News Flyers Team Notes

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Matvei Michkov dominates in 3-point performance after 4 Nations break

It wasn’t a foregone conclusion that the Matvei Michkov we fell in love with through the first third of the season was going to be back. We all assumed that after a couple of forced weeks off thanks to the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, the 20-year-old would be able to recover from playing the most hectic hockey schedule he has ever faced in his life, and Michkov would be back to scoring points and running the show for the Philadelphia Flyers. But, it wasn’t a guarantee.

Well, it turns out that some rest can do the hockey soul good.

In the first game back since the break, Michkov and the Flyers were hosting the Edmonton Oilers. With Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and their cast of Cup hopefuls, it could have certainly been a blowout and we would all be back simulating the draft lottery for the rest of the weekend. But with a supercharged Russian rookie, the Flyers handed a 6-3 loss to the Oilers in emphatic fashion.

The whole team put in a solid performance but Michkov stood above the rest and both on the scoresheet and visually, he appeared to be back with a capital B.

Just over two minutes in to the entire game, Michkov received a quick pass from Scott Laughton in the neutral zone, entered the zone, rifled the puck and missed the net, and then got his own rebound off the boards behind the goal line, and put it in past the sprawling Edmonton netminder.

Can we give Mich an assist on his own goal?

Looking into this.#EDMvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/wRco5cRY2H

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 22, 2025

While we were all hoping to see something from Michkov — a sign of life after having a rough stretch of dried-up production heading into the break — scoring just a couple of minutes after the NHL resumed action was more than we could have imagined. There is possibly not a stronger statement that we might be on a wild ride through the final stretch of the Flyers season.

In the second period, with the score tied at two, after an offensive zone faceoff loss, Michkov quickly pounced on a fumbled puck just trickling through the zone and within milliseconds, caught Sean Couturier going across the net and placed a perfect pass for the veteran center to score his 200th career goal.

The oop from Mich. The slam from Coots. #EDMvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/rR4V0KyZuZ

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 22, 2025

These types of plays — not to go off on a tangent about something we all know and appreciate — is something that separates the offensively elite players from the very good ones. Within maybe one entire second, Michkov crammed in a quick puck recovery (and no one else really noticed it), maneuvered to the periphery of the zone to get a better look at it, saw his captain, and then made a perfect pass. This is the hockey sense and the vision that made him one of the best Russian prospects we have seen since Alex Ovechkin. God, it’s incredible.

And he wasn’t done for the day! Sean Couturier stripped the puck from an Oiler in the neutral zone, got it to Tippett who laid possession to Michkov for the zone entry; and the two wingers quickly squeezed behind the Oilers’ line of defense to create virtually a 2-on-0 rush. And, well, of course Michkov sauced it over to Tippett with a quick backhand and earned his third point of the day.

Three points and one wicked backhand helper from MM39. #EDMvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/phhV2NE8vX

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 22, 2025

This is also another example of something everyone has been talking about. This is what a goal looks like when someone as gifted as Michkov has linemates who support him. It doesn’t really take a genius to put the ultra-skilled rookie with the smartest center on the team who is defensively adapt, and a speedy winger who can score, all together on the same line. But it works magically here and as intended.

Michkov finished his game with a goal, two primary assists, four shots on goal, three scoring chances, and one blocked shot all in 14:28 TOI. Plus, when Michkov was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Flyers had an 18-8 shot attempt advantage, a 14-3 shots on goal advantage, and according to Natural Stat Trick, 87.23 percent of the expected goals. Simply put, the 20-year-old dominated in his first game back after the break.

Should we expect more of this? Well, there’s no reason not to since we know what level Michkov can play at, but maybe not for every single game. Could this mean he is suddenly putting himself back in the Calder Trophy race? Most definitely.

The Flyers have another chance to dominate as the start their home-and-home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday this week.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...in-3-point-performance-after-4-nations-break/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Some takeaways from Flyers’ 6-3 win over Oilers

The Flyers were ready when the two-week break ended, spanking the high-flying Oilers 6-3 as Owen Tippett, Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov dazzled Saturday afternoon before the Flyers faithful.

The basics

First period: 2:07 – Matvei Michkov (Scott Laughton, Egor Zamula), 7:06 – John Klingberg (Ty Emberson, Connor Brown), 9:31 – Leon Draisatl (Matthew Savoie, John Klingberg)

Second period: 1:45 – Owen Tippett (Unassisted), 7:13 – Sean Couturier (Matvei Michkov), 8:33 – Matias Ekholm (Leon Draisatl), 12:26 – Owen Tippett (Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier), 15:37 – Andrei Kuzmenko (Travis Konecny, Rasmus Ristolainen) (PPG)

Third period: 17:01 – Rasmus Ristolainen (Sean Couturier) (ENG)

SOG: 32 (PHI) – 18 (EDM)

Some takeaways

TCM = Where Then Meets Now

The line of Owen Tippett, Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov had themselves one dazzling 40-minute stretch, earning eight points and controlling play, leaving the Flyers with a surprising but well-deserved 5-3 lead heading into the third. Couturier was defensively responsible, Tippett had the speed to head both ways hard and Michkov was bolting up ice on nearly every chance he got. The three were all over 70 per cent in chances for at five-on-five,as Michkov and Tippett were both up 15-5 while Couturier was 14-5 to the good.

Ersson makes the stops

Sam Ersson looked great against Team USA in the Four Nations Face-Off. Unfortunately he didn’t look so good on the Oilers’ first goal. Minutes after the Flyers took a quick lead, Ersson let a shot from the point become a juicy rebound for phenom, er, John Klingberg. The recent Oilers addition had most of the net to bury it and he made no mistake.

