BarDown is reporting that Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet was not pleased with the 10-minute misconduct Trevor Zegras took in Tuesday night's loss to the Wild.
It's another rough night for a team that can't find any traction. Philadelphia lost 4-2 to Minnesota at home, and the officiating became part of the conversation.
According to BarDown, Zegras was handed the misconduct for tapping his stick at the referee after a goal against that started from contact with the ref.
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Zegras finished the night with an assist on the power play, a -3 rating and those 10 penalty minutes. He played 20:01, so the misconduct didn't cost him ice time in any way that showed up on the sheet.
The post gives us only Tocchet's reaction in summary, not his words. What we know is that the coach disagreed with the call.
Minnesota got goals from Matthew Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Michael McCarron and Danila Yurov. Eriksson Ek's goal was the game-winner. Denver Barkey and Tyson Foerster scored for the Flyers.
Flyers are running out of room for mistakes
The standings are the bigger problem. Going into the Minnesota game, Philadelphia sat 29th in the NHL at 4-9-4, and that record doesn't yet include Tuesday's loss.
The goal differential was already -21 before puck drop. Goals against have been a persistent issue, and a play that leads to a goal against and then a misconduct is exactly what a team in that spot can't afford.
Zegras has been one of the few bright spots. Before Tuesday he had 14 points in 17 games, including 6 power-play assists, and he's carrying a heavy workload for a team that needs his offense.
His -5 rating over that stretch tells its own story about how the Flyers have been outscored when he's on the ice. The misconduct adds a discipline wrinkle that Tocchet clearly doesn't want to see repeated, especially over a call he thought was soft.
I don't love the optics of a player arguing with an official after a play that began with the ref getting hit. Tocchet can defend his player, but with the Flyers 29th in the league, the focus belongs on the goals against, not the whistle.
The next test comes Thursday, when Philadelphia visits the Rangers.
Was Trevor Zegras's 10-minute misconduct a fair call by the referee?
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