Tippett and Frost, 17 with Foerster and Couturier, and just over a dozen with Konecny – Frost and Richard – Cates. The 19-year-old Calder favorite is the most important piece of the Flyers’ future right now and some could argue that Foerster is up there as well — he was No. 2 in our 25 Under 25 after all. So why not put them together?
Michkov has the skill and vision to set up his teammates and although Foerster isn’t the best skater, he’s great on the forecheck and in board battles. He also has a great shot as he showed during a 22-game stretch of 13 goals on 52 shots (25%) from January 27th to March 30th last season. Farabee also wouldn’t be a bad option as Michkov’s left wing and could be Tortorella’s first choice as shown late in Monday’s game with the Farabee – Laughton – Michkov line.
Ideally, you’d have a better center for Michkov, but you’d have to default to Frost or maybe Poehling here. Poehling at least has the speed and defensive game to cover for some of Michkov’s offensive mindedness. It also wouldn’t be a horrible thought to put Laughton there. It’s a sad state of affairs when all of the team’s centers are more-or-less interchangeable as bottom-six pieces playing up in the lineup. But we’re going to pencil in Frost here in the hopes that it could jumpstart the disappointing pivot.
So with a top-six group of Tippett – Couturier – Konecny and Foerster/Farabee – Frost – Michkov, the Flyers are left with Laughton, Cates, and Poehling as center options, and Laughton (again), Farabee or Foerster, Brink, Richard, Hathaway, and Deslauriers on the wing.
A Laughton – Poehling – Hathaway fourth line could work. They’ve had a few games together and haven’t been bad in their 20 minutes (47.6% xGF). That would also break up the Farabee – Laughton – Brink line that has had its fair share of chances — and we’re not talking scoring chances.
It’s tough because it wouldn’t be surprising to see Tortorella keep Richard in the lineup. He has great speed and plays the type of north-south game that Tortorella loves. He could easily slot in on either of the bottom two lines, and maybe Frost is still a healthy scratch so you put Laughton between Foerster and Michkov.
Whichever way you want it to shake out, the Flyers need to change things up for a few games in their bottom nine. The Farabee – Laughton – Brink line isn’t working and there needs to be some offense generated outside of the top line and Michkov.
It’s still early, and there’s no reason to panic in a rebuilding season, but it’d be nice to see someone besides Konecny and Michkov inject some energy into this team. Perhaps Tippett, Foerster, or even Farabee is on the brink of doing that given their recent play.
All stats via MoneyPuck
