Tortorella scratches Flyers' leading scorer, chose not to explain why
Ahead of tonight's tilt against the New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella has announced that they will be scratching top-line forward and leading point-getter, Kevin Hayes, but chose not to explain why in typical Torts fashion.
Hayes was benched during the third period of their last game against the New Jersey Devils after Hayes was directly responsible for a few costly turnovers - fortunately Carter Hart bailed him out during his 48-save performance. He only played 9:47 on Thursday night and Scott Laughton took his spot on the top line alongside Travis Konecny and Noah Cates.
This isn't the first time that Hayes has been benched by Tortorella, as he saw the pine during the third period of a game in October against the San Jose Sharks - alongside Konecny. Tortorella hasn't been afraid to bench his star players this year as he has done the same with Morgan Frost, Tony DeAngelo, and Wade Allison. He also famously benched Pierre-Luc Dubois and Patrik Laine during his time in Columbus.
The decision is interesting considering the offensively challenged Flyers currently sit 30th in the NHL in goals. Hayes is second on the team in goals with 9 and tops in assists and points with 20 and 29, respectively. The Flyers also announced that Lukas Sedlak has decided to leave the team for personal reasons so his contract will be terminated. Kieffer Bellows figures to return to the lineup tonight for the Flyers.
