The Flyers were limited to one of their most putrid offensive performances of the season on Monday night.
Alex Bump was the best player for the Philadelphia Flyers in Monday's 3-2 Game 5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that doesn't mean benching Matvei Michkov was the right move.
The Penguins' defensive approach to the contest implied that they came in knowing they could win if they managed to score three or four goals.
They did score three, with half luck and half a miscue from Flyers goalie Dan Vladar, and that was enough to keep their season going for at least two more days.
For the Flyers, that means dwindling confidence following two losses in elimination games that weren't particularly flattering for them.
Head coach Rick Tocchet has run a mostly unchanged lineup, with the exception of Bump replacing Michkov, but the Penguins have figured him out with their backs against the wall.
Michkov, 21, led the Flyers in scoring down the stretch, posting 22 points in the team's final 26 games. The playoffs are a different beast, yes, but Tocchet has also tailored his game plan to the Penguins and their stars.
That affected each line's deployment, and things ended up with Michkov starting a whopping 42% of his shifts in the defensive zone. For an offense-first player who's supposedly struggled with his conditioning and already isn't the best skater, that's a long way to go to the offensive zone.
Then, to have possession and create something is a whole other story.
The Flyers and Penguins have both trotted out abhorrent power play units this series, but the Flyers have scored just twice in 24 minutes. Even if the Penguins are bad, they need to be better. It's the Stanley Cup playoffs, after all.
Nine Flyers have played more minutes than Michkov on the power play this postseason, according to Natural Stat Trick.
They are, in descending order: Trevor Zegras, Porter Martone, Travis Konecny, Rasmus Ristolainen, Tyson Foerster, Jamie Drysdale, Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak, and Owen Tippett.
Foerster, the only other Flyers forward without a point this series, has played an even 12 minutes on the power play to Michkov's 7:49.
The Flyers were held almost exclusively to the perimeter in Game 5. (Natural Stat Trick)Tocchet has stuck to the idea that Dvorak and Sean Couturier's lines are the matchup lines to play against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and those lines contributing some offense led to that early 3-0 series lead.
But, the Zegras and Cates lines--the ones that were meant to have the easiest matchups--have not scored, and the Cates line has been especially bad.
Bump showed some signs of life as an individual Monday night, using his legs to create offense and keep possession in the offensive zone. His goal, in particular, proves why the Flyers are bullish on the player.
So the Flyers are faced with a decision more important than the last, and their season may depend on it. Couturier has had an amazing series, and while Luke Glendening and Garnet Hathaway have been relied upon as penalty killers, they haven't contributed much the last two games.
Should they come out, and should Tocchet go for the best all-around lines possible? Is it Foerster's turn to sit and watch?
Denver Barkey has earned a promotion and plays next to Zegras and Tippett now, and the numbers show that Michkov played better with Cates when Bump was the left wing on that line.
That's something Tocchet has to get back to, one way or another.
All the young players on the Flyers need to play in and experience the playoffs for what they are, and the Flyers can't leave this series without getting Michkov and Foerster back on track.
After being exiled to the press box for a game, Michkov should be trotting right back up to the batter's box in short order. He has the talent to turn this series completely on its head in a hurry.