Why Jett Luchanko Didn’t Play in Flyers vs. Flames

Head coach John Tortorella and the Philadelphia Flyers threw fans for a loop on Saturday prior to the 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames, omitting Jett Luchanko from the lineup after his NHL debut in favor of veteran Noah Cates.

Luchanko, 18, played 14:36 in his Flyers debut against the Vancouver Canucks, producing one shot on goal and winning three of nine faceoffs.

Notably, Luchanko’s ice time narrowly trailed Sean Couturier’s (15:36) and was ahead of Joel Farabee (14:15), Ryan Poehling (13:38), and Scott Laughton (11:19).

Though the Guelph Storm forward featured prominently, especially on the power play, he also had some down moments, too.

One that sticks out was his blown coverage that allowed Teddy Blueger to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, though defenseman Egor Zamula did Luchanko no favors, either.

As it turns out, Tortorella’s decision to hold Luchanko out against the Flames was more straightforward and didn’t have much to do with Luchanko’s debut performance.

“I don’t want to overthink it,” Tortorella said. “We talked as a coaching staff. Young kid, lot of travel, time changes, all the things that come with this first trip with us. We thought it was best we just give him the one game. And I wanted to get Catesy in anyway.

“I don’t need to babysit him. He understands what he has to do to get ready for his next game.”

And, although Tortorella mentioned “one game” in regards to Luchanko, no decision is imminent there.

In fact, it’s more likely that Luchanko plays more than just one game for the Flyers as he eats further into his nine-game “trial” period.

“I just don’t want to play him back-to-back early in the year,” Tortorella explained further. “I thought he made some really good plays last night. Had a breakdown on one of the goals, we talked last night. It was one of the mistakes on the goal; there were two others prior to that. But no, we met after the game, talked with Danny, and just wanted to sit him out tonight.”