PHILADELPHIA – Matvei Michkov was benched last season by former coach John Tortorella and came back with a bit of fire in his eyes.
Current coach Rick Tocchet was hoping his decision to sit Michkov for Game 5 of the best-of-seven opening round series against Pittsburgh would have the same effect.
Michkov was back working with the regulars during Wednesday morning’s skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena as the Flyers prepared for Game 6 that evening.
While no official decision was announced, it appeared Garnet Hathaway would be sitting to make room for Michkov. The Flyers are getting their third crack at closing out the series, which stood 3-2 after the Philadelphia won three straight games before losing the next two.
Michkov, working with center Noah Cates, closed the season with a rush. In eight games in April, he produced four goals/11 points and was a plus-8.
The playoffs have been a different story. No points in four games with a minus-1.
The Flyers are hoping a rededicated Michkov can be one of the adjustments that will help put them over the top.
Tocchet appeared to suggest the Cates-Michkov pairing can get it revved up again, especially on the forecheck.
“It’s not just those two, I think our forecheck has just been OK,” Tocchet said. “You can group them in our team play better on the forecheck, faster, getting in on them, more chaos, disruption.
“We’re chasing behind a lot. (Pittsburgh defensemen Erik) Karlsson, (Kris) Letang, they can wheel the puck really well and we’re chasing what we call the ‘upper head of the snake.’ So it’s not just them (Michkov, Cates), our whole team has to get better.”
Rookie Denver Barkey said that Michkov should be able to weather this storm because there are a lot of young guys around to lend support.
“It’s just nice to have young guys around, we’re all going through the same thing,” Barkey said. “There are struggles that we all have. I think it’s nice that we’re able to share those with each other. It’s tougher for ‘Mich’ with the language barrier but we’ve been doing what we’ve been doing because we’re all friends.
“We all want each other to succeed, both an on-and-off the ice basis. Just being there for each other. Being there for someone always helps.”
Naturally, the Flyers are trying to make improvements on the fly.
“There are always adjustments,” Cates said. “And things you have to be ready for, on your toes. We’ve seen a lot – they’ve thrown a lot of different things at us. We just have to play the way that we can play. When we play five-on-five we’ve been good in the series.”
>Barkey ready
Barkey has only been playing NHL hockey a few months but the Flyers rookie already has a pretty good handle on what works and what doesn’t. Now he has five playoff games under his belt so he’s starting to figure it out.
“We know they (the Penguins) are going to put their best foot forward tonight,” Barkey said. “They have some experienced guys that have been through this so they know what it takes.
“I just think we got away from what was working. We have to get back to executing our systems and what was working for a 60-minute game.”
Barkey agrees with Tocchet that puck possession is important. Just don’t throw pucks away unless there’s a real purpose.
“I think that’s what makes us a good team, when we hang onto pucks,” Barkey said. “It’s when we have O-zone time. We have skill and guys who have the vision and go to the right spots. It’s about making sure we support one another and not rushing any plays. Almost let the game come to you.”
>Quick starts
In the games the Flyers have won in this series, they’ve gotten off to quick starts. In the ones where things didn’t end so well, not so much.
“It’s important,” Tocchet said. “But I don’t want to make a big deal of it. If you’re down one-nothing, I don’t want us to panic. Every team wants to get the lead.”
On home ice, that can be especially noteworthy. You don’t want to take the crowd out of it early.
“It would be nice (to score first) but it’s not the end of the world if things happen,” Tocchet said. “We just want to get to our game early. There are some things we have to improve on. Starts are always important, they (the Penguins) are saying the same thing.”
>The right approach
Tocchet continues to stress the fundamentals with his young team.
“At this time of the year, there are Xs and Os but at the end of the day it comes to good angles, playing through people, determination to get to the net, reloading,” Tocchet said. “It’s all this stuff that coaches talk everyday about.
“Those are what we call the staples that are really important.”
>Working the front
At the morning skate, the Flyers spent a good amount of time working on tip drills, where a player stands in front of the goalie, tries to set a screen and then tips point shots into openings.
“It’s big,” Tocchet said. “We have to be careful we’re not too crazy getting in front. Like any goalie, ‘Artie’ (Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs) is no different than anybody. You want to get people in front of him and take his eyes away.
“That’s the No. 1 thing that coaches in playoffs want and those are the most goals scored in the playoffs, it’s anything around the crease. That’s detrmination to get there.”
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