Matvei Michkov's benching was a solid teaching moment for the Flyers' rookie

Not completely lost in the Flyers' win over the Blues on Thursday was the play of Matvei Michkov. It's been a bit of a struggle for the Flyers' rookie forward in recent games.

Before getting into what happened, it's not a surprise that Michkov isn't lightning up the ice every night. He isn't used to playing this many games in a short period of time. It can take a toll on the body and growing pains are to be expected. The Flyers know there will be ups and downs with Michkov this season.

But they are going to treat him like any other player when it comes to some of the downs. We saw that on Thursday when Michkov had a few poor defensive plays on his first shift. One of which caused a solid chance for Jordan Kyrou. Aside from a shift on the power play, Michkov was stapled to the bench for a while.

For those who know John Tortorella, he knows how to send a message to his players. Whether it's who they are skating with or how long they are on the ice, he is going to make sure the message gets across. Michkov was no exception to that. He missed a few line rotations before he was back on the ice in his normal spot.

"He’s a 19-year-old kid playing in the best league in the world. I think he’s beginning to see what the national league is, as far as the speed, as far as the time and space, all the things that come with it," Tortorella said after the game. "There are going to be some major struggles within 5-on-5. We expect that. Where I’m going to have to teach, and in that teaching moment, I’m not going to tell you what it’s all about, but if we keep on seeing the same mistake, and it just completely is not concentrating on a certain part of the game… I’ve been very honest with him about that. He’s going to miss some ice. He’s gonna watch the game."

It wasn't anything more than that and there is no indication that Michkov needs to find a way back into a good place with his head coach. As Tortorella explained, it was more of a teaching moment than punishing a player. Again, it's to be expected that Michkov will likely need to watch a game or two to learn the other parts of his game that he isn't the strongest in.

Watching Michkov and the way he approaches the game, there is no concern that this small blip on the radar will be anything more than that. And there was no thought in making even more of an example out of Michkov by having him sit for the rest of the period.

"He wants to do so well, but it’s a lot. It’s a lot for him. The power play has been good. I think it’s struggled a little bit in the past few games, but 5-on-5, that line really hasn’t been that great, and he has struggled 5-on-5. But when it comes to situations that we’ve gone over and he still totally doesn’t understand, some part of that for me was, I don’t think he really understood, and we needed to get him in between periods. But I didn’t want to sit him a period. I didn’t. I just wanted him to sit, relax, think about what I said to him."

This is one of the reasons that the Flyers' organization was excited to have a player like Michkov coached by Tortorella. They know he is going to teach him and work with him to become an even better player. There's no concern that Michkov won't take a moment like this to heart and become better from it.

We already know the competitive nature he has and his want to be the best at all times. It's evident if you watch him on the ice every game. He wants this team to be successful. Sometimes that's going to come with him not being involved. And that's okay.

This won't be the last moment that Tortorella will have to work with Michkov to fix something. The two will be working together all season to figure things out. But it already seems evident that Michkov will do whatever it takes to keep himself on the ice.