Trade Rumor: Flyers' slide puts Briere on the clock

Matvei Michkov has 10 goals, yet the 4-10-4 Flyers reach Calgary tonight stuck near the bottom of the NHL.

Philadelphia sits 30th in the league and 8th in the Metropolitan Division with 12 points. A team site in the market wrote this morning that the slide could force a lot of changes if the Flyers can't turn it around fast. That is speculation, not a scoop, and no names are attached to it here.

Still, the numbers give the speculation some weight. The Flyers have scored 39 goals and allowed 61, a goal differential of -22.

They've lost two straight, most recently 3-2 at the Rangers on Thursday. The road is where it has really fallen apart, a 1-6-1 record away from home.

How the Flyers lean on Michkov and Zegras has been the story for a while. Michkov leads the team in goals and has five of them on the power play, but he's also a -11, and he can't carry this group alone.

Too many veterans are missing from the scoresheet. Travis Konecny has 5 points in 8 games, and Owen Tippett has just 2 points in 12.

Both were back in the lineup when we covered Konecny's return and the 6-3 win. That win snapped a skid, but it hasn't turned into a run.

Does Daniel Briere have to act if the trip goes wrong?

Yes, and the longer he waits the fewer good options he'll have. Tippett's production doesn't match a top-six winger's role, and a second line that quiet puts everything on Michkov's shoulders.

Rick Tocchet can only shuffle so many lines before the question moves upstairs to Briere. A coach who played 1144 NHL games knows what a lost room looks like, and the Flyers aren't there yet. But the standings leave little room for patience.

Calgary isn't an easy mark for a road-weary team. The Flames are 7-9-1 and have lost two in a row themselves, so someone's slide gets worse tonight.

A tough trip would hand the front office a decision it has been avoiding. We'll keep tabs on it after puck drop.

Quick hits

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFSCole McWard has been recalled and Vinni Lettieri is back with the Marlies ahead of tonight's game against the Devils, per Ozoon_CA. The Leafs keep rotating bodies, and Rielly is still waiting.

WINNIPEG JETSJosh Morrissey is not ready to return, RotoWire reported, so the Jets host the Lightning tonight without their top defenseman. That's a big hole on the blue line.

WASHINGTON CAPITALSSammi Silber reports Tom Wilson will not face supplemental discipline for his hit on Sandis Vilmanis. That's a real break for a Capitals team that needs him on the ice.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNINGNikita Kucherov's 20 shot attempts in Minnesota last night tied a Lightning franchise record, Benjamin Jones reported this morning. That's a lot of rubber from one player.

FLORIDA PANTHERSPaul Maurice told reporters Jacob Markstrom will start in Boston, per Jameson Olive. No surprise, but the Panthers need a big night from the crease.