Moments later, the Oilers looked like they momentarily took control as Philadelphia made a huge mental gaffe. In what should’ve been a simple defensive coverage, Rasmus Ristolainen, Egor Zamula and Ryan Poehling all found themselves behind the goal line. Oilers rookie Matt Savoie got his first NHL point, passing puck to a wide open Draisatl (Poehling’s guy) who beat Ersson clean. Klingberg earned a secondary assist for his second point of the afternoon.

First NHL point for former Sabre Matthew Savoie.

Pass from Savoie to a waiting Draisatl in frontpic.twitter.com/AVwZ5JcCDC

— 2 Goalies 1 Mic (@2Goalies1Mic) February 22, 2025

The Flyers looked crappy on the third Oilers goal also as Leon Draisatl beat Zamula to feed a dangerous pass to Mattias Ekholm who beat Ersson. And much like the second Oilers goal, the Flyers looked in a fog the following shift, standing around watching instead of being proactive and trying to do something. Finally, after a near 100-second shift by all five Flyers, they made a much-needed clear to get some guys off but not all.

Tippett torpedo

Owen Tippett dashed down the ice in the dying seconds of the first but it amounted to nothing. In the opening minutes of period two, Tippett simply turned on the jets and beat both the Oilers defender and Stuart Skinner, roofing it high over him for a nifty game-tying tally. The Flyers winger was clocked at 36 clicks (kilometers per hour, about 22 miles per hour) coming down ice.

Welcome back to the lineup Owen Tippett! Tippett blows by Brett Kulak and roofs a backhand shot over Stuart Skinner tying the game 2-2.
Goal: Tippett (15) pic.twitter.com/WzIY2ZMLGd

— Andrew Coté (@acote_88) February 22, 2025

Michkov starts quick

Matvei Michkov wasted no time getting back on track after the two-week layoff. The forward followed up a bounce off the backboards and buried the shot high over Skinner to get the Flyers off on the right foot.

MATVEI MICHKOV IS BACK!!!

1-0 #FLYERS!!! pic.twitter.com/mGjm7As50V

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) February 22, 2025

The lead was a good reward for a strong Flyers start, getting most of the chances, shots and offensive zone time the first six minutes of the game. They also didn’t give Connor McDavid much as Travis Sanheim delivered a clean but hard check along the boards to cut off the superstar’s chance.

In the second period, on an Edmonton icing, the Flyers won the faceoff and Michkov delivered a gorgeous no-look pass to Sean Couturier who scored for his 200th career goal. Could not have come at a better time both for the team and Couturier, who, with the two-week break, might have a little more gas down the stretch for a possible playoff push.

Philadelphia goal!

Scored by Sean Couturier with 12:47 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Matvei Michkov.

Philadelphia: 3
Edmonton: 2#EDMvsPHI #LetsGoFlyers #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/nfoCSxjFOx

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 22, 2025

The newbies showed up

The new additions from Calgary — Jakob Pelletier and Andrei Kuzmenko — didn’t do a whole lot of anything to start, often reduced to cycling in their own end trying to simply clear the puck. Kuzmenko was down 2-7 in chances for five-on-five while Pelletier was 1-5 over the opening 20. The team seemed to wilt, but not completely implode, following the opening Oilers goal.

Kuzmenko had a decent chance on the Flyers power play (again on a pass from Michkov) initially. Then he hit paydirt, deflecting the puck on a pass from Travis Konecny to give the Flyers a 5-3 lead.

ANDREI KUZMENKO!!!! FIRST GOAL AS A FLYER!!! DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST. PERFECT DEFLECTION. 5-3!!!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/QsgQtFj1K0

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) February 22, 2025

True lunacy given the Flyers posted four in the middle frame while it has been the team’s worst period in goal differential. The Oilers meanwhile had the league’s best goal differential in the second. Midway through the third, Scott Laughton fed Kuzmenko an almost gimme but Skinner held the fort.

Oh, more Michkov

With both teams looking rusty in most defensive zone coverage, there were a few costly turnovers by Edmonton in the second that bit them badly. With the score 3-3, Sean Couturier had a great takeaway in the neutral zone. The result was Michkov heading up ice with Tippett.

The Tippett-Couturier-Michkov line has all four goals today for the Flyers. This time it’s Owen Tippett getting his second, 4-3 Flyers.
Goal: Tippett (16) Assists: Michkov (22) Couturier (18)
pic.twitter.com/Ysb9Zenndw

— Andrew Coté (@acote_88) February 22, 2025

Michkov again with a great pass for the Tippett one-time. Boom. Philadelphia, on what was Michkov’s third point of the night (including two primary assists), had a 4-3 lead. He also had a breakaway late in the second that could’ve been his fourth point, but Skinner made the stop.

Limiting special teams

The Flyers did a good job staying out of the penalty box. Only a minor to Noah Cates with six minutes to go had them down a man. Keeping them to the outside, Philadelphia had a two-man breakaway with Laughton and Travis Konecny but, again, Skinner kept the Oilers with a puncher’s chance. The Flyers gave the Oilers next to nothing in the third, blocking shots and limiting Edmonton to just three shots in the third period.

RASMUScle

Rasmus Ristolainen showed some pop both up ice and knocking a few Oilers over. His best shift came in the third when he went up ice a la Tippett, crashing to the net. He didn’t score but went up ice and bowled over an opponent. Later, with the Oilers’ net empty as they tried to score two to tie, Ristolainen drove a shot down the ice into the empty net, putting a nice exclamation point on what was a rather surprising, perky Flyers effort after the long break.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/some-takeaways-from-flyers-6-3-win-over-oilers/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Jakob Pelletier knocks off rust in Flyers debut

Jakob Pelletier had to wait longer than expected to make his Philadelphia Flyers debut. Thanks to flight cancellations, visa issues, and the 4 Nations break, it took nearly a month for the 23-year-old winger to take the ice with his new club since being acquired from the Calgary Flames on January 30.

