The Philadelphia Flyers are tweaking their lines again today, and Trevor Zegras is right in the middle of it.
Charlie O'Connor posted the group as the Flyers try to snap a three-game losing streak. They sit 3-8-4 after 15 games, 30th in the NHL.
Zegras opens on a line with Christian Dvorak and Cole Knuble or Travis Konecny, according to O'Connor. Zegras also got some time at center, which matters for a team that keeps hunting a fit.
Konecny is listed on IR with a lower-body injury and is expected to be out until at least Nov 3. So the Konecny/Knuble slot is a question mark, and it's hard to build chemistry around a name that may not play.
Then there's the second line. Porter Martone, Noah Cates and Matvei Michkov are listed together, with Michkov at 9 goals through 15 games.
That's the one bright spot in a mess. Michkov also sits at -9, the worst rating of any Flyer in the sheet, so the goals aren't telling the whole story.
The third line is Alex Bump, Sean Couturier and Tyson Foerster, and the fourth is Michael Bunting, Denver Barkey and Owen Tippett, according to O'Connor's post. Tippett is listed on IR with an upper-body injury, expected out until at least Nov 1, so that last line is uncertain too.
Why the Flyers can't find a stable lineup
Look at what's missing. Konecny and Tippett are both on injured reserve, and the Flyers just lost 5-2 in Washington on Wednesday night.
Sean Couturier didn't hide his frustration after that one. Couturier's blunt comments after the third straight loss told you where the room is.
The numbers back him up. Philadelphia has scored 29 goals and allowed 51, a differential of -22.
Here's the point. Rick Tocchet keeps moving pieces, and the results haven't followed. Constant change is rarely how a team finds its identity, and this group needs one badly.
Here is how Charlie O'Connor laid out the lines for the day.
Zegras has 13 points, the most on the roster in the sheet. Putting him at center and wing in the same practice suggests the staff still hasn't settled on his best spot.
The Flyers are 1-5-1 on the road and 2-3-3 at home. Utah arrives Sunday, and Tocchet needs a lineup that holds for more than a night.
Can this group stay together long enough to matter?
