Brad Shaw is learning a lot as he acclimates to his new role with the Philadelphia Flyers. Taking over as the club’s interim head coach after Thursday’s dismissal of John Tortorella, Shaw, like anyone filling a new role at their place of work, is adopting various different responsibilities that were once accounted for by their predecessor.
One of which is learning how best to utilize rookie sensation Matvei Michkov.
Shaw isn’t unfamiliar with Michkov, of course. The two have been in the same locker room for the entire season. But before the firing of Tortorella, Shaw primarily oversaw the defensemen and penalty kill. Now, he’s getting better acquainted with the forwards, including the Russian import.
Michkov, just seven games away from completing his first campaign as an NHLer, has already established himself as one of the Flyers’ most dynamic players on the roster — if not the most dynamic player on the roster.
“He’s got a really unique skillset. For me, after just two games, I’m still trying to figure him out a little bit and how to best use him and when to use him and against which types of players,” said Shaw after the Flyers’ 7-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. “It just seems for the vast majority of the shifts with [Michkov, Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny], they’re generating and they’re a dangerous line to play against, so it’s helped us probably score a little bit more lately, and that’s taken a lot of pressure off the other parts of our game.”
Michkov was outstanding against the Sabres. He scored two goals for the second straight game, highlighted by a SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays-worthy backhander on a partial breakaway. He’s the first Flyers rookie to log back-to-back two-goal performances since Dave Poulin accomplished the same feat in 1984.
For those insufficient in the math realm, that was over 41 years ago.
Michkov’s offensive prowess has never been questioned. With 24 goals and 56 points in 73 games, the 20-year-old dynamo is already flexing his muscles as a future ace in point production.
His defensive play, though, is still very much a work in progress.
“That’s a real tribute to Torts, how zeroed in he was on making sure that he learned to work away from the puck. He’s an exceptional player with the puck, exceptional player offensively. I think what he has to learn is that the better he checks and the better he plays without the puck, the sooner he gets it back and then the more opportunistic he can be and the more he can show off the skill package that he has. There’s so much room for growth there away from the puck. Even with the puck. He’s gonna learn as he goes what works and what doesn’t work in so many different scenarios. He’s well down that path already. That’s a real exciting player to picture where he may be three, four years from now.
“He’s a challenge. He can be opinionated and he can be a little bit stubborn, but he’s playing some great hockey for us offensively right now and we’re reaping the benefits.”
Unlocking Michkov’s full potential isn’t Shaw’s only focus. He’s also picking up on the other aspects that come along with running a full NHL squad, as opposed to just the defensive nuances of the game. And one of which is the power play — the same unit that’s produced three power-play goals in two games after being held scoreless for the first 26 days of March.
The power play converted on two of its three opportunities against the Sabres, but despite the relative success, it was the glaring mistake late in the third period that stood out most to Shaw.
With 4:55 left to play in the final frame, Sabres forward Alex Tuch scored a shorthanded goal that beat Flyers goaltender Sam Ersson blocker side to make the score 6-4. The goal ended up being all for naught in the end, but the decision to ice five forwards as opposed to the typical four-forward, one-defenseman power-play setup ate away at Shaw during his postgame press conference.
“Nobody was happy about the shorthanded goal, and I’ll take all the blame for that for keeping five [forwards],” said Shaw. “We talked about it. We knew they were gonna be aggressive and probably should’ve had just one defenseman on the ice. I apologized to [Ersson] for that. That goes into the ‘never do that again’ sort of category.
“I shouldn’t have to make that big of a mistake to learn. I kinda knew that probably wasn’t right, and that’s why I apologized to [Ersson]. It wasn’t very smart.”
With or without the shorthanded goal, Shaw has the Flyers playing their best hockey in roughly a month. They’ve won back-to-back games for the first time since February, and they’re averaging 6.5 goals per game in their two outings since Shaw stepped in as interim head coach. Of course, 6.5 goals per game is not a sustainable mark, but the Flyers’ offensive point producers have looked visibly energized since the coaching change, and that is not a coincidence.
While the Flyers haven’t yet been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, their postseason dreams are all but gone. Now, Shaw’s focus is to have his team finish the season on a high note while instilling a new, refreshing energy in the locker room.
“My personality is lighter than Torts’, and I have a lighter hand in how I go about my business. I think inherently, it might be lighter on the bench. I think that’s just natural that that would be the feeling. Obviously, winning’s fun. I’m having fun on the bench. I’m having a blast,” said Shaw.
“I think our job is to pump energy into that room. Help them get through these last seven games. Try and build something positive, and if that helps this team in September and into the start of the year then perfect. That’s really, I think, one of our main functions right here as a coaching staff.”