He finally got to shake off the cobwebs Saturday afternoon in the Flyers’ matinee against Connor McDavid and the Pacific Division-leading Edmonton Oilers, and while he showed some noticeable rust, simply being back on the ice for a game was an achievement on its own.

Pelletier wasn’t tasked with taking on a substantial workload — understandable given his long stretch of inactivity. He only saw the ice for 11:48 as he was eased back into action. In fact, he was one of just three players to accumulate 12 minutes or fewer of ice time.

Ryan Poehling, making his first appearance since suffering a concussion against the New York Islanders on January 16, and Owen Tippett, who missed the Flyers’ final five games before the 4 Nations break, were the other two players.

That wasn’t a coincidence.

“I played him with [Poehling] today. Poehls hasn’t played in a month, [Tippett] hasn’t played in a month. So there’s a lot of rust on some of these guys,” said Flyers head coach John Tortorella after the game. “Hopefully today’s game helps them get along the way and keep on inching along to their game.”

Tippett wasted no time kicking his game back into gear. He scored a pair of goals, including a filthy top-shelf backhander that left Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak eating his dust, and finished the game with an impressive plus-5 rating.

Pelletier and Poehling, meanwhile, didn’t flash nearly as much. They were both on the ice for a goal against (even if it was more of an excellent individual effort by Leon Draisaitl than anything else) and struggled to generate much of any offense. The line of Pelletier, Poehling, and Garnet Hathaway finished with poor 5-on-5 play-driving numbers, including a 37.50 Corsi For percentage and a 26.56 Expected Goals For percentage.

Still, the Flyers dominated Edmonton anyway, earning a convincing 6-3 victory on home ice.

Tortorella is known not to tinker with his team’s lineup too much after a victory, so Pelletier will very likely be back in action when the Flyers host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Wells Fargo Center Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, he isn’t being handed playing time on a silver platter. That still needs to be earned.

“He’s a guy that has to do a lot of things right to continue to get the ice time,” said Tortorella. “I think he has the energy. He read the lineup tonight before the game. You can see what he brings.”

“I’ve talked to the coach out there in Calgary. [Pelletier] never has a bad day. He’s gonna be full of energy. I think we need that. So we’ll see where he sits in the lines.”

Pelletier began the season playing in the AHL for the Calgary Wranglers, the Flames’ minor-league affiliate. After logging 19 points in 20 games, the Quebec native finally earned a call-up to the NHL in December. He posted a respectable four goals and 11 points in 24 games before being dealt to the Flyers along with Andrei Kuzmenko.

With 24 games remaining in the Flyers’ season — barring a Herculean effort to clinch a playoff spot — Pelletier will be an intriguing player to watch in the homestretch. Given his age and status as a pending restricted free agent, he is likely to stick with the Flyers beyond the 2024-25 season. But with a strong finish to the campaign, he may carve out a bigger role for himself in the fall.

All statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and NHL.com.

---

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...ob-pelletier-knocks-off-rust-in-flyers-debut/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers vs. Oilers: Coverage, how to watch, lineups, and game thread

Puck drop: 1:00 p.m.
How to watch/listen:
: NBCSP, ESPN+
: 97.5 The Fanatic

Pregame reading

• Check out the latest Farm Stars to see what the kids have been up to the last couple weeks.

Philadelphia Flyers

Andrei Kuzmenko – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Orr Brink
Owen Tippett – Ryan Poehling – Matvei Michkov
Jakub Pelletier – San Couturier – Garnet Hathaway

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen

Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)

Edmonton Oilers

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Matthew Savoie – Leon Draisaitl – Vasily Podkolzin
Jeff Skinner – Mattias Janmark – Corey Perry
Kasperi Kapanen – Adam Henrique – Connor Brown

Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – John Klingberg
Brett Kulak – Ty Emberson

Stuart Skinner
(Cal Pickard)

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...erage-how-to-watch-lineups-and-game-thread-2/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Aleksei Kolosov in limbo as Phantoms near return to full heath

There’s been no shortage of drama and intrigue this season as it relates to the Flyers’ goaltending depth throughout the organization, and the situation is going to get even more interesting over these next couple of weeks.

The Phantoms, who have been pretty massively depleted by injuries at the goaltending position for much of the season — but who have also gotten pretty huge step-up performances from Parker Gahagen and Keith Petruzzelli — are set to get some reinforcements coming their way before long. As noted on this past weekend’s broadcast, both Eetu Makiniemi (out since November) and Cal Petersen (out since January) have resumed skating and maintain timelines that would have them returning within the next couple of weeks.

And while goaltending hasn’t been a huge issue for the team necessarily, it will be a big boost for them to have two players returning who have legitimately pushed (or at times claimed) the starter role and who have a longer, proven track record of success in the AHL. It’s an extra boost across the board, but one which particularly takes some of the pressure off of a defense group which has been, at times, a little mistake prone.

So the Phantoms are looking at getting a boost on a collective level with just 20 games remaining in the regular season, but this doesn’t mean things are universally smooth for them, wherever you look. Because a return to full strength for the Phantoms’ goaltending tandem also means that Aleksei Kolosov is finding himself in an increasingly difficult and complicated position.

