Oct 15, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers defensemen Evan Bouchard (2) tries to tie up Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov (39) during the second period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
With all the waiting the Flyers have had to do since drafting Matvei Michkov in the 2023 NHL Draft, a few more minutes on Tuesday night didn't seem so bad. Honestly, nor did the fact that they lost the game, 4-3 in Overtime to the Edmonton Oilers.
After all, Michkovmania was about to set in.
Michkov was playing in his third NHL game that counts. There was hype and hysteria watching him score his first goal in a Flyers uniform in a rookie game in Allentown. There was plenty of fawning during pre-season games that didn't count when he led the Flyers in scoring.
But this was different. This was in a game that actually mattered. From a fan perspective, this was the real start of what could be many, many goals in a hopefully storied career.
So, waiting to see if his first celebration of a score was an actual goal, and then enduring a second, longer, replay review to ensure its legality really didn't seem all that bad.
ONLY MATVEI KNEW IT!
MATVEI MICHKOV HAS HIS FIRST NHL GOAL!!! #FLYERS pic.twitter.com/kh4zYEzxle
But you could tell for Michkov, the wait was interminable.
Finally, when it was confirmed that his jamming of the puck not only clearly crossed the goal line and that he did not forcefully push goalie Stuart Skinner's pad across the goal line creating a goaltender interference situation, Michkov could finally celebrate on the bench, and his teammates, specifically Garnet Hathaway, who was sitting next to him on the bench, showed him some love.
The boys LOVE it. #PHIvsEDM | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/pi5BDSH5rv
But Michkov wasn't done. No, there was another cherry on his sundae. He would score again - a second power play goal - on a feed from Morgan Frost. It's the type of goal that the Flyers can get used to - a wicked snapshot from his office in the circle.
This shot is so nasty. This kid is so nasty. Matvei Michkov is addicted to scoring goals in the National Hockey League pic.twitter.com/biTcgLV8zM
The Flyers power play, which ranked last in the NHL each of the past three seasons, has started 2024-25 4-for-15 through three games. Michkov has been a part of three of those four goals.
He's a difference-maker, even as a 19-year-old. And the seeds of the Flyers rebuild are truly starting to sprout already.
The Flyers have one more game on their season-opening four game road trip before they return for what is sure to be a raucous home opener against Vancouver on Saturday. They are 1-1-1 on the trip so far, which isn't bad, but if you watched the games, you can't help but feel it should have been better.
Michkov excitement aside, the Flyers coughed up a two-goal lead to Edmonton and lost a point in what was a surprisingly winnable game.
They'll need to be better in Seattle Thursday to make the trip a true success, but just having Michkov play the way he has so far has made it a success already, regardless of outcomes.
Onto the thumbs...
It would be foolish to have this section of a post and not give one to Michkov and the new-look Flyers power play unit. It's a sight for sore eyes, especially since the Flyers power play hasn't been reliable since before the pandemic. It might be a small sample size, but they just look more in sync and more dangerous. That's the first step toward consistent production.
Bobby Brink continues to provide offense. He didn't get to play as much as normal in the game against Edmonton because there were so many penalties between the two teams (a combined 11 power plays) and he doesn't kill penalties, and he's not on the top power play unit, but Brink has been incredibly creative so far this season.
He's not just getting this thumb up because he scored the other Flyers goal. He wasn't even trying to shoot the puck - but what he was doing - and has been doing extremely well, is finding his teammates in scoring position and setting them up for success.
In the season opener, it was his first pass on a tic-tac-toe play that set up Tyson Foerster's power play goal. In the second game against Calgary, it was his deft saucer pass to Joel Farabee that created a goal.
And against the Oilers, he was trying to hit a streaking Jett Luchanko, only to have his pass carom off an Edmonton player and into the net for his own goal.
Bobby Brink brings the Flyers back in front. 👊 pic.twitter.com/0C5VLXxIG9
Brink has definitely been impressive so far.
The Flyers at even strength have not been good enough to start the season, and the game against Edmonton was a microcosm of the season thus far.
They were out-scored 4-1 by the Oilers at even strength. That mans the Flyers are minus-six in goal differential in just three games during even strength play (9-3).
Known as a team who will grind you into the ice at 5-on-5, the Flyers need to get that differential back toward even steven if they want to take a step further than a season ago.
It's also hard to knock captain Sean Couturier because he's a heck of a leader and he got into another fight in the third period against the Oilers...
Troy Stecher jumps Sean Couturier after Couturier collides with Stuart Skinner behind the net. Stecher lands some early punches and I would say wins the fight.
pic.twitter.com/xwmLUaxodN
But he was very limited in this game and only had 9:52 of ice time, lowest on the team.
He has looked slow in a game that is built on speed these days. He's still the Flyers best faceoff guy, but he took fewer draws than Frost, Luchanko and Ryan Poehling against Edmonton.
It's fine if he's just a third line center at this point in his career, but he can't look like a shell of his former self out there either. It's just three games, but it's not been an encouraging three games.
You saw Couturier's scrap above. Two seconds later, there was another glove-dropping taking place off a faceoff. This time between Farabee and Corey Perry.
Corey Perry and Joel Farabee add another fight to the penalty sheet 🥊#LetsGoOilers | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/d3LSHXTT7v
Safe to say this was an extension of the previous fight, where the Oilers felt Couturier ran their goalie, which, if you go back and look at the replay, he didn't at all, and Skinner did his best community theatre stage fall.
It's worth pointing this out because these two fights woke up the Oilers, who were the better team from this point forward. The first one, Couturier couldn't really do any thing about as he was jumped by Troy Stecher.
But Farabee didn't have to oblige Perry, a veteran who knew that a second fight could blow the lid off the boiling pot that was the Oilers offense to this point in the season.
Edmonton had five goals in 11-plus periods before those fights. they scored two within the next 11 minutes.
Sam Ersson had the save of the night only to give up the game-winning goal seconds later.
You can't blame the goalie, because the play was not a great from start to finish for a variety of reasons that were outside his control.
But, Ersson stoned Connor McDavid on a breakaway in overtime with an absolutely incredible save. McDavid fed Leon Draisaitl for the walk-off goal seconds later, but the Flyers provided no help.
MCDAVID TO DRAISAITL IN OVERTIME...
YOU KNOW THE REST! 🚨
The Edmonton Oilers pick up their first win of the season on Leon Draisaitl's @SUBWAYCanada OT winner. pic.twitter.com/kXlzNguZJH
Travis Sanheim was taken out of the play in the Edmonton zone, meaning it was on Travis Konecny and Michkov to get back and defend. Konecny chased McDavid tot he corner after Ersson made the initial save but it appeared Michkov trailed off the play and didn't account for Draisitl coming in behind him.
Sanheim was trying to get back into the play, but couldn't, and, well, it was curtains at that point.
The Flyers wrap up their four-game road trip against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday at 10PM. The Kraken are 2-2-0 so far this season, winning in Nashville on Tuesday 7-3.
