Flyers scratch rookie sensation Michkov vs. Lightning

The Philadelphia Flyers made rookie star forward Matvei Michkov a healthy scratch for Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Just part of the process," head coach John Tortorella said the decision on Thursday morning. "We're trying to help him."

The move comes after Michkov was benched for a portion of the Flyers' 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues last week and again in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. His assist in Tuesday's loss marked ended a four-game point drought after a contributing nine points in his first eight games.

Tortorella told reporters last week after the benching against the Blues that scratching Michkov for a full game was a possibility. 

“That’s the way it’s going to be,” Tortorella said at the time. “[Michkov] may miss games, who knows? I don’t know what’s going to happen. But that’s part of the development of a 19-year-old kid.”

Selected seventh overall in the 2023 draft, Michkov has established himself as the Calder Trophy favourite so far this season with four goals and 10 points in 13 games.

He is minus-8 on the season and has seen his ice time drop off over the past 10 days. Michkov saw less than 14 minutes of ice time against the Blues and Hurricanes, bringing his season average down to 17:50. He has registered less than 15:40 of ice time in each of the team's past four games.

Scratching star players is nothing new for Tortorella, who has shown a willingness to do so throughout his 1,560 games as an NHL head coach. He scratched Flyers centre Sean Courtier last season just weeks after the team had named him captain.

Forward Anthony Richard made his Flyers debut in Michkov's place Thursday. Richard, 27, had one goal and three points in nine games with the Boston Bruins last season.