As it stands, he’s still up with the Flyers roster, and even though the roles up there seem to have grown pretty clearly defined — that is, Sam Ersson is the starter and Ivan Fedotov has earned enough trust from the coaching staff to pretty comfortably have locked down the backup position — and Kolosov isn’t exactly staring down a huge amount of work at the NHL level, but there also hasn’t been any indication that the team aims to send him back down anytime soon (a situation which, in truth, is hard to see how it benefits him in the slightest). And the longer he stays up with the Flyers, the closer he gets to running into the returns of Makiniemi and Petersen, and another log jam to contend with.

That is, if those returns all more or less line up timing wise, there’s no leg up to be found for anyone. It would be one thing if Kolosov was sent down when the Phantoms return from their road trip this week and allowed to get in for some games with them starting this weekend — he could begin the process of knocking off close to a month’s worth of rust early and work to solidify his standing with the coaching staff again. But if much longer is waited, he’ll be getting reacclimatized at the same time as the others, and will have to work from the ground up to show well up against the other two goaltenders in the rotation. Of course, this isn’t to say that he stands no chance of stepping up and separating himself from Makiniemi and Petersen, but in a big picture situation where his development is paramount, it seems a little strange that he wouldn’t be offered a running start on that aim.

It’s a situation that’s been complicated all season, and one that doesn’t look like it’s going to be completely demystified any time soon. But there’s one thing for certain — the clock is ticking for the organization to at least begin to figure out what they’re doing with Kolosov.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...-limbo-as-phantoms-near-return-to-full-heath/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers prospect Noah Powell beats a guy up, scores two highlight reel goals

Philadelphia Flyers prospect Noah Powell had a Sunday night to remember.

The 20-year-old winger suiting up for the OHL’s Oshawa Generals was having a somewhat normal game against the Kingston Frontenacs. Not a whole lot going on for the first half of his night, but then an on-ice explosion happened that sent the entire notion of hockey out the window and Powell was at the center of it.

A Frontenacs player was badly hit and remained face-down on the ice but his teammate Gage Hayes was recklessly looking for blood. In a careless scene of rage, Hayes jumped Powell, instigating a fight with the much larger Generals forward and then got completely rocked.

@TheLibertyYell @Flyers_Clips Great day for Powell with Oshawa!

Got jumped for a hit he didn't throw then took over

Big hit leads to breakaway goal then chirps the guy who jumped him

Couple minutes later he scored a disgusting goal & gets jumped again & slams their biggest guy pic.twitter.com/u6Soy60Ea5

— Alex_Walsh (@alexwalsh6) February 24, 2025

Powell was on defense to start the fight, since he was probably not expecting for this random guy to just come barreling towards him and start throwing punches at him. Still with his gloves on, Powell was holding Hayes back with a sizeable reach advantage and all it took was for the Flyers prospect to shake his hand free from his mitts to hand the instigator some ice justice. As soon as Powell got his hand free, he delivered some of the most impressive punches thrown by a Flyers prospect in some time. Blows that almost certainly led both fighters to just getting tied up and ending the altercation.

For someone who unexpectedly was in the middle of a bout, the 6-foot-2 Powell more than held his own. And sometimes it just takes a spark like that to liven up your game.

After Powell served his five minutes and got to see the instigator Hayes get kicked out of the game for his rage episode, the Flyers prospect put all that confident energy into scoring a couple goals for the Generals in what would be a 5-1 win Sunday night.

Powell was able to blow up an opposing defenseman at his own blue line, ruining Kingston’s scoring chance. The dribbling puck went to a Generals stick and with some straight-ahead speed, Powell scooted past defenders and got to score on a breakaway that was entirely created by his hands.

Let 'em know big DAWG #OSHvsKGN | #LetsGoFlyers | @NHLFlyers pic.twitter.com/NWJzbtuK7I

— Oshawa Generals (@Oshawa_Generals) February 24, 2025

Beauty.

And Powell wasn’t even close to being done. Seemingly oozing the confidence needed to take over an entire game, the 20-year-old winger scored a beautiful goal among beautiful goals. Set up in the offensive zone, Powell called for the puck near the top of the faceoff circle, toedragged around a Frontenacs defender, and absolutely ripped it past the netminder for his second of the game.

You mad #OSHvsKGN | #LetsGoFlyers | @NHLFlyers pic.twitter.com/rjBt91NWbn

— Oshawa Generals (@Oshawa_Generals) February 24, 2025

That was a goalscorer’s goal if we have ever seen one.

Powell was bullying Kingston on Sunday night. A dominant performance that earned him the First Star for the game and he certainly earned it.

This was just his 18th game since joining the Generals midseason after being one of the players to benefit from the new NCAA-CHL agreement. Previously with Ohio State University after playing for the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints last season, Powell did not find his game translate well to the college level. After 17 games and five points earned, he transferred to the OHL and found a home in Oshawa. In what will be his last experience with junior hockey, Powell has scored four goals and 14 points in 18 games — certainly not lighting the world on fire but he can more than hold his own in certain aspects of the game.

With the goals he scored on Sunday, anyone can see that he has some prime offensive talent and now it is just about developing his overall game. He could certainly be an interesting player to look out for in the future, depending on where he plays next season. Powell could turn professional and sign a contract with the Flyers, or because of the new ruling, could return to college to go again after playing in the OHL.

It’s always nice to have a guy who can beat guys up and score a couple goals in every game. It’s been missed in Philadelphia.

---

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...ats-a-guy-up-scores-two-highlight-reel-goals/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers vs. Penguins: Coverage, how to watch, lineups, and game thread

Puck drop: 7:00 p.m.
How to watch/listen:
: NBCSP, ESPN+
: 97.5 The Fanatic

Pregame reading

• Scott Laughton to the Capitals?? That’d be wild.

