Matvei Michkov has yet to score on a Michigan attempt in the NHL, but he hit another one over the weekend in Russia.
The Philadelphia Flyers winger was once again a part of the “Match of the Year” charity game at SKA Arena in Saint Petersburg, alongside other NHL stars like Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin, and Mikhail Sergachev.
Michkov trained with these Russian stars leading up to the game over in his home country. It was his second straight year participating in the charity match, and he showed off his stuff once again.
Last year, Michkov scored a Michigan goal in the charity match just days after saying that “one season was enough” for the lacrosse-style tally.
He is saying no such thing this year, though.
Let’s first admire Michkov’s Michigan goal from this year one more time.
Matvei Michkov is making the most of his summer. The @NHLFlyers Flyers forward already recorded a hat trick at the annual charity “Match of the Year” game organized by Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin, and Mikhail Sergachev. And yes — he also pulled off this gorgeous lacrosse-style… pic.twitter.com/EjmHvbaWqO
— Daria Tuboltseva (@DariaTuboltseva) July 25, 2026
Michkov made the savvy decision to tuck the puck under the goalie’s blocker as the netminder had the top corner covered.
He broke down the goal after the game.
“It just happened that way,” Michkov said. “The pass came to my backhand, so I had to lift it… and well… that was it.”
Matvei Michkov put up a hat trick at the Match of the Year and one of them was a lacrosse-style goal. When they asked him how it came together, he was humble about it: "It just happened that way"
— Uggg (@Uggg_uggg) July 26, 2026
📽️ Роман с хоккеем /VK pic.twitter.com/AYrsALPnco
“To be honest, if the situation lets me lift the puck, I’ll give it a shot in practice every now and then,” he continued. “I’ve tried it in games, too, but no luck in the NHL so far.”
One of those attempts in practice unfortunately went awry last November, when Michkov appeared to hit Dan Vladar in the mask — which wasn’t unusual for the Flyers goalie last season.
Matvei Michkov scored a goal in a 2-on-1 drill. He then tried the Michigan and looked like he got Dan Vladar in the mask. pic.twitter.com/C62SvlDaVV
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) November 9, 2025
A few months later, though, Michkov was teaching some of the tricks of the trade to rookie forward Denver Barkey.
Michkov called Barkey over to hit Michigan’s with him and taught him how to do it 😂 pic.twitter.com/pgzNn0fBXe
— Travis Ballinghoff (@travieballin26) January 7, 2026
Barkey was eventually able to nail a Michigan attempt, but it’d be surprising if the forward ever broke it out in a game.
The same can’t be said for Michkov, though.
“I believe it’s still ahead of me,” he said after hitting the Michigan in Russia. “I’ll keep trying.”
Michkov knows that he has a big season ahead of him. He worked out as much as three times a day with a trainer that the Flyers sent to Russia this summer, and he’s planning on returning to the Philadelphia area at some point in August.
Last season was a down year for Michkov, but he was still able to score 20 goals and put up 51 points. He’ll look to build on that and hopefully work his way up the Flyers lineup in the upcoming campaign.
