VOORHEES, N.J. — Rick Tocchet apparently caught some flack for using his fourth line with around five and a half minutes left in the third period Sunday and his team trailing by one goal.

The Flyers’ head coach didn’t find the criticism to be fair, especially when he’s the one reading the bench up close late in the game.

“It’s hard to play armchair quarterback,” Tocchet said Monday, a day after the Flyers’ 3-2 loss to the NHL-leading Avalanche. “I’ve got some guys that are tired on the bench, I don’t feel it’s the right time. I’ve heard some people, ‘It’s better to put this guy in, this and that.’ I think that’s bulls–t, personally. This is a team thing. I’m a culture guy and we’re building a culture here.”

On the other side of the argument, the Flyers’ fourth liners have struggled mightily to produce offense. Garnet Hathaway (27 games) and Nicolas Deslauriers (13 games) have yet to record a point, while Rodrigo Abols (22 games) has one goal.

“Five minutes left, why do I have the fourth line out there?” Tocchet said. “Why not? We have tired guys, some guys had a minute and a half shift, I looked at two guys, guys were tired. One guy came off early. I’ve got to get a shift out of the guys. They’re NHL players.”

The Flyers’ top line of Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak and Travis Konecny had an extended shift right before the fourth line took its final turn. While the fourth line absolutely needs to chip in more, it hasn’t played a lot. Hathaway led the group with 9:20 minutes against Colorado and drew a penalty at the end of the second period.

“There is going to be a time where, I agree with you guys, we’re going to have to retool that fourth line if it doesn’t start to help us out,” Tocchet said. … “In the meantime, I’ve got to try to get these guys some confidence.

“If we’re going to go far with this, we’ve got to get the right people in the right situations. But it’s a team effort. We’re not a three-line team.”

Hathaway’s issues are probably the most perplexing because he has been such an effective bottom-six player for the Flyers in the past and throughout his career. Last season, he had 10 goals, 11 assists and a plus-5 mark in 67 games.

When the 34-year-old winger is at his best, he’s holding onto the puck and swinging momentum to set up a good shift for the Flyers’ next line.

“I think he has just got to relax,” Tocchet said. “I think when he wants to go out there, he’s so tense that it’s kind of screwing up his hands and stuff like that. He just seems a little out of sorts. How, as a coach, do I help him? Get him some ice time, put him in some situations where maybe he can succeed.”

Tocchet made it clear that he won’t let outside opinions dictate his decisions.

“I don’t read tweets, I don’t listen to podcasters,” he said. “I’d be out of a job. That’s just the way it is.”