Philadelphia Flyers

Andrei Kuzmenko – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Orr Brink
Owen Tippett – Ryan Poehling – Matvei Michkov
Jakub Pelletier – San Couturier – Garnet Hathaway

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen

Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)

Pittsburgh Penguins

Anthony Beauvillier — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen — Evgeni Malkin — Cody Glass
Michael Bunting — Kevin Hayes — Philip Tomasino
Matthew Nieto — Blake Lizotte — Noel Acciari

Pierre-Olivier Joseph — Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk — Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves — Ryan Shea

Alex Nedeljkovic
(Joel Blomqvist)

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...erage-how-to-watch-lineups-and-game-thread-2/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Wednesday Morning Fly By: Never fear the bird

*Okay so beating the crap out of the Penguins still feels good, right? Like we aren’t that dead yet, are we? RECAP!

*The three players who had the chance to play in 4 Nations are still riding the vibes from the tournament; can’t hurt, eh? [Inquirer]

*Jakob Pelletier has yet to make a huge, glaring impression during his time with his new team, but he’s going to get a good look. [NBC Sports Philly]

*T-minus nine days and counting ’til this year’s trade deadline, and the question still hanging out there like a big matzo ball is: will the Flyers finally pull the trigger on a Scott Laughton trade? [PHLY]

*If the Flyers do decide to trade him, we’ve worked out five teams that would be a good fit. [BSH]

*The Insiiiiddddeeerrrrrrrs really seem to be pushing the idea of him going to the Leafs (video content, FYI). [TSN]

*Related, these are the picks and prospects the experts think the Maple Leafs have to offer in a trade they might be making. [Sportsnet]

*Anyhoo, 25 Under 25 has made its way up to #6 on our Winter ranking! [BSH]

*Back to the trade stuff, here’s what we can learn from recent trades of top-six centers, a thing which may be relevant to our interests. [Sportsnet]

*Trades aren’t the only way to get some new guys, though, and we are almost at Bring-In-A-Free-Agent-From-Some-Random-Place Szn. [The Athletic]

*And finally, in case you missed it, scenes from Sunday’s Flyers Charities Carnival. Always one of the best days of the year. [Inquirer]

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/wednesday-morning-fly-by-never-fear-the-bird/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Tortorella weighs in on Flyers’ trade deadline plans

Flyers coach John Tortorella weight in on the speculation about both Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen being shipped out at the trade deadline during an interesting press conference Wednesday after practice. But he was very up front about what his job is in relation to the team and general manager Danny Briere. And also what he believes he owes players who might be the center of trade speculation.

When asked how to find that balance between looking ahead to improving the team while still coaching the team as it presently is constructed, Tortorella said honesty to his boss but also his players is the best policy.

“I tell them every deadline if you have any questions, any thoughts, I’m going to answer the questions,” he said. “Sometimes it’s questions probably Danny doesn’t even want me to answer. But I’m going to answer them because that’s what I owe to them.”

Tortorella also elaborated on why moves need to be made regardless of who might be dealt.

“We can’t have soft skin here because you get stuck in the mud,” he said. “And I think this organization has been stuck in the mud for a number of years. We have to stay true to what Dan Hilferty, Jonesy, myself and Danny have talked about. We can’t fall in love if we think we make our team better and keep progressing to be a more competitive team, we’re going to do it. And there’s going to be some casualties.”

When asked about Laughton and Ristolainen being in the spotlight for a trade, Tortorella was quick to reply it was the media spotlight, not his. He praised Ristolainen, stating he was the “most improved player” since he became the Flyers head coach. He then added it wasn’t ultimately his decision but up to the general manager.

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re always looking to improve your team, we have to improve our team,” Tortorella said when asked about the fine line between getting better and trading away guys who were part of the “culture.” “Danny is listening, he has to listen because we’re in that stage we have to improve our team,” he said. “Scotty’s loved here, but you can’t fall in love. I’ll give you this, and I’m not trying to be a smartass. I just think Risto is always a target where if you end up trading him on Friday (the deadline) then on Saturday you say, ‘Shit, I need a big right-handed defenseman!’ So these are the conversations we as coaches have with our managers you talk about.”

The coach — who added a team can hinder its future with rash free agent signings where you’re “bidding against yourself half the time” — said the trade deadline can be frightful also.

“We have to get better, and when you try to get better, there are going to be some casualties,” Tortorella said. “And we can’t worry about who is loved in the room. We can’t. You have to assess everything that’s going on because we have to keep moving forward. I don’t want to speak for Danny but I know he’s listening, he has to.”

The Flyers currently sit among a horde of teams vying for two wild card spots. A serious six-game or seven-game winning streak (with most of the wins in regulation) might separate the Flyers from a few of those teams, but they’d need to go on a torrid pace to solidify one of those spots. Tortorella was asked if any trades could be impacted if the Flyers went on an extended winning streak to get back in the playoff hunt.

“We’re not there, we’re not there, but we’re going to keep on trying to get in,” he said. “If we win a few more in a row does it say to the manager, ‘Do we want to be there?’ Yeah. But I don’t think you can miss any steps here as far as staying in neutral and hoping. We have to get better as a team. If we want to be competitive and a competitive playoff team, we have to be better personnel-wise. And that’s certainly not running down our personnel. But every team is trying to get better and we have to do the same.”

So, like the Flyers did last year with Sean Walker moving to Colorado, they’re not about to cling to a wild card spot now if in the big picture and in the long run they can get better down the road. If there are pieces the Flyers are willing to part with for the right price, they look like they’ll make the deal regardless of the standings. To some that might seem like wasting a season of Matvei Michkov’s entry-level deal, but as has been the case since Tortorella and Briere arrived, they are a work in progress and still need a lot of work in some areas.

Tortorella said the lines of communication between the coaches and Briere has enabled Briere to get a lot of information and feedback regarding the roster.

