Philadelphia Flyers
‘I’m a Culture Guy’: Rick Tocchet Defends Decision to Play 4th Line Late vs. Avalanche
Philadelphia Flyers’ head coach Rick Tocchet decided to deploy his fourth line in multiple late-game situations during Sunday’s 3-2 loss vs. the Avalanche. The Flyers’ bench boss stands by his decision.
Two situations stand out in this regard. One, late in the 2nd period, while trailing by a score. That worked out in the Flyers’ favor, as Garnet Hathaway drew a penalty, though the Flyers would not capitalize on the man-advantage opportunity. The other came with five minutes left in the game. This one was the real head scratcher. The Flyers had built a ton of momentum, had played their pest period of hockey, yet still trailed by one goal. They needed to find a goal, and fast.
In past years, the Flyers’ fourth line has been good, by fourth-line standards. This season, not so much. The trio of Nick Deslauriers, Rodrigo Abols, and Garnet Hathaway has a combined one point – an Abols goal. When Nikita Grebenkin has played with the line, he has not tallied a point with the group.
In a game while trailing by one score, with plenty of momentum building for the team, the decision raised some eyebrows. However, Rick Tocchet stands by his players, emphasizing that he made the right choice.
Read More: Flyers’ Late Surge Not Enough to Beat League’s Best on Sunday
Keeping the culture
“I’m a culture guy, right?” Said Tocchet. “You have guys dragging tongues on the bench. And our team is a team that needs to use the bench. These guys (4th line) are playing eight, nine minutes.”
The Flyers’ bench boss recognizes that the fourth line is struggling this season. He understands that. Tocchet also acknowledges that they can impact the game without scoring.
“I thought a couple of games ago, they gave us some juice. Yeah, they’re struggling. They want to get some points. I get it. We’re playing long ball here, trying to get the team culture.“
When asked specifically about the decision to play the fourth line with five minutes left, Tocchet held his ground. “We have tired guys. Some guys had a minute and a half shift. Guys are tired. One guy came off early. I got to get a shift out of the [4th line]. They are NHL players.”
Tocchet said he does not listen to the outside noise when it comes to his deployment decisions. He is focused on building the culture.
“I’ve heard some people say it’s better to put this guy [in] this and that. I think that’s bulls–t. Personally, this is a team thing. I’m a culture guy, and we’re building culture here.” Tocchet would later say, “I don’t read tweets, I don’t listen to podcasters. I’d be out of the job.”
To my understanding, Tocchet is insinuating that he does not make his lineup decisions based on these things.
The Flyers are back in action on Tuesday, when they host the San Jose Sharks at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Read More: Flyers Postgame Blog: Measuring Stick? Konecny Believes They’re Past That
Not necessarily talking about yesterday’s game, but the best thing the Flyers could do is move Couterier to the fourth line.
I know that might seem counterintuitive to some, but right now he’s playing too many minutes for his age and I believe that even Tocchet has admitted that it’s a problem. But if you put him on fourth line minutes AND make sure he’s playing on both the power play and the penalty kill, his minutes likely average out to where they should be.
In addition to keeping his minutes manageable, it will also keep him where he’s most effective (special teams) at this point in his career and hopefully away from injury due to overuse. Maybe it even helps the fourth line get going and put some points up on the board.
The issue then becomes who plays center on the second line. Ideally, it would have been Luchanko had the front office and coach had the vision to keep here. We need the speed.
I’m not sold on Abols and (absent Luchanko) would rather see Gaucher, Pederson or Richard getting a chance with the Flyers. Maybe even rotate each one in for a decent sample of games and see who clicks. We’ve already seen what Abols brings to that line, and it isn’t much.
Totally agree on Couturier – good points. And it would get him away from Michkov, who needs a different center. I don’t think Luchanko was really ready (and I have doubts about him panning out like they hope). I agree also on Abols – he hasn’t really shown much. It’s hard to figure out how to retool the lines on this team, especially with Foerster out.
If guys in the top 9 are tired, upgrade the 4th line so you can play them more.
Nicky D and Hathaway aren’t getting it done. Abols centering Nikita, Grundstrom, or a top phantom. Anything more than one point is the benchmark.