Michkov returns to lineup in heroic fashion as Flyers vanquish Sharks in shootout

PHILADELPHIA — Matvei Michkov didn’t waste time in making his case why he should be a fixture in the Philadelphia Flyers lineup for the rest of the season.

Coming off two healthy scratches last week against Tampa Bay and Florida — the first of his NHL career — Michkov was back on Monday against the San Jose Sharks, in a matchup with fellow Calder Trophy favorite Macklin Celebrini. Michkov got the win over Celebrini on the scoresheet, finishing with a goal and an assist while Celebrini finished without a single point. But more importantly, the Flyers got the win on the scoreboard as well, shaking off a blown 3-0 lead to close out the victory in the shootout and win by a 4-3 final score.

Travis Konecny and Erik Johnson also scored for the Flyers, while goalie Sam Ersson made 28 saves on 31 shots. Vitek Vanecek was the tough-luck loser for the Sharks in goal, stopping 40 of 43 shots en route to the defeat.

Michkov responds to scratching with big game

Did Matvei Michkov have a perfect game in his return to the Flyers’ lineup after two healthy scratches? No.

Did he show why — even at age 19 — he’s one of the team’s most dangerous offensive weapons? Very much yes.

As expected, Michkov was back in for the Flyers as they hit the ice back home for their game against the San Jose Sharks, meaning that his time out of the lineup would end at two games. And it didn’t take long for Michkov to show that he would be returning in style, picking up a primary assist on Travis Konecny’s first period goal, and then a breakaway tally of his own early in the second.

“(After) two games missing, I had plenty of energy, and feel really good,” Michkov said via a translator following the 4-3 victory.

Michkov’s play, as noted, wasn’t perfect. He took an unnecessary retaliatory penalty at the end of regulation that gave the Sharks a two-minute PP to start overtime, and head coach John Tortorella noted after the game that he overstayed a shift at the end of the second period that led to a San Jose goal. But he directly created two of the Flyers’ three goals, and then — along with Konecny — lit the lamp in the shootout to secure the win.

The Flyers will take that tradeoff any day.

Michkov also said all the right things in his postgame availability. He claimed that it was good to get time off and “rethink.” He diplomatically responded to a question of whether he had extra motivation in this game coming off the scratch by saying that he’s motivated for every game. And he even cracked a joke about being lucky about the locale for his scratches.

“Being in Miami and Tampa, it’s a good time to get the good rest,” he said with a smile.

The Flyers know Michkov is going to make mistakes. That’s part of being a talented NHL rookie. But they also know how large of an impact he can have on games, even as he makes those (expected) mistakes. Michkov served up a big reminder of as much in his return to action.

Was Torts right to scratch Michkov?

Michkov comes back into the lineup, and immediately scores a goal, an assist and a shootout tally. Give it up for Tortorella and his coaching tactics, right?

Well, it’s a bit more complex than that.

The risks involved with scratching Michkov were threefold. First, there was the possibility that they’d lose games in the here and now with one of their most gifted offensive players out of the lineup. Second, there was the chance that Michkov would sulk as a result of the benching, and return an even less effective player than he was before he sat. And third, it risked opening up a breach with between and coach that no one involved in the situation wants to see.

The two-game scratching didn’t burn the Flyers, though they probably could have used Michkov’s hands in Saturday’s shootout against Florida; at most, his absence lost them one standings point, and even that’s far from a guarantee. Michkov obviously didn’t sulk on Monday; instead, he thrived. And as for the player/coach relationship, that remains to be seen, but at the very least Michkov didn’t eviscerate him on the record on Monday despite having opportunities to hint at dissatisfaction.

So the Flyers appear to have avoided the worst-case scenarios here. But was the move actually worth it? Much of that will depend upon whether sitting him for a couple games does indeed help from a developmental standpoint, and that’s not a question that can be answered after one game. It’s more of a long-term process.

At the very least, however, it doesn’t appear to have messed Michkov up. And the big takeaway here is that Michkov has now proved on the NHL stage that he’s not going to let a little thing like John Tortorella’s shenanigans throw him off his game. He didn’t pout in his first game back; he lit up the scoresheet.