“We have a number of players that have been here a number of years and we continue to evaluate,” Tortorella said. “And to me I have some strong thoughts as far as I don’t think they’re going to be on the bus. That’s not to run them down. I need to be honest with my general manager about that.” He also said both he and Briere have discussed different Flyer players that other teams might be interested in and what would be a fair return for them being swapped out.

Elsewhere, it’s obvious Tortorella has one year left after this season in his current contract. Whether that’s extended for another season or two remains to be seen. He might head upstairs and stay with the Flyers organization or he may simply call it a day and go back home and avoid getting kicked by a horse. He clearly isn’t concerned about being on the hot seat or possibly being the proverbial “lame duck” coach with one season left. “I make decisions on what’s best for the hockey team while I’m the head coach here,” he says. “I’ve never done my job or gone about my decision-making, all my information to my general manager based on trying to keep my job. Whatever questions are asked of me in this type of situation I’m going to be honest today, tomorrow and the next day until the day Danny says, ‘Get the hell out of here, we’re done with you.'”

It’ll be interesting to see how the Flyers fare these last 23 games. A few questions should be answered but a few new ones may emerge. It’s apparent that if anyone believed the team won’t make a trade regarding Scott Laughton or Ristolainen for the right price, they might be very mistaken. Actions speak louder than words, but it sounds like the Flyers of 2024-25 are similar to 2023-24 regarding the deadline: a team that isn’t a serious or legitimate contender, knows it’s not a serious or legitimate contender, and is doing whatever is needed to move in that direction.

---

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...lla-weighs-in-on-flyers-trade-deadline-plans/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Thursday Morning Fly By: Once more, at their place

*Back at it again against the Penguins tonight, and wouldn’t it be great to do it all over again just like on Tuesday, but at their house? Good times. Here’s Charlie’s thoughts on the last game before we get to this one. [PHLY]

*Big part of that win Tuesday was the Foerster-Cates-Brink line, which continues to be John Tortorella’s most reliable threesome. [Inquirer]

*Jamie Drysdale also had a heck of a game, and Torts would like to see him do even more. Which is nice to hear. [BSH]

*So that’s two games now post-break in which the Flyers completely dominated their opponent. Was the rest all they needed? Is this them coming into form? [BSH]

*It’s possible that the Rasmus Ristolainen trade rumors are cooling way, way off. [The Athletic]

*John Tortorella’s presser yesterday afternoon certainly made it seem like he’s really keen on keeping his biggest defenseman. [BSH]

*The Scott Laughton rumors, though? Those might be heating up. [BSH]

*If some roster spots do open up after the deadline, there are some prospects we might be able to get a look at before the season is over. [BSH]

*And finally, what we all want next Friday for Deadline Day is big huge fireworks. DGB runs through the reasons why every team in the league should make a big move. And also why they ultimately won’t. [The Athletic]

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/thursday-morning-fly-by-once-more-at-their-place/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Garnet Hathaway leaves game after scary hit from Bokondji Imama

It was a scary sight during the second period of the Philadelphia Flyers game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway left the game after suffering an apparent head injury on a late hit by Penguins forward Bokondji Imama.

Hathaway laid a clean hit on Noel Accari but then Imama, who had been jawing with the Flyers forward earlier in the period, came out of nowhere to lay a hit on No. 19. Hathaway’s head collided with the ice and it was clear the Flyers forward was in some trouble.

Garnet Hathaway had to be helped off the ice after a dirty hit by Boko Imama#LetsGoFlyers | #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/BPcDUt4Dpy

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 28, 2025

Imama was initially assessed a five-minute major penalty which was brought down to a two-minute minor penalty for interference after review. It’s safe to say that John Tortorella wasn’t happy with the call.

Torts is furious after Boko Imama is assessed a minor for interference on Garnet Hathaway, and Hathaway needed assistance off the ice pic.twitter.com/oXX10jvySl

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 28, 2025

The Flyers did not have any update on Hathaway as of the second intermission but it’s safe to assume that the forward won’t be returning to Thursday night’s game and it would be shocking if he didn’t miss some time.

Hathaway, 33, is in his second season with the Flyers. He has 18 points (8 goals, 10 assists) in 59 games this season. He has played in all 60 games thus far but that could come to an end with the Flyers returning to action on Saturday night in Winnipeg.

Stay tuned for updates as more details become available on Hathaway’s injury status.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...ves-game-after-scary-hit-from-bokondji-imama/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers reportedly not getting offered what they want in Ristolainen trade talks

The Philadelphia Flyers are getting very involved in trade talks before the March 7 deadline, but according to one report, teams are not offering enough for one of their biggest available assets.

Rasmus Ristolainen’s name has been on countless trade boards and he could certainly be moved to a new team before the trade deadline, but the Flyers seem completely fine to hold on to the defenseman if their asking price is not met and according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, that hasn’t happened yet.

But the Flyers, being where they are, have to listen, and they indeed are.

Having said that, as of Thursday, my understanding is that the Flyers hadn’t received anything that came even close to getting their attention. I believe the price tag to be a first-round pick plus another asset to get the Flyers into a serious discussion.

Pierre Lebrun, The Athletic

Of course, if the Flyers got offered what they wanted, Ristolainen would already be wearing different colors. But thanks to LeBrun’s Friday report, just a week before the deadline date, other teams are not quite hitting the Flyers’ ask of a first-round pick and another asset.

Now, what could that other asset be? Does it mean another draft pick? Or, could it be a prospect? Maybe a roster player to potentially fill the hole Ristolainen leaves on this roster but just isn’t as good as the Finnish blueliner? We could only do some guesswork here, but it most likely would be some mid-level prospect who could turn into something but has some runway ahead of him.

