The Philadelphia Flyers returned from the 4 Nations break with a vengeance, scoring a half-dozen goals in back-to-back games to earn convincing wins over the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively.
Just two days after their 6-1 rout of the Penguins on Broad Street, the Flyers took on their cross-state rival once again Thursday night. Unfortunately, they were unable to extend their winning streak in the Steel City, falling by a score of 5-4 in overtime.
The Basics
First period: 2:00 — Noah Cates (Brink, Ristolainen)
Second period: 1:44 — Owen Tippett (Seeler, Michkov), 7:24 — Matvei Michkov (Tippett, Ristolainen), 9:05 — Philip Tomasino (Malkin, Heinen), 9:35 — Erik Karlsson (Crosby), 11:05 — Matvei Michkov (Kuzmenko, Konecny), 18:17 — Erik Karlsson (Grzelcyk, Malkin)
Third period: 2:30 — Evgeni Malkin (Beauvillier, Graves)
Overtime: 1:03 — Evgeni Malkin (Letang, Karlsson)
SOG: 37 (PHI) – 25 (PIT)
Takeaways
Malkin gonna Malkin
There were a lot of important goals scored by Russians in this tilt, but Evgeni Malkin ended up scoring the biggest of them all.
Early in the third period, the future Hall of Famer netted the game-tying goal with a laser that beat Sam Ersson on his glove side. And in overtime, Malkin beat Ersson again with a quick wrister past a sliding Jamie Drysdale to seal it.
He finished the night with a game-high four points.
Michkov Mania is runnin’ wild
On a more positive note, Matvei Michkov certainly isn’t looking gassed now.
After logging just nine points in the 28 games leading up to the 4 Nations break, it was evident Michkov needed some time off to regain his footing. But with the NHL now back to its regularly scheduled programming, Michkov looks completely rejuvenated, and he may be playing his best hockey of the season.
Thursday night, Michkov logged a pair of goals and an assist, giving him 44 points (and counting) in his first season as an NHLer. This marks four multi-point performances in the last five outings for the 20-year-old Russian sensation. He’s logged eight points in the Flyers’ three games since returning from the break, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
His first goal came toward the game’s midway point when he gathered a rebound off the end boards and showed off his silky hands to finesse the puck past Alex Nedeljkovic from in close to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead (and cause Nedeljkovic to have meltdown of epic proportions).
He found the back of the net again just a few minutes later, ripping one past backup netminder Joel Blomqvist on the power play to make it a 4-2 game.
With 19 goals on the season, Michkov has very much reinserted himself back into the Calder conversation.
Mayhem in the middle frame
After Michkov gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead 7:24 into the second period, it appeared the Flyers were on track to pull off another rout of their division rival.
But then the Penguins woke up.
Following Michkov’s marker, Philip Tomasino got the Penguins on the board with a filthy move to beat Sam Ersson after an ugly turnover by Bobby Brink in the defensive zone. Just 30 seconds later, Erik Karlsson cut the Flyers lead to one with a point blast off the faceoff.
The Flyers had their backs against the wall with momentum completely in the Penguins’ favor. But the game’s dynamic shifted when Penguins forward Boko Imama flattened Garnet Hathaway with an unnecessary blindside hit in the neutral zone. After initially being assessed a five-minute major penalty, Imama ultimately wound up serving only two minutes for interference after it was determined Hathaway’s head wasn’t the initial point of contact on the hit.
The Flyers responded by scoring on the ensuing power play — another tally by Michkov. Unfortunately, Karlsson netted his second goal of the night with less than two minutes remaining in the period.
Six total goals were scored in the second period alone. Neither team looked particularly sharp in the middle stanza, and that lapse ended up costing the Flyers in the long run.
