Why has Matvei Michkov been playing his less-favored left wing? Here’s what Rick Tocchet had to say

DENVER ― There’s been a lot of discourse regarding Matvei Michkov.

It ranges from his ice time to his spot on the power play to his deployment at certain times during the game. The latest one is about which wing he plays on.

When he was drafted to the NHL, and for most of his first season with the Flyers, Michkov played on the right wing. This year, like at the end of last season when he played on a line with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny, he’s largely been skating on the left.

“Yeah, I mean, listen, he’s struggling, so you’re looking for all different things,” coach Rick Tocchet said about moving him across the ice. “But the bottom line is, we got him to play with some pace. That’s it. I know everybody wants him to score and all that stuff. You’ve got to be [in] positions to score.”

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Traditionalists will tell you that Michkov should be playing on the left side anyway as a left-handed shot. A lot of it is more about where to line up on faceoffs and in defensive-zone coverage, as a left-handed stick will be able to use the walls and protect the puck to get it out on the left side.

A left-handed left wing is preferable to many coaches in the defensive zone because it typically pits a lefty against a right-shot defenseman, so they have their stick on the same side — and in the shooting lane — as the defenseman when they try to close them down.

“Whether it’s right or left, it really doesn’t matter. It’s just to line up,” Tocchet said. “When you’re in the offensive zone, it doesn’t matter where you [start]. So I think everybody makes a big deal. But through the neutral zone, for me, the faster you can go on your forehand is the better [side]. But that doesn’t mean you can’t go to the other side.”

Across the first 14 games of the season, Michkov lined up on the right side. He had two goals and seven points while averaging 14 minutes, 52 seconds a night. The first of those goals came in Game 4 of the season, and his second came in Game 14 on Nov. 6 against the Nashville Predators.

The next game, on Nov. 8 at home against the Ottawa Senators, he lined up on the left side with Couturier and Bobby Brink. He has stayed on that side of the ice since, regardless of his linemates — although he is back with Brink, but now with Noah Cates as the center.

At the onset of the switch, it seemed to be working too, as the 21-year-old winger had five goals at five-on-five in the first 10 games and six overall. But over the next 24 contests, he managed just two. Across the past 34 games since switching to left wing, Michkov has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists). He missed one game in January after taking a puck off his foot and has been skating on average 14:30 a night.

“I think there’s been some [better] pace in his game, but I think there’s more,” said Tocchet. “I know he had like [seven] shots last game, but a lot of them are just from the outside, just thrown on the goalie. I want more from him. I want him to do a deep delay, get out of there, move your feet, things like that.”

When delving into the analytics, he is producing at the same 0.50 points per game clip when on the left and right, but he has gone from 0.14 goals per game to 0.24 goals per game since the shift. His shooting percentage has also risen from 7.7% to 11.1%, while his shots per game have risen from 1.86 to 2.12.

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According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, he has also seen his individual shot attempts rise from 2.43 to 3.41 per game, his individual high-danger shot attempts go from 0.71 to 1.03, and his individual scoring chances from 1.5 to 1.82.

Although there are several factors to look at aside from shifting right to left — e.g., linemates, time on ice, the fact that he’s probably in better shape now that he’s further removed from his offseason ankle injury — statistically, he seems to have been slightly better on the left.

But regardless of side, Michkov’s production hasn’t been anywhere near as good as last year, when the talented youngster averaged 0.79 points per game and led all rookies with 26 goals. The Flyers will hope that starts to change as they close in on the Olympic break (Feb. 6-24).

Nicolas Deslauriers and Hunter McDonald stayed on the ice late, with the veteran showing the youngster some fighting techniques. ... Dan Vladař shared a net with Aleksei Kolosov at morning skate as he inches closer to a return from an undisclosed injury. ... Sam Ersson (7-8-5, .858 save percentage) was to start in goal against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.