The first regular preseason game featuring Matvei Michkov does not disappoint in a game featuring some great play from the young’uns against an Ovechkin-less Washington team. Bobby Brink with a hat trick — of sorts — gives the Flyers a convincing 6-2 victory.
The Basics
First period: 4:00- Bobby Brink (Joel Farabee, Jett Luchanko), 16:44- Morgan Frost (Matvei Michkov, Emil Andrae), 17:20- Andrew Cristall (Alex Alexeyev, Ethan Bear)
Second period: 10:22- Joel Farabee (Owen Tippet, Morgan Frost) (PPG), 18:35- Ivan Miroshnichenko (Terik Parascak, Alex Limoges)
Third period: 5:37- Bobby Brink (Jett Luchanko, Joel Farabee), 6:51- Olle Lycksell (Rhett Gardner, Noah Cates), 12:00- Morgan Frost (Joel Farabee, Matvei Michkov) (PPG)
SOG: 28 (PHI) – 21 (WAS)
Shootout: Washington: Ethen Frank (no goal), Andrew Cristall (no goal) Ivan Miroshnichenko (no goal). Philadelphia: Bobby Brink (goal), Matvei Michkov (no goal), Owen Tippett (goal.
Some takeaways
Flying start
The opening moments have very little pizzazz, but Jamie Drysdale does a nice job rubbing out the Capitals forward in the Flyers zone. And Owen Tippett throws a good open ice check roughly four minutes in. The Flyers take the early lead on a great first pass by Jett Luchanko to Joel Farabee. Farabee passes it back into the middle of the ice where Bobby Brink is to put a nice backhand behind Hunter Shepard. Flyers up on a nifty Luchanko-fuelled goal, something that John Tortorella (not behind the bench today) should notice.
Brink has another chance minutes later but comes up short. Meanwhile the Capitals’ Andrew Cristall comes in on a short breakaway but Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov stops him.
Frost and Michkov make a little bit of magic
One noteable plus (albeit only 10 minutes in) is how quickly the Flyers are getting the puck out of their own end, resulting in very few quality chances by Washington. The other noteworthy item is how Matvei Michkov skated himself into a tight space between Riley Sutter and the boards, leaving him thankfully no worse for wear but taking a pretty hard knock into the boards. Michkov took the next shift and looked fine.
Philadelphia takes the first minor penalty of the game when Morgan Frost goes off for hooking. Luchanko is one of the four penalty killers off the bat and both the first unit and the second unit. Frost comes out of the penalty box and less than a minute later puts the Flyers up 2-0 with a nice shot over Shepard’s shoulder.
But the Flyers give up the two-goal lead seconds later when Cristall rips a shot from the blueline which goes off Nick Seeler and behind Fedotov to cut the lead in half.
The Flyers get their first power play late in the first and while they don’t score, they do seem to have a bit more ease getting into the offensive zone than, oh, 90 per cent of the attempts last season. Nothing comes of the advantage to end the period but Olle Lycksell has the best chance very late in the first.
More pace, more oomph
The second period starts with a good pace and a miscue by Olle Lycksell, flubbing the puck in his own zone that doesn’t burn the Flyers. The Brink, Luchanko, Farabee line is buzzing again, going into the dirty areas to get a third goal. And Drysdale follows up with a great offensive shift himself, skating all over the Capitals zone in a way that makes you remember his first game as a Flyer.
Almost nine minutes into the second the Capitals take a slashing penalty on Owen Tippett. But with Tippett, Frost and Michkov having a recent shift, the first unit doesn’t take the ice first. Thankfully Luchanko seems to quarterback things well before Frost, Michkov and Tippett go back out. The Flyers make it 3-1 when Farabee rifles one in the slot beyond Shepard, a crisp passing play started by Frost up high down to Tippett for Farabee. Pretty, pretty good. To quote Sam Rosen, it’s a power play goal!
Late penalty, late goal
The Capitals change goaltenders with Shepard being replaced by Clay Stevenson but the Flyers keep Fedotov between the pipes. And Stevenson is tested right off the bat when Farabee feeds Luchanko with a terrific pass but Stevenson stones him. Late in the second the Flyers take a penalty when Michkov takes a high-sticking minor, stifling some excitement that saw Drysdale, Michkov and Luchanko together on the ice. The Capitals capitalize as Ivan Miroshnichenko fires a wrister up over Fedotov to make it 3-2 Philadelphia.
The Flyers put the Capitals on the power play as Lycksell shoots the puck over the glass but they keep the lead after 40 minutes.
Shutting the Bjarn(ason) door
The Flyers switch goalies to start the third when Fedotov is replaced by Carson Bjarnason who is tested early on Washington’s nearly full two-minute power play to start the third. He also shuts down Cristall who has another decent chance from just inside one of the faceoff circles. But Philadelphia (namely Brink and Luchanko) almost put the Flyers up by two with another great opportunity. Brink isn’t denied moments later with another pretty play that ends with Brink putting a backhand behind Stevenson.
Not to be outdone, the Flyers put another backhander behind Stevenson just over a minute later when Olle Lycksell scores to make it 5-2.
Shootout to end it, no seriously….
The Flyers and Capitals agreed (like most preseason games) to end the game regardless of the scoreboard with a shootout. The Flyers get another power play halfway through the third, this one a boarding call on Eriks Mateiko. The Flyers make the most of it with, another power play goal? Yes!!! Two, two power play goals in sixty minutes of regulation. Morgan Frost puts the puck in with assists going to Farabee and Michkov and it’s 6-2 Flyers.
