VOORHEES, N.J. – The Philadelphia Flyers are 54 games into the season, and two games prior, we saw the first real shakeup in the team’s lines, with Sean Couturier having the biggest change. Philadelphia has been struggling to find offense lately, and shook things up down the middle.

Lane Pederson is back in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and Trevor Zegras is back at center. That means including Zegras and Couturier, the Flyers have just four healthy centers, with Noah Cates and Christian Dvorak as the other two. One of the four has to play on the fourth line, and for now, it’s Couturier.

The Flyers’ captain has 5 goals and 26 points in 53 games this season. His offense has taken a step back lately, which is likely a big reason why he finds himself in this new position. Couturier is goalless in the 27 games, and through that stretch, he has just nine assists.

This is not the first time Couturier has seen 4th line action, with former head coach John Tortorella putting the captain on the 4th line… as a winger. This time around, things seem different, as head coach Rick Tocchet has been very communicative with the 14-year veteran.

Couturier and Tocchet each spoke about the Captain’s new role after Monday’s practice.

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Couturier talks about his 4th line position for the Flyers

“It doesn’t matter my role. I’ll always try to do what I can to help the team, and I’ll be ready in any situation,” said Flyers captain Sean Couturier about his position on the 4th line.

The 14-year veteran now finds himself playing alongside other veteran presences, Garnet Hathaway and Nick Deslaruiers. When speaking about his change in the lineup, Couturier said that Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet has been very open and communicative about the change.

“We’ve had conversations; we just had one right before practice. He said he’ll probably move me around in the lineup and to just be ready,” Couturier said after Friday’s practice.

The Flyers’ center understands he hasn’t been producing lately. He knows he has to be better for the team. For someone who wears a letter and has been around for a long time, playing on the fourth line can be difficult to grasp. Couturier seems to have found the positives in this new role.

“I’m hard on myself, too. I put pressure on myself to help offensively, and things aren’t really going my way lately. So it’s tough, and you know, you’ve got to find a way to fight through it. And sometimes it’s just like I’ve been saying, getting back to the basics, it’s not a bad thing. Playing with [Hathaway] and [Deslauriers], they’re pretty hard-working guys that are structured, and they play hard and win battles. So I try to use that to my advantage and simplify my game.”

Couturier sees this as an opportunity get himself back on track. The captain said he thinks the past two games went well. He believes that if he keeps focusing on getting back to the fundamentals, he can get back on track.

“It’s actually been going pretty well, like the last few games. So I’m just trying to get something going and build off something. And like I said, I just need a bounce here, and things will flow eventually.”

Tocchet discusses his vision for the Captain in this spot

After Monday’s practice, head coach Rick Tocchet discussed the factors behind his decision to make the change.

“After we sent Pederson down, we have four centermen… Whether you want to call fourth line, I mean there are four centers. So, unfortunately, you’ve got to make decisions,” said Tocchet.

It won’t just be a typical fourth-line role for Couturier. Tocchet understands that the Captain still has plenty of value to the team, despite his offensive woes. Couturier is still a great defensive player. His 53.8% faceoff win percentage leads the team, and he remains a leader.

In the two-game sample size, Tocchet has already been using his new fourth-line center up the lineup in key situations. He has been put out late for faceoffs in both ends, and during Saturday’s overtime loss to the Kings, Couturier was deployed with Owen Tippett and Denver Barkey late in a tie game.

Tocchet addressed that on Monday and made sure to say that Couturier will still get his minutes.

“I’ll probably try to get him a few more minutes in other situations [like the] penalty kill, but you know, he’ll get his minutes.”

For now, this move feels like less of a demotion and more like a move to balance out the Flyers’ lineup and give Couturier a chance to reset and find his game. The communication is there, and Tocchet has very clearly shown that he still trusts the captain.

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