Hockey

Matvei Michkov: benched for the third time in five games this season
Marc-Olivier Cook
Matvei Michkov: benched for the third time in five games this season
Credit: Getty Images

Matvei Michkov is a good hockey player.You don't score 27 goals and add 37 assists in your first season in the National Hockey League if you don't have the talent to succeed. ButMatvei Michkov also has a reputation as a guy who doesn't always give his all on the ice. We saw it last night… when he made a simply atrocious retreat into his own territory. The result? The Wild scored, and Michkov wasn't even in his zone yet.

The result was that Rick Tocchet, the Flyers' new coach, was… fed up again. Because, in reality, Michkov was once again benched by his head coach. He missed time in the third period and didn't see a single second of action in overtime either. It's already the third time this season that Tocchet has treated him this way. And… for context, the Flyers have played a grand total of five games since the start of the campaign.Yikes

The best players on a team have to be able to lead by example. They can't look like they c****** on the ice and they can't show their teammates that they look like they want to be somewhere else. That said, these things are learned over time, sometimes. Matvei Michkov is only 20 years old: he's young and perhaps doesn't fully realize how much of an influence he can have on his team's outcome in the defensive zone. He will have to learn, however, to become more committed on the ice. Rick Tocchet is trying to send him that message right now, and it was the same with John Tortorella on a few occasions last season.But that message has to get through, too. And clearly, it doesn't seem to be working right now…

'Overtime'

– He's on fire.

– Great news. We'

– Come on!

– Great game.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!