Philadelphia Flyers: 3v3 Overtime Combinations

Many Philadelphia Flyers fans breathed a huge sigh of relief this offseason with news of changes to the overtime format. The NHL is switching to a 3v3 OT format for the primary purpose of deciding more games before the shootout. Any Flyers fan can tell you that the Flyers are terrible in the shootout.

Strategies

At this point it is hard to plan for the 3v3 overtime. It is a new format, and there is not yet any conventional wisdom on the best strategies. 2 forwards and 1 defensemen? 1 forward and 2 defensemen? 3 forwards? For the moment, I am going to presume that 2 forwards and one defensemen is the default setup, but that it is flexible.

Another assumption I will make is that 3v3 play will be all about skating and puck possession. There’s just so much ground for every player to cover, and teams are going to be carrying the puck most of the time. In other words, it doesn’t really play to Luke Schenn’s game.

The Top Trio

Yevegni Medvedev may well suited for 3v3 OT play. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

So with that said, who should the Philadelphia Flyers throw out there? As with most things for this team, it starts with Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux. Because, duh. They’re the best players on the team, and furthermore, they are the best players when it comes to playing a skating and possession team. After those two, it gets a lot more complicated.

The Flyers current lineup is short on 2-way, puck carrying defensemen. Maybe one day Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim will be lights out in this role, but not yet.

To round out the top trio, I’m going to go with newcomer Yevgeni Medvedev. My thinking here is that he has the best skillset for this role. As the scouting reports say, Medvedev is a rangy, mobile, puck moving defensemen. This should be perfect for 3v3 play, as well as complementing Giroux and Voracek as they work their magic.

The other factor working in Medvedev’s favor is the novelty of 3v3 play. Medvedev’s biggest challenge this season in the NHL is not hockey experience, or skill, but it’s adjusting to the smaller rink and more physical style of play in the NHL. Once the teams go 3v3, all those concerns go out the window and it’s just a matter of hockey skills.

Additional Combos

After a top trio of Giroux-Voracek-Medvedev, the Flyers will probably look for 2 or 3 more combinations. The next easiest call, in my opinion, is to have a defensive unit. In every such case, the Flyers utilize Sean Couturier, usually paired with Matt Read.

Andrew MacDonald has the tools to be a quality 3v3 defensemen. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

The defensemen for this group could either be Mark Streit or Andrew MacDonald, depending on how conservative the Flyers want to be at the moment. MacDonald does skate and pass better than most Flyers defensemen, but he’s generally a passive player. Streit is much more aggressive and dangerous, but does get caught up the ice times.

For two final trios, I’ll suggest Schenn – Simmonds – Schultz, and Gagner – Del Zotto – MacDonald/Streit. If I can only have one defensemen on the ice, I don’t think I want it to be Del Zotto, but the Flyers may want to get him a shift or two in 3v3. I don’t feel too strongly about either these units, and at times it may just be a matter of matchups or who is the hot hand at the moment.

Either way, with the new format and a new coach, it will be very interesting to see the Philadelphia Flyers in 3v3 overtime. It can’t be worse that the shootout, right?

Next: Player Profile: Yevgeni Medvedev

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