Rick Tocchet's late-game shifts raise a Flyers question

Charlie Sommermann just posted late-game ice times that cut against the Flyers' play-the-kids message under Rick Tocchet.

The organization and its head coach keep saying the young players will play. Sunday night in Calgary, the closing minutes of a 4-3 overtime loss told a different story, one the Flyers blew from three separate leads.

Sommermann made clear he isn't defending Tocchet, and that the pattern now covers three games.

Here are his numbers for the final 10:48 plus overtime. Matvei Michkov got 3 shifts for 2:35 and 1 overtime shift for 0:51. Denver Barkey had 2 shifts for 1:24 and 1 overtime shift for 0:47.

Cole Knuble was on for 3 shifts totaling 2:06, and Porter Martone for 2 shifts totaling 2:04. Spread over nearly eleven minutes of a one-goal game, that is not much hockey for the players the club says it is building around.

Sommermann put it bluntly in a follow-up, saying "This has to change" and that Tocchet and the front office have been in lockstep about playing the kids.

Tocchet said last week that the young vets are the players he is most frustrated with. That much is on the record, and we looked at Matvei Michkov's ice time problem on Saturday, before this latest game.

Is Tocchet really playing the kids when it counts?

Not late, and the full-game numbers back that up. Michkov finished with 16:27 and no shots on goal. Martone logged 16:36, Barkey 14:04 and Knuble 12:14.

Barkey scored in this game and finished a +2, which makes his two shifts in the stretch run hard to explain. Michkov leads the Flyers in goals this season with 10, and he sat through long stretches of the finish.

It is fair to say the coach is allowed to lean on veterans when a lead is slipping. But a team that is 4-10-5 and 29th in the NHL is not protecting anything. If the kids are only trusted when the game is already decided, the message to the room is muddled, and the results are not helping the veterans' case either.

Fans are noticing. Some have started raising money for a "Fire Rick Tocchet" banner, and the Flyers are in Vancouver tonight with the coach back in the building he knows. The Canucks are 32nd in the league and have lost five straight.

Tocchet will get his first chance to show whether the late-game shifts change against Vancouver. Sommermann has a full story on the trend coming.

Quick hits

DALLAS STARSBrien Rea just reported that the Stars claimed goaltender Remi Poirier off waivers from the Washington Capitals. Fans had been asking for him back, so this one will land well in Dallas.

OTTAWA SENATORSMichael Russo just reported that the Wild placed Cameron Crotty on waivers. The Senators have the first right to reclaim him, so Ottawa has a quick call to make.

LINEUP CHANGENHL Rosters confirmed that Alexander Wennberg returns to the Sharks lineup tonight against the Islanders. San Jose is looking for a win.

INJURYMike Sullivan said today that Alberts Smits was "obviously" dealing with his upper-body injury, per Mollie Walker. The Rangers coach's admission fills in a gap fans have been asking about.

GOALIEAndrew Gross reported that Ilya Sorokin took the starter's net at the Islanders' morning skate. He faces the Sharks in San Jose tonight as New York tries to stop its slide.