Ristolainen has two more seasons under contract at a $5.1-million AAV cap hit. That is not insignificant and whatever team really wants to acquire him, certainly would hypothetically think high enough of the defenseman that he would stick around for those seasons and wouldn’t just appear for a few months and a playoff run like some sort of rental.

Now, these talks could certainly pick up in the next seven days, but the Flyers are certainly in no rush to make a move. Unlike the Sean Walker situation last year, Ristolainen is not a pending unrestricted free agent and it’s either get something for him — and hold steady to your asking price — or he just walks away for nothing. Philadelphia could certainly keep the big, right-handed defenseman through the rest of the season and revisit trade discussions in the summer. And the summer is where more teams have the financial wiggle room — especially with the sizeable cap ceiling increase — and maybe some non-playoff teams want to make that jump into contention and trading for Ristolainen is what they think would do it for them.

All hypothetical, but it is not the end of the world if the 30-year-old Finn remains a Philadelphia Flyer on March 8. For now, at least, that situation is looking more and more likely every day.

---

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...ed-what-they-want-in-ristolainen-trade-talks/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Scott Laughton sends cryptic tweet, potentially trade related

One hit of the send button on Scott Laughton’s phone and the entire Philadelphia Flyers fan base is spiraling.

At 9:09 p.m. ET, the Flyers veteran forward made a post on Twitter that featured no words or no real descriptors or input, except a photo. A photo of Laughton in the middle of a long table with friends and teammates surrounding him in a real-life depiction of Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”.

pic.twitter.com/Rtl3a1T8kG

— Scott Laughton (@Laughts21) March 1, 2025

With trade rumors swirling and us constantly checking our phones every single minute of the day for that tweet notification from an NHL insider, making a post like this feels not at all random. Laughton’s name has been heavily steeped in trade rumors and since the NHL trade deadline is just seven days away on March 7, a move could be expected at any time.

In the photo Laughton posted, the only extremely recognizable participants in The Last Supper recreation are Flyers defenseman Erik Johnson and linemate Travis Konecny. We do know that the Flyers are in Winnipeg as they traveled Friday before they get to face the Jets on Saturday night, so this could truly be the last supper with the team while on the road.

Now, does this mean a trade is imminent? We have been hearing more and more reports about Laughton’s availability and the Flyers just needing a first-round pick (or a prospect equivalent in value) to get the deal done, but no actual transaction has been confirmed yet. Laughton could either be posting this because a trade is going to be announced within hours, or he can read the very bright and bold writing on the wall that he will be on the move before 3:00 p.m. next Friday.

Or, this is all for nothing and the Flyers forward thought a “Laughts Supper” wordplay was worth a tweet and he caused the entire fan base to prepare for a big trade for nothing to end up happening.

This isn’t the first time a Flyers player has posted about a sizeable transaction recently. While rumors of Travis Konecny’s eventual extension were trying to be confirmed, defenseman Travis Sanheim was the first to put it down in writing as something concrete. Because, of course he would know, it’s his teammate.

We’ll see if anything comes to fruition in the coming hours (or days).

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...ends-cryptic-tweet-potentially-trade-related/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers take off to Winnipeg to face high-flying Jets

The Game: 7 p.m. EST on NBCSports Philadelphia, 93.3 WMMR

Maybe it’s East Coast Bias, but a lot of us don’t pay much attention to what’s happening in the NHL’s Western Conference. Sure, the best player in the world is in Edmonton, and there are some perennial awards candidates in Colorado, but by and large the West is static: outside of an intriguing second wildcard race between the Canucks and Flames (and Utah HC, if you’re a believer), the playoff picture’s been set since December.

What nobody could have predicted is that, as we near the end of the season, the Winnipeg Jets would be running away with the President’s Trophy. The Jets have 87 points and a 42-15-3 record, and have looked the part of a true Stanley Cup contender. Sure, they have a few points of weakness that they may try and address at the deadline (considering how difficult it can be to sign players there, keep an eye on Rasmus Ristolainen and the term on his contract), but this Jets team has been rolling from Day One and set the best season-start record in NHL history by going 14-1-0 to begin 2024-25.

The Jets are outstanding at home (23-5-3) and won 11 straight before a loss to the Predators earlier this week, so the Flyers are going to have their work cut out for them–and they’ll almost certainly be missing Garnet Hathaway from the lineup after a scary hit in Pittsburgh on Thursday. Glancing at the Jets roster, one might think, “Really? This is the team that’s performing this way?” Sometimes, things click, and it isn’t just the Connor Hellebucyk show (though he’s certainly an integral part of the team’s success). What Winnipeg’s especially good at is defending a lead, so the Flyers will have to strike early and pour it on if they have any hope of winning.

Storylines to Follow​

The best goalie in the world

The way he’s been playing, they may have to rename the Vezina the Hellebuyck, and the fact Hellebuyck isn’t in Hart conversations is shocking. The 36-7-2 record is ludicrous on its own (including six shutouts!), but the .926 save percentage and 2.02 goals-against average are even more eye-popping when you consider how much scoring is up this year. The only red flag is how heavily the Jets ride Hellebuyck in the regular season, to the point that it’s affected their playoff success in the past and likely will again this year. This is a regular season game, though, and the Flyers are going to have to find a way to solve Hellebucyk early or they may be toast.

Do not get in a hole

Courtesy HockeyViz

The Jets are outrageously good at defending leads–two-goal leads, specifically–so the Flyers cannot let them get too far ahead. In their past three games, the Flyers have scored six goals twice and four once, so they’re perfectly capable of generating the offense necessary to hang with Winnipeg, so long as their finishing prowess doesn’t desert them. The other good news? The Flyers are actually all right when playing from behind!

