Rick Tocchet explains controversial lineup changes for Game 4.

The Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention on Saturday night after a 4 game sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, but the feeling around the team was relatively positive despite the unfortunate circumstances.

The Flyers even received a standing ovation from their loyal fans, fans who clearly were recognizing that their young team had overachieved this season.

While the feeling around the team is mostly positive there are still some questions moving forward, most notable of which surround the controversial lineup changes Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet made before arguably the biggest game of the season.

In what was a shocking twist to many, Tocchet made the difficult decision to make Flyers star forward Matvei Michkov a healthy scratch for Game 4 with the season on the line. It was instead Flyers first round pick Jett Luchanko who got the call for the most important game of the season, and when asked about that decision after the game Tocchet's answer was a simple one.

"We talked as a staff and we just wanted to get some speed in there," said Tocchet. "To see if Jett could... against Carolina we wanted to get more speed."

Tocchet opted to make no mention of Michkov at all and instead simply praised both Luchanko as well as defenseman Oliver Bonk, who was also inserted into the lineup for Game 4, for their performances on the ice.

"We felt it was the right time to try Bonker," said Tocchet. "He's a future guy and I thought he held his own."

While there are many who have been highly critical of Tocchet for his decision to leave Michkov on the sidelines for the biggest game of the season, it doesn't sound like this was a one-man type of decision. Flyers reporter Kevin Kurz reports that the Flyers as a whole may have felt that sitting Michkov for Game 4 gave them the best chance of winning.

That of course does raise the question of what could all this mean for the future of the still relatively young Matvei Michkov in Philadelphia?