Whether the scratchings provided a little extra fuel for Michkov on Monday, or if he would have produced against a weak San Jose team anyway, ultimately can’t be known. What is known is that Michkov didn’t allow the weirdness of the last two games faze him, though. And that’s a positive long-term sign for how he’s likely to handle similar difficult situations in North America in the future.

(Mostly) strong process, tight outcome

Aside from Michkov’s return to action, there was an actual hockey game played on this fine Philadelphia evening. And despite the fact that the Flyers required a shootout to take down one of the league’s worst clubs, it was a performance filled with positive signs and clear structural carry-over from their road trip.

For starters, the Flyers dominated the game statistically. After averaging fewer than 20 shots on goal across four straight games from October 29 through November 5, they’ve now cracked 30 in their last three, culminating in this 43-shot explosion on Monday versus the Sharks. They nearly doubled up San Jose in raw shot attempts (80 – 59), and finished with a strong 64.49 percent expected goal share at 5-on-5. Make no mistake — the Flyers dominated the bulk of this game.

So why didn’t they run away with it? In short, they missed on something like five or six golden scoring opportunities, with gaping nets staring at them. Konecny was the worst offender, as he racked up scoring chance after scoring chance over the game’s final 40 minutes but just couldn’t seem to bury any of them — at least until he scored the deciding goal in the shootout.

Yes, the Flyers slipped up for about three minutes in the late second period to allow the Sharks back in the game. But their game-tying goal late in the third was fluky, the product of a puck that bounced off Owen Tippett’s stick and went right to Barclay Goodrow, not a dominant Sharks closing kick. In fact, the Flyers led in shot attempts 26 – 6 in the third at 5-on-5. They controlled play, despite San Jose’s comeback.

“I think as each game goes through here, I think we’re playing more of our game,” Tortorella noted after the win.

Erik Johnson the early hero

Michkov may have delivered the headlines in this one, but the Erik Johnson sideplot had juice as well.

That’s what happens when you score a goal and then immediately drop the gloves in defense of the teammate who did make all the headlines.

Johnson, by his own admission, is far from an offensive dynamo from the back end at this stage of his career. But it was Johnson who nevertheless opened the scoring just 100 seconds in, taking a pass from a streaking Anthony Richard and ripping the puck past Vanecek to give the Flyers the early edge.

But Johnson wasn’t done. On the very next shift at center ice after celebrating the goal, Sharks tough guy Givani Smith decided to rough up Michkov a bit prior to puck drop. Johnson wasn’t having it. Befitting his role as one of the designated character vets on the club, he immediately challenged Smith to a fight, ultimately ending up in a wrestling match on the ice.

100 seconds, and he was two-thirds of the way to a Gordie Howe hat trick.

“I think I had one a really long time ago, but I have to fact check that,” Johnson said.

Johnson never got that final assist to finish it off. But he did confirm that even without Nicolas Deslauriers in the lineup, the Flyers players have the rookie’s back.

“I’m not much of a fighter, but I think we have each other’s backs,” Johnson added. “If you have to stand in there and take a few punches to let your teammates know that you’ve got their back, I think that’s important.”

Frost scratched

The writing was on the wall on Saturday, when Morgan Frost was pulled off the top power play unit and ended up with under ten minutes of ice time.

John Tortorella officially confirmed it at morning skate on Monday: Frost would be getting his first healthy scratch of the season.

“Hasn’t played well,” Tortorella said.

In fairness to Torts, he did hold off on scratching Frost much longer than he had in his previous two seasons coaching him. Tortorella said on Monday that was no accident — he felt that Frost had earned a longer leash heading into this season, given his work in 2023-24. But after just one goal and six points in 15 games, that leash finally ran out.

Will Frost be out of the lineup for long? Well, Richard delivered his second straight strong game, and Tortorella has made it clear just how much he appreciates the need for speed in his lineup given his endorsement of Jett Luchanko staying with the big club out of camp. Most likely, Frost won’t be out of the lineup for too long. But it wouldn’t be a major shock if his absence extends beyond one game.