Flyers’ defensive corps keeps shifting, but their ‘top’ pair stays the same

Someone’s name has to go first, so, by default, Ivan Provorov and Rasmus Ristolainen are the Flyers’ top defensive pair. But that’s more formality than reality, coach John Tortorella said.

“I’m not sure we can call it a top pair,” Tortorella said. “I think it’s a pair that’s defending hard. Is that the top pair? I don’t know.”

Provorov and Ristolainen do get a lot of minutes, many of them against top lines, Tortorella pointed out. But Tony DeAngelo, who was on the third line, played the most out of the defensemen last game. Before that, it was Provorov and Travis Sanheim, and before that, it was Sanheim and Cam York. Ristolainen has finished in the top two in ice time only once in the last five games.

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But Tortorella likes the improvements Ristolainen has made and thinks he deserves to be on the not-quite-top pair. The Flyers also feel he’s a good partner for Provorov. Together, the two are closing people out, which is needed on a team that has the 13th-worst goals-against average.

DeAngelo, meanwhile, is struggling in that aspect of the game. The Flyers want him to cut down on his skating.

“He has legs to close out people, but then he comes off of them, and it kind of makes everybody else swim from there,” Tortorella said.

DeAngelo has had a lot going on. He was playing too many minutes; he got banged up; he was a healthy scratch; and he dealt with a death in his family. Tortorella said he isn’t making excuses for him, but the Flyers are going to “give Tony some time to work on his defensive part.”

On Tuesday, DeAngelo will try to get back into things alongside Sanheim after shaking off the rust last game. The move up a line means York has been demoted to the third pairing. However, it’s not a statement about York’s play so much as the groundwork for an experiment.

York has said in the past that he’s more comfortable on the left side, but he has played on the right for Tortorella and assistant coach Brad Shaw. On Tuesday, he will switch to the left to play next to Justin Braun. Nick Seeler will sit out.

Tortorella said he leaves a lot of the defensive decisions to Shaw. The two of them talk, but they’ve worked together so long, they have an understanding of how the other thinks. And once the game starts, it’s up to Shaw how the pairings and minutes shake out.

“Come game time, when we’re in the game, I don’t pay too much attention to the pair,” Tortorella said. “Sometimes it comes with in-game matchups. It’s a read on who’s playing well. When they play well, do you stick with them? Individual play, does he deserve more ice time, all those things come into play.”

Zack MacEwen has been in and out of the lineup since the Flyers’ game against the Arizona Coyotes on Dec. 11. He took a hard hit during that game and headed to the locker room.

MacEwen took part in the next morning skate, but he didn’t play in the following game on Dec. 13 against the Colorado Avalanche.

MacEwen, who previously had played on the third line, slotted in on the fourth line Thursday against the Devils and played only 9 minutes, 45 seconds. And then he went out again, missing Saturday’s game against the New York Rangers with an illness.

When MacEwen was out the first time, Max Willman got a chance to play, slotting in on the fourth line against the Avalanche. However, Willman wasn’t given an opportunity to fill in again Saturday because he was dealing with an upper body injury.

Willman returned to the ice for Tuesday’s morning skate, but he will be out once again and is listed as day to day.

Carter Hart will start in goal for the Flyers against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. ... Daniil Tarasov will be in goal for the Blue Jackets with Elvis Merzlikins sick and Joonas Korpisalo on injured reserve. ... Tortorella said the Flyers will not be able to fully shut down Johnny Gaudreau because he is too good of a player, and they’ll have to watch out for the entire line since Gaudreau is able to utilize his teammates well. ... This starts a stretch of three games in four nights. The Flyers need to improve their starts anyway, but they’re also trying to manage the schedule.