Dave Hakstol said he was just going to “tweak” his lineup for the Bruins on Monday night.
Nah, he blew it up.
Not only did the Flyers' coach finally insert rookie Jordan Weal into a game, but instead of using him between Michael Raffl and Brayden Schenn, as he did last week as Sean Couturier’s practice replacement, Hakstol made wholesale changes to two lines.
Raffl ended up centering Matt Read and Schenn — a new line for the Flyers — while Weal joined Scott Laughton’s line at right wing with R.J. Umberger moving over to the left side.
Weal had not played since being acquired by the Flyers on Jan. 6 as part of the trade that sent Vinny Lecavalier and Luke Schenn to Los Angeles. He had sat seven straight games.
So much for a tweak.
The remainder of the Flyers’ forward units were the same.
Weal played 9:51 and didn’t have a shot on net but created a few.
“I think our line played hard,” he said. “We were getting in there, creating havoc and creating turnovers. Drew a penalty and created chances.”
He also logged 1:56 on the second-unit power play.
“Good to be back out there but a couple plays I wish I could have had back,” he said.
Hakstol gave him a vote on confidence.
“I thought he was pretty reliable,” he said. “He did some of the little things pretty well. He competed pretty well for his first game in a long time. I thought he did a pretty good job and added a little bit.”
Medvedev sits
With the insertion of defenseman Brandon Manning into the lineup, Evgeny Medvedev again was the odd-man out.
He has sat eight games this season as a healthy scratch. Hakstol wasn’t happy with the Russian blue-liner’s performance against the Penguins, even though he was even for the game while Michael Del Zotto and Radko Gudas were both minus-2 apiece, albeit while being double-shifted .
It’s more about special teams play.
“Last game, again some inconsistencies on the defensive side,” Hakstol said of this latest benching. “I would say more so, rather than what he is not doing, looking at what Brandon can go in and be a consistent penalty killer for us.
“Brandon is a little different player than what Meddy is. It’s not necessarily the things that Meddy doesn’t do. It’s the fact that Brandon is a little different player.”
Medvedev was on the ice for both of the Penguins’ second-period power-play goals that completely changed the complexion of the game around. Essentially, the Flyers went from a victory to a defeat that period, giving up three goals — two by their horrid PK units.
Well, in fairness to Medvedev, he wasn’t on the ice in the first period Monday and the Bruins still scored two power-play goals against the Flyers' woeful PK units (see game story).
But Gudas and Nick Schultz were. Shot blockers and hitters? Yeah, but the Bruins move the puck at lightning speed and what the Flyers' PK units should have had in there were mobile defensemen, not stay-at-home guys.
Vinny’s comeback
If you call it that. Lecavalier had all of one assist in seven games with the Flyers this season.
Since his trade to the L.A. Kings, he has four goals and five points in nine games, has played on the power play (1:19 per game) and, hard to believe, even on the penalty kill (29 seconds on average).
“I’m happy he is doing well,” Hakstol said. “He’s fit into a role there. He’s been able to score some big goals for them. I’m happy to see him have success.”
Told that his teammates say Lecavalier has been nothing but the epitome of dignity and class in L.A., Hakstol said he is not surprised.
Lecavalier was the same here. As unhappy as Lecavalier was under both Hakstol and Craig Berube, he never became a distraction.
“Anyone who knows Vinny wouldn’t expect anything different out of him,” Hakstol said. “He’s a first-class individual and a gentleman. Bluntly, he could have made life miserable. He chose to stay true to his character, which is first class and professional. He’s having success today. That’s good to see.”
