The Philadelphia Flyers have a reason to be concerned, as they once led the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0 in their first round series. Now, their lead is down to just one game after the Penguins picked up victories in Games 4 and 5.
Before Game 5, it was revealed that Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet made a significant change to their lineup, as they named Matvei Michkov a healthy scratch in favor of Alex Bump. It's been well-documented of Michkov's struggles throughout the season and lingering frustrations from Tocchet over the young forward's conditioning. Being scratched from a playoff game does carry some huge weight, even though it is Tocchet trying to build what he thinks is the best lineup.
As is the case, that results in some troll social media accounts to joke around and spread misinformation. That was the case when a Twitter account started sending out "reports" about Michkov. One of those false reports was that Michkov would not consider a contract extension unless Tocchet is fired.
Flyers reporter debunks troll account spreading misinformation about Matvei Michkov
There was a slew of other bogus reports, such as Michkov not reporting to the team flight on time and not being allowed on the plane. Again, it is a troll account. Do not take it seriously. Trust your local beat reporters.
Flyers beat reporter for PHLY Sports Charlie O'Connor brought attention this matter, saying that the reports from the account in question are not real. O'Connor brings up the point that it was an account created a couple of days ago and the tweet regarding the Michkov contract talks received 182,000 impressions and 80 retweets in hours. O'Connor brought up the issues with the Twitter algorithm amplifying this troll account, causing fans to believe it's true from a real reporter when in actuality, it's not.
"The point I'm making is that X is so broken these days that the algorithm + general reactionary insanity boosted the most obvious fake Flyers insider account in recent history into the discourse almost immediately, and I guarantee lots of people on there 100% believe it to be true," wrote O'Connor on Bluesky.
There is a spread of misinformation across most social media platforms. To best avoid situations like this, is to follow the local beat reporters and the trusted national NHL insiders and turn notifications on. If it is a new account that is claiming to be a real reporter with outrageous details, it's best to just hit the mute button.
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