Okay so Taco (maybe Jonsey/Danny) has implemented some changes to the lineup based on practice & they should result in a handshake line after the game’s over. Here’s why.
Michkov sits, Bump enters
-preface this by saying I love Mike (i have his jersey) but he’s hit a wall and there’s no time for that in the stanley cup playoffs. he looks sluggish, turns the puck over (thank god for Vladar to save his mistakes), he takes irresponsible penalties at the worst times and contributes next to nothing with 5on5. and 5on5 is how we win against the geriatric pens, not special teams.
-the argument of “it’ll hurt his confidence” “let him play” is dumb. he had months to prepare and as a professional athlete, he sat on his buns and showed up out of shape when the season started.
-Bump offers size and good play along the boards —a place Michkov never gets his nose deep
Andrae in, Juul Out
-Not so much that Juuls has been bad
-Andrae is a much better skater and stimulates offensive play through the neutral zone
-neither of these guys are implemented in the special teams so it’s a low risk switch
-shoutout to Juuls 2x primary assists
-can’t discount the flyers winning record when Andrae is in the lineup
Foerster & Barkey Switch Spots
-change made last game and it resulted in a goal
-Barkey playing with the big dogs (Tippets entry, Zegras patience/playmaking)
-Foerster on a line with Bump and Cates: TF is the shooter
-Barkey played great hockey, I’ll give more leeway to Forester (injured for 3 months) but Michkov has zero excuse
Maybe Start Errs
-Vladar is the MVP of the year and we’d be on the golf course rn if it weren’t for his play BUT
-he had a bad game, leaky goals/bad communication
-Errs was cooking after the Olympics (6-1)
Thanks for reading my piece, go flyers. Let’s finish the washed out Pens so we can prepare for Carolina