The last week was something of a roller coaster for the Philadelphia Flyers. It started off with a thrilling shootout win over the stupid and dumb Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, followed by a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators Thursday night to secure their third consecutive win.
Since then, though, the vibes have not been immaculate. The Flyers have dropped two straight games, including 5-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night and a 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday (which may very well have been the worst hockey game ever played).
Nevertheless, the show must go on, and three stars must be awarded. Without further delay, here are the top stars of the Flyers’ week.
3. Noah Cates
0 goals, 3 assists, 17:57 average TOI, 4 games played
Cates’ strong season continues. Centering Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink, Cates has been the engine that makes the Flyers’ most consistently efficient line function.
Cates didn’t find the back of the net last week, but did log three assists, including a pair of primary helpers. And, of course, he continued to register mostly strong play-driving numbers at 5-on-5 (50.00 GF%, 56.58 xGF%, per Natural Stat Trick).
Granted, Cates is still struggling in the faceoff dot — he’s only winning 44.7% of his draws this season. However, against the Flames Sunday night, a Cates faceoff win directly led to a Travis Konecny goal that cut the deficit in half. Baby steps.
He’ll never be the flashiest player of the group, and he still has plenty to improve upon when taking draws, but Cates is always a reliable cog in the middle of the ice. He proved that again last week.
2. Matvei Michkov
0 goals, 3 assists, shootout goal 14:42 average TOI, 4 games played
Michkov hasn’t looked much like himself to start the season, but last week, he showed signs that his slump may be coming to an end.
After posting just three points in the first two weeks of the campaign, he doubled that number with three helpers last week. He registered a pair of primary assists Thursday night against the Predators, including a behind-the-net feed to Jamie Drysdale to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead late in the second period.
It’s clear Michkov isn’t completely out of the woods yet. He averaged less than 15 minutes of ice time per game last week, indicating that his conditioning may still be a lingering issue after an ankle injury negatively impacted his offseason training. However, any progress from Michkov is a step in the right direction, so it’s good to see him getting back on the scoresheet more regularly.
1. Trevor Zegras
2 goals, 3 assists, 19:42 average TOI, 4 games played
Zegras earns the first star for the second week in a row, and for good reason. After a pair of down years with the Anaheim Ducks, the 24-year-old is looking completely rejuvenated with the Flyers. He led the Flyers with five points last week, including a pair of goals against the Predators on Thursday.
He also fully immersed himself into the Flyers’ rivalry with the Penguins and made fun of a man’s mustache, which was very nice to see.
Don’t look now, but Zegras is averaging over a point per game and leads the Flyers with 13 points through 12 outings. He also leads the Flyers with six power-play points on the season, which bodes well for a club that has struggled mightily on the man advantage since the start of the decade.
One of his power-play points came against Nashville — a one-timed rocket off the draw that beat Nashville’s two-time All-Star netminder Juuse Saros blocker side.
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere’s investment in Zegras appears to be paying off quite nicely.
