Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tochhet benched Matvei Michkov for the third time in five games during their overtime win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The Russian forward has just 1 point in 5 games this season, with less ice time than in his debut season in 2024.On Saturday, Michkov played just 12:07 on the ice. He was benched for the final 11:48 of the third period and wasn't called on by his coach for an overtime shift. According to Tocchet, speaking during his media availability after his team's practice on Sunday, Michkov hasn't adapted to the defensive-zone tactic deployed by him."No, I think that I know he's the lightning rod for everybody around here," Tochhet said. (7:15) "You've just got to relax. He's got to get himself into shape. He's got to be in positions, that team position. "You can't just leave the zone, and it's okay. And I think he's gotten better at it, but there's times when you've just got to make decisions."Under Tochhet's gameplay rules, a winger is designated a particular zone to man when the opposing team has the puck. Against the Wild, when the Flyers conceded in the second period, Michkov's positioning was a primary example of how to improve his defensive awareness. With the puck in the Flyers' defensive zone, Michkov had drifted away into the neutral zone in hopes of a breakaway. His coach also explained his decision to shorten his bench to nine forwards and to bench Michkov."I thought against Minnesota at that time for us to win the game, I went with a nine, and we flipped the switch a bit," Tochhet added. "I'm not making an indictment to him, but he's been working hard. "He's working hard at supporting the puck. That, no offense, that's not just him, but that line has not been good; they've been getting out-chanced. So, that's why I had to make the switch."Ex-Flyers coach John Tortorella's hilarious story about Matvei Michkov wanting penaltiesJohn Tortorella, who was the head coach in Philadelphia last year, and is currently an analyst for ESPN, opened up about a hilarious Matvei Michkov penalty box tactic during ESPN's broadcast on Friday. As per Tortorella, the 20-year-old would discuss taking penalties in hopes of getting a power play while coming out of the box.“Michkov, with me in Philly, every time we had to put someone in the box for something like that—a delay or whatever it may be—he’d be burning a hole through me. He wants to go in the penalty box hoping to get a breakaway when the power play’s over,” Tortorella said.There is no doubt about Michkov's offensive talent, which saw him score 63 points in 80 games in 2024-25. However, his 200-foot game needs sharpening, or else he will be reduced to 14:50 average time on ice, as he has in the first five games.