Konecny-Couturier-Michkov line clicking for Flyers — better late than never

Did the French Connection work at first? How about the GAG Line, the Production Line, or the Legion of Doom? It’s hard to remember, decades later, if the chemistry was immediate or allowed to grow over time.

Although it’s too early to hand out a nickname, and it is an incredibly small sample size, right now, the Flyers trio of Travis Konecny, Matvei Michkov, and Sean Couturier is clicking, especially when it comes to finding the back of the net. According to Natural Stat Trick, in the last six games, they have 10 goals, with Michkov potting four.

But it wasn’t always the case.

Konecny was asked Monday why the pairing with Michkov seems to be working better now. “I don’t know,” he said. “Just starting to find that nice rhythm. Coots complements really well with us. He keeps us in check. And, yeah, [Michkov and I] just have a tendency to look for one another, and it’s only going to get better and better.”

When the Flyers dropped the puck on the season in Vancouver, the three started the game together, with Michkov playing on the left and Konecny on the right. According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, they had just two shot attempts to the Canucks five, which included four scoring chances, two of which were from high-danger spots.

The next night against the Calgary Flames, they were already split up by then-coach John Tortorella at even strength, with Morgan Frost being moved to center. And by the third game, Michkov and Konecny were apart.

However, there was no denying the chemistry between the two right wingers, notably on the power play. Michkov’s first NHL point was a quick pass to Konecny for a power-play goal against Calgary. So they stayed tethered with the man advantage for much of the season.

» READ MORE: Matvei Michkov pokes fun at himself for missing an empty net goal vs. Canadiens: ‘The lights were too bright’

Now, Tortorella didn’t want to be called a mad scientist, but he liked tinkering with his line combinations at a dizzying pace at five-on-five. Eight games into the season, he went back to the trio at the start of a game, and in a wild — pun intended — 7-5 win against Minnesota, the line tallied four goals to one by the Wild.

So he stayed with them.

But they struggled, especially in their end as Michkov got used to playing on his off-wing — yes, he’s a left-handed shot but likes to play on the right side. He was often lost playing the defensive-zone strategy that Tortorella favored.

Across the next four games, Konecny, Couturier, and Michkov were out-chanced, allowed more scoring chances, and generated only two high-danger chances (opponents had seven), while getting outscored 2-0. In their last game as a line against the Boston Bruins, they played just 2 minutes, 55 seconds together, and two games later began a two-game press-box stint for Michkov.

The trio started one more game together before the 4 Nations Face-Off, against the Utah Hockey Club, when they had seven shot attempts to 18 by Utah.

But there was no denying the chemistry Konecny has with Couturier, Michkov has with Couturier, and Michkov has with Konecny.

So a month after the break, in Dallas, Couturier, Michkov, and Konecny were reunited again and have been a force offensively ever since.

In the last six games, they’ve outshot opponents (43-36) and outscored them too (10-4). But there are some miscues with a youngster still trying to find his way in the NHL — although he’s looking pretty good these days. Still, having the Selke-winning Couturier on the line to balance things out certainly helps. While they’ve had 77 shot attempts and 33 scoring chances, they’ve also allowed 76 shot attempts and 36 scoring chances.

But it sure has been fun to watch. Case in point: Konecny’s three primary assists on three of Michkov’s last four goals. Plus, the duo combined for assists on goals by Jamie Drysdale and Ryan Poehling on Monday night against the Nashville Predators, and Konecny set up Michkov on a breakaway with an alley-oop pass from the Flyers’ end. The Russian almost scored but had the puck swiped off the goal line by Filip Forsberg.

“The puck went up and the lights were too bright and I got blinded for a second, that’s why I didn’t score,” Michkov said through a team translator. “Normally it would be in the net — unless it’s empty.”

The joke at the end referenced Michkov ringing a shot off the post with the net empty on Thursday night. It would have been his first career hat trick. But while the team is having fun, the connection between Michkov and Konecny is serious. It didn’t work earlier in the season at five-on-five, but it’s definitely working now.

“I think they realize that they’re a little bit on the same wavelength on how they think they’re going to create offense, especially once they’re crossing the offensive blue line,” interim head coach Brad Shaw said. “And they’ve shown a patience and an ability to get open for the other guy, that the offense can continue instead of sort of getting stifled.

”That’s a really nice thing to see because they’re sort of making something out of nothing sometimes, or they’re keeping the offense going longer than the defense can withstand it and they’re getting some glorious chances because of it. So they’ve had three games I’ve coached, they’ve been spectacular offensively.”

Shaw knows the risks that come with the high-octane offense from two guys who drove Tortorella mad with their defensive zone play. But there is no denying what Michkov brings on a nightly basis with the puck, and it is showing since he had two weeks to refresh during the 4 Nations break. The 20-year-old looks looser these days and was even making jokes in the locker room — in English — about missing that empty net on Thursday.

» READ MORE: Flyers excited to get some physicality back with the return of Garnet Hathaway

On Tuesday, he narrowly missed out on being named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for a third time, getting bested by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson by one point. In the last 16 games, Michkov has five goals and 14 points, and since the break, he leads the NHL in even-strength points with 21 in 19 games.

“The biggest thing is just you have to be ready,” Poehling said of playing with Michkov. “Sometimes you are like, ‘Wow, how did he make that play?’ That is the one thing with him is that you have to stay ready, and we have a few guys like that. It is a ton of fun to watch and play with.”

But while the line is clicking and Michkov is jumping back into the Calder Trophy conversation, he’s just focused on one thing.

“The points are not important, the most important [thing] is that the team keeps winning,“ he said before adding with a smile: ”The points are nice as well.”