After recent shutout loss in Tampa, Flyers try some changes

There are some losses after which coach Rick Tocchet doesn’t make any lineup changes.
Monday night’s decisive 3-0 defeat in Tampa Bay wasn’t one of those.
The Flyers looked a bit lethargic against the Lightning after lighting up the Devils for six goals on Saturday.
Coach Rick Tocchet didn’t want a repeat performance of the Tampa game in Wednesday night’s encounter with the Panthers in Sunrise, Florida, so he inserted forward Nikita Grebenkin and defenseman Noah Juulsen back in the lineup.
Juulsen had played the first 19 games of the season before hitting the bench. Grebenkin was set to play in only his 13th game of the season and the first since Nov. 15 at Dallas.
“We had a video session about what we could have done better against Tampa,” Tocchet said after Wednesday morning’s skate at Amerant Bank Arena. “It was a game where we really didn’t do much.”
That played a part in the decision to switch some players.
“You’ve got to get some of these guys in,” Tocchet said. “Hopefully it gets other guys going.”
The Flyers went into Wednesday night’s game having already played the Panthers twice, with a 1-0-1 record.
As he has been doing all season, Tocchet was asking more from his team in terms of being proactive.
“We’ve got to possess the puck more,” Tocchet said. “Better forechecking. We were just a little bit disconnected last game.”
As for Grebenkin, Tocchet has made it known he wants to get more playing time for the young Russian but it’s just a case of where he might fit best on a particular line.
“I’ve got to see some good forechecking,” Tocchet said. “He’s got to know where to go in the D-zone. Just really don’t think too much. You know when he’s out there sometime he thinks too much, he plays a slower game. I think if he just kind of reacts off the puck and goes, that’s when he’ll be at his best.”
There’s also still a bit of a language barrier, so the coaches and the player are working on that, too. There isn’t a whole lot of time when a game is in live action to explain stuff.
Nick Seeler expected the Flyers to get things turned around. They usually respond after a tough loss.
“Not the result we wanted last game,” he said. “We’ve been resilient this year, played a good game (after a not-so-good one). Just play our game, be predictable for one another.”
Seeler said when the Flyers play as a five-man unit, it allows the defensemen to “get up in peoples’ faces.” So far that strategy has worked.
“It needs to be a group effort,” he said. “It leads to good offense. That’s what you saw in the Jersey game. It’s what we want to replicate (vs. Florida). We know we can hang with anybody.”