Carchidi: How Matvei Michkov and Flyers’ Attack Could Stack Up

You don’t need to be Scotty Bowman to make the following statement: If the Philadelphia Flyers are going to end a four-year playoff drought, they need better offensive production this season.

Much better.

A year ago, they averaged 2.82 goals per game, placing them 27^th out of 32 teams. Ugh. They were also the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. They were an admirable fourth in the league in shots per game, but their shooting percentage was a bleak 8.5 percent — next to last in the NHL, ahead of only Chicago (8.3%).

Compounding things, of course, was their anemic power play, which clicked at just 12.2%, by far the worst mark in the league. Double ugh.

Can the addition of heralded right winger Matvei Michkov spark a turnaround?

Well, he’s a good start, but he’s going to need lots of help.

Training camp starts next month, and here is the way the Flyers’ lines could look when the season begins, along with their pluses and minuses:

Line 1: Sean Couturier centering Tyson Forster and Travis Koencny.

What can go right: Couturier (11 goals, 38 points) could rebound from an awful second half, one that was affected by an injury. If he does, and Foerster (20 goals as a rookie) keeps developing and Konecny (career-high 33 goals)  continues his ascension, this could be a very good unit.

What can go wrong: Couturier’s health is an annual question — he had sports-hernia surgery in June — and if he doesn’t resemble the player he’s been in the past, this line will have challenges. And there really isn’t anyone waiting in the wings who looks like a true No. 1 center.

Line 2: Morgan Frost centering Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov.

What can go right: Tippett (28 goals), who figures to alternate between the top two lines, and Frost (13 goals) have always had good chemistry together. Adding the talented Michkov makes this a potentially explosive unit. Is this the season Tippett, 25, makes his first All-Star team?

What can go wrong: Michkov could endure growing pains after playing in bigger KHL rinks. Should that happen, the Philadelphia Flyers might experiment with Joel Farabee or Bobby Brink on this line.

Line 3: Noah Cates centering Joel Farabee and Bobby Brink.

What can go right: Cates, who had just six goals in an injury-riddled season, has played both wing and center, but he figures to get a chance to direct this young unit. The Flyers need Farabee (22 goals), a winger in search of a breakout season, to take a huge step forward. Brink (11 goals) adds shiftiness and skill to the group.

What can go wrong: This line may get pushed off the puck too much, causing the relentless Scott Laughton to play on the unit.

Line 4: Ryan Poehling centering Scott Laughton and Garnet Hathaway.

What can go right: This has the makings of a terrific, hard-working line that will win a plethora of board battles. Poehling (11 goals) and Laughton (13) also have the potential to score 15 goals in limited time. Enforcer Nick Deslauriers will give coach John Tortorella options and could be inserted against more physical teams.

What can go wrong: If Laughton has to move to the third line, the fourth unit will struggle to score goals.

Power play 1: Konecny with Couturier, Michkov, Tippett and Jamie Drysdale.

What can go right: Michkov figures to create a spark with his playmaking, creativity and shooting. The unit can also get a boost from a now-healthy Drysdale, who was bothered by a sports hernia all last season.

What can go wrong:  Couturier, who turns 32 early in the season, continues to show his best years are behind him, and Michkov takes time to develop chemistry with his new teammates.

Power play 2: Foerster with Laughton, Brink, Farabee and either Travis Sanheim or Cam York.

What can go right: The coming-of-age Foerster, 22,shows why scouts have been raving about his shot for several years. Brink flashes the playmaking skills that made him an NCAA sensation at the University of Denver.

What can go wrong: Sanheim and/or York struggle as the power-play quarterback. Another potential problem: Zone entries continue to plague the unit.

Sam Carchidi writes a weekly column for Philly Hockey Now. He and Jeff Hare are working on a TV series on the Flyers’ glory days, tentatively called “Bullies.” Carchidi can be reached at samcarchidi55@gmail.com.