(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Dan Heaning, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Amid the Philadelphia Flyers recent three-game skid have come doubts from fans and observers that the lines head coach Dave Hakstol has constructed aren’t up to snuff.
Questions arose from some for Hakstol's benching Nick Cousins in favor of Roman Lyubimov early in the week for the tilt against Chicago. The argument wasn’t so much Lyubimov over Cousins or Cousins over Lyubimov for the Arizona contest, but Cousins and Lyubimov over Chris VandeVelde.
However, there is a more important position that warrants a discussion: Third-line center. Currently, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare has the role. The move caught a few off-guard as Cousins was expected to take that spot. Moreover, the lineup choice seemed odd because Cousins solidified the position down the stretch last season and has never played wing before while Bellemare has.
Bellemare also has been the Flyers fourth-line center for the last two seasons. Though, he has played on the second and third units at various intervals, his job for the Flyers lineup is that of a defensive nature.
Yet, the question should be asked. Should the Le Blanc-Mesil, France native be centering a line that should be expected to produce offensively or should he be playing where everyone expected him to be on the fourth line, where the offensive production isn’t as necessary as it is with the third?
Bellemare’s promotion can be explained by two clear factors. One, he earned Hakstol’s trust last season when his line was given more ice time down the stretch effectively making it the third line over the unit centered by Cousins. Two, he had a solid World Cup of Hockey tournament for Team Europe and his performance earned praise by many observers. So the move up is earned.
The problem is that production-wise Bellemare most certainly doesn’t have the resume of many NHL third-line centers. As far as skill goes, it’s unfair to compare him to the likes of Valtteri Filppula, Nazem Kadri or Lars Eller and especially the third-line situation they have going on in Pittsburgh.
Though, if the Flyers want to compete with the likes of Filppula’s Tampa Bay Lightning, Eller’s Washington Capitals and Nick Bonino’s Pittsburgh Penguins, they’ll need a third line center who can produce.
Is Bellemare that center?
Well, right now Bellemare can be compared to some other club’s third line centermen. For example, Minnesota Wild’s Erik Haula and the San Jose Sharks’ Chris Tierney have comparable point totals and ice time numbers.
In Haula’s first two seasons, he produced nearly identical point totals as Bellemare. He compiled 15 points in his rookie season in 2013-14 and 14 points the next campaign, whereas Bellemare produced 12 and 14 points in 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively. In the same timeframe, Tierney garnered 21 and 20 points respectively.
Haula was able to provide some tertiary offense last year for Minnesota as he notched 34 points in his third NHL season. This might suggest that with better wingers and more ice time that Bellemare could see an offensive boost as well.
The problem with that argument is that Bellemare, 31, has some years on those two players, so the idea of potential growth isn’t as prevalent as it is with Haula, 25, and Tierney, 22.
In the here and now, though, Bellemare could get a boost, but how much?
Bellemare has only scored 20 goals or more three times over the course of his professional career and has never compiled more than 49 points. So he doesn’t have a history of offensive outbursts to inspire much confidence. On the other hand, Cousins produced seasons in the OHL with 100 and 88 points along with a 56-point campaign with the Phantoms.
However, Bellemare’s third-line center placement is more of a testament to his defensive play. At least, that’s what makes sense to have him over Cousins.
Haula and Tierney are also in defensive roles for their teams as both start most of their shifts in their own zone. The problem is Bellemare has had comparatively balanced zone starts. So Haula and Tierney’s below 50 Corsi is explained by starting shifts in their own end. Bellemare doesn’t have that excuse which is concerning for a third line center.
As much flak as VandeVelde catches, he was essential to Bellemare's Corsi last season. Bellemare actually saw his Corsi drop six points without the North Dakota alum on his line and both VandeVelde and defenseman Andrew MacDonald have higher points per 60 minutes than Bellemare.
In contrast, the advanced stats aren't all against Bellemare. He had one of the team's best individual Corsi and Fenwick per 60 minutes as he finished fourth on the team in both categories, but he fell to 10th on the team in shots that made it on goal per 60.
Another issue is the faceoff circle. In his first two seasons, Bellemare won 47 percent of the draws he’s taken. He’s also finished three out of the first four games with a faceoff percentage at or slightly above 40. On the plus side, that other game he dominated the draws with a 91 win percentage.
Third-line scoring is vital for any NHL team. In today’s game, you need at least three lines that can score and all four to be defensively sound. With the team seemingly set with quality bottom-six forwards like Michael Raffl, Dale Weise, Matt Read, Scott Laughton and Lyubimov, it’s rather curious that Bellemare continues to see top-nine minutes.
That trend likely will continue with Raffl and Laughton injured and Weise suspended for three games, but as the team reclaims some of its depth from the injury list, Hakstol will need to reconsider who he has down the middle on his third line.
