The ‘chemistry’ feels real with Porter Martone reuniting with Matvei Michkov and Noah Cates
Head coach Rick Tocchet: “When you’re losing, you want to try different things and take a little pressure off. They’ve been playing really well all year, and they’re getting a lot of offense for us."
CALGARY, Alberta ― The band is back together.
After splitting up on Thursday in New York, Porter Martone returned to the left wing of Matvei Michkov and Noah Cates during Saturday’s Flyers practice at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“I just wanted to switch it up,” said coach Rick Tocchet about the break-up that saw Tyson Foerster move to Martone’s spot in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the Rangers.
“When you’re losing, you want to try different things and take a little pressure off. I think the game before [against the Minnesota Wild], I thought they got little [pinned] in our defensive end a little bit, but they’ve been playing really well all year, and they’re getting a lot of offense for us, so that’s good, and they’ve got some good chemistry. So sometimes it’s good to give everybody a break every once in a while and try different things.”
That’s the thing: it’s a give and take. While the line can struggle defensively, it is also producing offense.
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According to Natural Stat Trick, while the opposition has more shots and shot attempts, the Flyers trio has more scoring (29-27) and high-danger chances (11-8). They have allowed five goals but have also scored five. It is the most goals by any line on the Flyers and is 20.8% of the team’s goals at five-on-five.
“Yeah, we [played] a good couple games, and I like [to] play together with Porter and Catesy,” Michkov said. “And we play all good and ... we play together, support every time on hockey and in life, and yeah, I’m so happy today [to] play with Porter and with Catesy.”
Cates and Michkov were a pair down the stretch last season, and into the playoffs, and in Game 1 this season, Michkov and Cates skated together without Martone. The trio formed on Oct. 13 against the Seattle Kraken and quickly found their game, with a 2.45 expected goals for.
Although four of his goals and five of his points were on the power play from that first game on, Michkov has notched 11 of his 13 points and eight of his 10 goals in the 10 games from Oct. 13 to Nov. 4. Martone has seven of his eight points (four on the power play) and all five of Cates’ points.
Needless to say, they have chemistry.
“Honestly, I think just because we all have a little bit of differences [in] our game,” Martone said about why it works. “Catesy’s a hard 200-foot center; he can be relied on. I think he really helps out me and Mich just because we’re still two younger guys still learning, so he’s always there to make sure we’re doing it the right way.
“And then, I mean, Mich is just himself, the way he plays, and I think for me, just kind of bring that bigger body on the line, gets to the net, but still be able to make plays.”
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With Martone having just turned 20 and Michkov turning 22 in December, the old man on the line, Cates, 27, knows his role. He focuses on being a smart F3, or third forward in the offensive zone, or a defensive-minded center; after all, he was 11th in Selke Trophy voting last season as the NHL’s top defensive forward.
“Let them do their thing and be comfortable making plays, taking chances,” Cates said of his wingers. “Obviously, we want to limit risks and stuff, but they’ve got that skill set and the vision and all the things to make plays and score goals. You can’t take that away from them. So I just got to be a factor in helping them feel comfortable, creating space, getting to the net, everything like that.”
Feeling comfortable is paramount, and Michkov is feeling more and more comfortable off the ice — notably in his grasp of the English language — and on with his improved defense, as noted by Tocchet.
“100 percent,” Tocchet said. “A lot of his goals, if you look, he’s coming in as the third guy. He’s in the middle of the ice more than he was last year, and he’s reaping the benefits. He’s scoring off those rebound goals, so yeah, he’s reaping the benefits of a lot of the stuff he’s taken from last year to this year.”
And while there have been questions about long shifts for Michkov — a longer shift by one player on a line impacts deployment of the next line, creating a cascade effect — he is averaging almost 16 minutes a night; his total five-on-five ice time ranks fifth among forwards (210:49).
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“I’m feeling so comfortable on ice. I want to play more, and this not my mentality when I play 10 minutes, I like when all maximum, all shifts, all lifetime. I want 60 minutes. And I want lots of goals, lots of points [but] first option is this team wins. When [the] team wins, I’m so happy but right now, no good situation. We’re [third from] last in the league, and this is so bad.
“And I want more playing [time]; I want [to give] more support. I know this is so important for me. Hockey is my life. Yeah, I’m so emotional sometimes, and this is my mentality and hard work.”
Breakaways
Owen Tippett and Trevor Zegras are back together, with Cole Knuble in between at center. Tippett and Zegras have played more than 600 minutes together the past two seasons, and when they are on, the Flyers have 59.6% of the goal share, 53.1% of the scoring chances, and 17 high-danger goals to eight against. “I think he sees the ice well,” Tippett said of Zegras. “He slows the game down a lot. He can give me time to kind of maybe grab a step or two on a guy, and he’s going to make those plays. We like playing with each other, and we communicate well out there.” ... Tyson Foerster was moved onto the wing with Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak. ... The fourth line of Sean Couturier between Denver Barkey and Noel Acciari remains intact. ... The Flyers will not have a morning skate on Sunday, which means defenseman David Jiříček could sit for an eighth straight game as he was paired with Rasmus Ristolainen at practice. Ristolainen remains on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
