John Tortorella sparks outrage with latest move involving Matvei Michkov.

Fans in Philadelphia are not happy with the latest decision from their head coach, this in spite of the fact that Flyers head coach John Tortorella had already hinted at the possibility of this admittedly controversial decision.

According to multiple reports, the Flyers will in fact be without star forward Matvei Michkov again this evening when they take on the Florida Panthers at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida. The decision comes after Tortorella was critical of Michkov's play on the ice at 5 on 5, with the Flyers head coach clearly trying to send a message that everyone on the team is accountable under his system.

Michkov has not only been a big time offensive contributor for the Flyers this season, but has quite frankly been one of the most exciting and dynamic young players in the league since his arrival on the scene. In his 13 games this season he already has 4 goals and 6 assists for a total of 10 points, although he does also boast a plus minus rating of -8 as well as 8 penalty minutes. I suspect that the careless penalties as well as Michkov's play without the puck and on the defensive side of the ice is what Tortorella is truly unhappy about.

These are of course the kind of tough love decisions that you can expect when you hire a head coach with the style and reputation of a John Tortorella, although it seems that the Flyers fan base may not have that much patience for the often controversial head coach when it comes to his decisions regarding the team's star rookie.

That being said the Flyers did pick up a win on the road against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night, winning by a score of 2-1, and did so without Michkov in the lineup for that game. That has certainly given Tortorella more confidence when it comes to making the decision to scratch Michkov for a second straight game, while also rewarding the lineup that brought him and the Flyers the win on Thursday night by keeping the same lineup for a second straight game.