The Philadelphia Flyers led the Edmonton Oilers for practically all of their late-night contest—till they didn’t. Falling 4-3 in time beyond regulation, the Orange and Black moved to 1-1-1 on the season however bought a standout efficiency from Matvei Michkov. What had been some takeaways from him and the remainder of the crew?
Michkov Had His Breakout
For Michkov, it was actually solely a matter of time. For his complete life, he has dominated the competitors. Whether or not it was amongst Russians his age, the very best prospects in hockey, or the very best European gamers, discovering methods to attain has come straightforward for the 19-year-old. Now within the NHL, he has immediately grow to be one of many Flyers’ greatest gamers (simply as suspected).
With two power-play objectives within the first interval and a recreation the place he was the focus general, Michkov was glorious. In simply his third contest on NHL ice, he was the one one rivaling a buzzing Connor McDavid. The younger Russian scored his first and second objectives of his profession in fast succession, displaying the hockey world how good he already is.
The kind of recreation that Michkov had has been a once-in-a-blue-moon effort for the Orange and Black in current reminiscence. Missing expertise, they simply haven’t had many particular person performances like that. Keep in mind, that is the third NHL recreation for a young person. If he continues to get higher because the season strikes alongside (younger gamers have a tendency to do that), he’ll be a deal with to look at the remainder of the way in which. His point-per-game tempo (three factors in three video games) might maintain up, and it could not. All that actually issues is that he’s doing issues that his teammates usually can not on the age of 19.
Luchanko Is Going Nowhere
I figured this earlier than the season even started, but it surely’s changing into increasingly clear that 18-year-old rookie Jett Luchanko gained’t be going again to juniors. He had the very best ice time amongst Flyer facilities towards the Oilers (17:00) and was top-of-the-line forwards on the evening. Whereas there are nonetheless issues to work on, he has been a internet constructive on the ice—his utilization displays that.
At this level, it looks as if Luchanko is enjoying at a excessive sufficient degree to stay within the NHL. Not solely that, he has been invaluable down the center for the Flyers. When he was taken out of the lineup towards the Calgary Flames as a result of he had performed lower than 24 hours earlier than, Philadelphia was not good in any respect. His affect is way too nice for him to see any time with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) once more, which is an enormous praise to the place he’s at. Taken within the 2024 NHL Draft just some months in the past, his maturity is off the charts.
Ersson Stays Scorching, Flyers’ Protection Not
This season, Sam Ersson has completed his greatest to maintain the Flyers in video games. Whereas permitting 4 objectives on 33 pictures can seldom be a “good” effort, he was one of many causes his crew made it to time beyond regulation within the first place. Notably on the game-tying and game-winning objectives, his protection didn’t come by means of for him. This has been one of many greatest themes of 2024-25.
The Flyers had their greatest recreation on the anticipated objectives entrance, sacrificing 3.08, however there have been some miscues that left Ersson in a troublesome spot. Head coach John Tortorella has run again the identical unit for 3 video games in a row with Nick Seeler being on injured reserve—it is perhaps time for a change. Emil Andrae may very well be an excellent choice to sub in, somebody who maybe can change the dynamic of defensive play. Forwards play a job in defensive play, too, however the again finish hasn’t been the very best.
Although it’s a small pattern dimension, the Flyers appear to be re-entering the territory of relying too closely on Ersson to win video games. Even when that’s the case and backup Ivan Fedotov sees struggles, their originally-planned workloads shouldn’t drastically change. When Ersson was given too many begins final season, Philadelphia went from having one good goalie to zero. His play has been inspiring, however they’ll must be smarter this time.
Associated: Philadelphia Flyers Must Play the Lengthy Recreation with Ivan Fedotov
Subsequent up, the Flyers will shut out their season-opening four-game street journey towards the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 17. Fortunately, it’ll be their final 10 p.m. Jap Customary Time begin for a bit bit.
