Flyers fans are not afraid to let their feelings be known, especially when it comes to coaching decisions they believe to be questionable. So when Rick Tocchet ran his fourth line late against the Avalanche in a game the Flyers were trailing 3-2, a large portion of the fan base made their voices heard.
The Flyers were heavily outplaying the Avalanche, who entered the afternoon with their third game in four nights. Philadelphia had three days off prior, and it showed that they were the fresher team at that point. So after creating a ton of momentum and nearly tying the game on multiple occasions, it's fair to wonder why Tocchet would throw out his least productive line.
Nicolas Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway, and Rodrigo Abols played a total of 6:19 together in Sunday's loss. For the latter two, the shift in question was only their second of the period and first in nearly 10 minutes. For Deslauriers, he had not skated since the end of the second period. By that alone, they had the freshest legs on the bench.
It's not their performance in that specific game that is the main issue. The three have played 12 games and have just over 78 minutes together. They have not scored a goal, though they've only allowed one. The rest of the numbers don't paint the trio kindly, either. They are being outshot 30-15 and are getting lucky that goaltending has been bailing them out.
Tocchet admits his fourth line needs to be better, but the Flyers need to help him out
It's no surprise that when Tocchet sat down for his media availability on Monday, the first question was about his decision to use the fourth line late in the third period.
Tocchet's comments today regarding the Flyers fourth line, specifically the shift they got with five minutes left in the third with the score 3-2 in favor of the Avs, in full: pic.twitter.com/VxYXJZgbeY
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) December 8, 2025
It's not as if Tocchet is ignoring the fact that his fourth line has not produced this season. Hathaway has failed to register a point in 27 games, Deslauriers has done the same in 13 games, and Abols has one goal in 22 games. Those are the facts, and the three need to be better, simple as that.
Not being on the bench, it's hard to say exactly how fatigued the rest of the bench may have been. A few of the Flyers' top players had been on the ice for over a minute during the prior shift. So why not use a trio that had the freshest legs? Obviously, getting any offense out of them would be a bonus. But it gives your top players a chance to catch their breath.
Another point that Tocchet made is that the Flyers are a team that needs to roll out all of their lines. And he has a fair point. Shortening your bench may work during one game, but it's not a viable long-term strategy. The Flyers are not yet a team that can get away with pushing their top players to the limit time and time again.
Looking up and down the lineup, the Flyers have plenty of skilled players. But they don't necessarily have a game breaker or someone who can take over a game at a moment's notice.
Trevor Zegras has been one of the hottest Flyers and has the skill to develop into a game-changer. He is one of only two players with 10 goals on the season. The other is the currently injured Tyson Foerster, who isn't expected back until after the Olympic break. While the Flyers have gotten some offense from other players, they need to be able to rely on everyone in the lineup.
Tocchet has to deal with the players that he has at his disposal. Surely he'd like to have some more production to take the weight off some of his other players. He doesn't need his fourth line to become heavy point producers. What he needs is for them to be a higher threat on the ice and make other teams think more when they're out there. And he isn't getting that from the three he has right now.
He's going to continue to run them out because they are the only option he has. And that's not his fault.
That would be Danny Briere and those higher up in the organization. While Tocchet may have some input in personnel decisions, he is stuck with those on his roster. Knowing that Foerster is going to be out for an extended period, there are other players the team could turn to when trying to spark the fourth line.
If the Flyers are looking for players that they don't have to necessarily put into their top six, they have more than a few internal options. Anthony Richard has shown himself to be a capable NHL option and is the Phantoms' leading scorer. A high-motor player like Devin Kaplan is a possibility as well. Even Lane Pederson, who has NHL experience, is an option.
Blame Tocchet for the in-game decision; that's fine. But if the Flyers want to take the possibility away from him, they need to make some other moves with their fourth line.