John Tortorella's club has improved when it comes to 3-on-3 overtime.
His team has played a lot of it — eight times in the last 12 games and 10 total through 25 games.
A talent like Matvei Michkov has clearly helped. The Flyers are 4-1 in the bonus period after going 4-8 last season and 3-12 in Tortorella's first season.
But that doesn't mean they have it all figured out. Even with all the live reps recently, they still practiced 3-on-3 overtime Wednesday.
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"Because we have no clue without the puck," Tortorella said Monday. "None."
Michkov has many clues with the puck. The 19-year-old already has three overtime winners, the most by a Flyer in one season since 2015-16, when Shayne Gostisbehere scored four as a rookie.
The Flyers beat the Blues last Saturday, 3-2, on a Michkov breakaway in OT.
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"As soon as guys see him get on a breakaway, they stand up," Owen Tippett said Wednesday. "It's good to have him on our side."
Tortorella wanted the Flyers to go over some defensive principles for overtime. However, he made it clear the team isn't looking to restrict any of its playmakers at 3-on-3.
"Don't get me wrong, we're not trying to turn this into defending," the head coach said Wednesday. "We're just trying to get some sort of comfort level, especially for Mich. Like, we made a change today to make it easier for him because I'm using him. I just want him to understand some sort of concept of when we don't have the puck. We're going to wing it, we're going to take chances and we're not going to play safe, but I just want a little bit of a foundation for him."
With four days and two practices between games, the Flyers found now to be a good time to reinforce things for OT.
"I didn't like how it started today, but as we went through a number of rotations, especially with Mich, it got better," Tortorella said. "Just a foundation and we'll see where it goes."
Tippett scored one of the Flyers' four overtime winners last season. The 3-on-3 setting creates a ton of open ice and swings of momentum. Skill really takes over. Can it be tough to think defense in such an offensive environment?
"I think it's all situational," Tippett said. "It depends on who you're out there against and how dangerous they can be. Any little bounce or missed shot or anything like that can go the other way pretty quickly. It's tough to practice, but I think it's more just being man on man, finding your guy and minimizing those little bounces or mistakes."
Because the 3-on-3 format is built for offense, Tortorella knows it can be a "gong show." But he's all for it.
"I love watching 3-on-3," he said. "I think it's unbelievable why we don't get rid of the shootout. TV, time, I don't know what has been told to me. ... The 3-on-3 is fantastic."
And it has put Michkov's knack for the big moment on display.
"Playing with him the last couple of games, it has been a lot of fun," Tippett said. "It keeps me and [Morgan Frost] on our toes, too, just always being ready. He's always fun, he keeps it light in the room and obviously he has got the clutch gene.
"We'll go out for a period and we'll have some chances or whatever, we'll come out to the second period and all he says is 'score.' I think that's just the way he plays and he's so competitive. He has that hunger and it's good to see from a young guy like that, being able to take over games like that at such a young age."
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