Courtesy HockeyViz

We’re not condoning putting yourself on the backfoot to generate a statistical advantage, especially against a Jets team that coasts once they get a lead, but don’t count the Flyers out if they end up back a goal or two.

Matvei Michkov, revitalized

What a week it’s been for Michkov, huh? Three consecutive multi-point games, and four in his last five for a total of five goals and 10 points. He’s come out of the break flying and, while his blown coverage in overtime lost the Flyers the game on Thursday, he’s put himself firmly back in the Calder conversation. If he continues to score at this rate, we might witness some eye-popping rookie numbers for the young forward–especially when compared to past Flyers rookies.

Projected Lineups​

Philadelphia Flyers

Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Owen Tippett – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Andrei Kuzmenko – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny
Jakob Pelletier – Ryan Poehling – Nic Deslauriers

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale

Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)

Winnipeg Jets

Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabe Vilardi
Nikolaj Ehlers – Vladislav Namestnikov – Cole Perfetti
Nino Niederreiter – Adam Lowry – Mason Appleton
David Gustafsson – Rasmus Kupari – Alex Iafallo

Josh Morrissey – Dylan Demelo
Dylan Samberg – Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury – Logan Stanley

Connor Hellebuyck
(Eric Comrie)

Gameday Tunes​

Who hates Winnipeg more than The Weakerthans?

Stats courtesy Hockey Reference

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/flyers-take-off-to-winnipeg-to-face-high-flying-jets/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Matvei Michkov made the best goalie in the world look ridiculous

The Philadelphia Flyers took down the juggernaut Winnipeg Jets by a score of 2-1 in the shootout Saturday night at Canada Life Centre, and their pair of Russian rookies — Ivan Fedotov and Matvei Michkov — were the stars of the show.

Fedotov, a 28-year-old first-year NHLer, put together his best performance of the season, turning aside all but one of the Jets’ 30 shots on goal and stopping all three Winnipeg skaters in the shootout to earn the fifth win of his career.

But as strong as Fedotov’s performance was, it was Michkov’s nasty work in the shootout that sent social media into a frenzy.

Michkov took the ice as the Flyers’ second shooter in the miniature skills competition and totally undressed Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — widely regarded as the top goalie on the planet.

Michkov gathered the puck at center ice, swung wide toward the right faceoff circle to approach Hellebuyck on his forehand, and deeked him out of his skates before roofing a disgusting backhander over Hellebuyck’s extended pad to light the lamp.

For the record, Hellebuyck is the NHL’s reigning Vezina Trophy winner.

The Flyers’ prized 20-year-old rookie has shown off his high-end skill numerous times throughout the season, but this was a complete spectacle.

The Magic Man does it again. #PHIVsWPG | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/BtbI7ZR2N3

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 2, 2025

Unfortunately, Michkov’s shootout marker doesn’t technically count as a point on the scoresheet. But for all intents and purposes, it essentially served as the game-winning goal in what turned out to be a thriller north of the border.

Even without registering a point in Winnipeg, Michkov still leads all rookies with 19 goals on the season and trails only Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson for the lead in points scored by rookies. He’s logged three goals and five assists in his last four games, helping him earn Rookie of the Month honors for the month of February.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...the-best-goalie-in-the-world-look-ridiculous/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Samu Tuomaala leaves Phantoms game with injury

The revolving door of injuries just keeps on turning for the Phantoms. Just as tonight’s game against the Bridgeport Islanders saw a bit of good news coming down in this form of Cal Petersen making his return from injury, getting in for his first game in six weeks (replacing the injured Parker Gahagen, we might add), they were dealt another blow when Samu Tuomaala left the game with an apparent injury.

Tough blow for the Phantoms as Samu Tuomaala left tonight's game in the third period with an injury. Not a great look (but it's the only look) of the hit which sent him down the tunnel pic.twitter.com/NavNJeulw4

— Madeline Campbell (@madelinecampbll) March 2, 2025

The play in question came about halfway through the third period, when Tuomaala got kind of tangled up along the boards by the blueline when he took a hit on the Phantoms’ attempted breakout. He stayed down on the ice for a moment and attempted to get to his feet, but struggled to do so, and the whistle was blown. He was able to stand up and skate off under his own power, but he went straight down the tunnel and didn’t return for the final nine minutes and change remaining in the game.

And this comes as an unfortunate cap-off to a tough couple of weeks for Tuomaala. He missed two games at the end of the team’s last home stand with an undisclosed injury, got back in for one game to start the trip, then sat out the next two, before returning to action for the final game of the trip, and then Friday’s return home.

Now, it’s unclear if this is a new injury for Tuomaala or an aggravation of the same issue which had previously been troubling him — head coach Ian Laperriere did not have any updates on his status immediately postgame — but from Tuomaala’s reaction on the ice (slamming his stick in visible frustration), it’s fair to assume that, at least in the moment, he sensed that something major had happened.

We’ll hold on catastrophizing until we know more, but if this is a longer term injury, it comes at an inopportune time, to say the least. It will be a significant blow to the team, to be sure, as Tuomaala generally plays a lot of minutes in high leverage offensive situations, but it’s really tough luck for him as well. His last season was ended with injury around this time as well, and despite some ups and downs in his play this season, he likely remained high on the list of options to get a late-season cup of coffee with the Flyers, once their race for a playoff spot is well and truly over.

The Phantoms are back at it on the road tomorrow in Hershey before continuing their road trip with a pair of games next weekend down in Charlotte, and we’ll see if there’s an update on his status before long. Stay tuned.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/samu-tuomaala-leaves-phantoms-game-with-injury/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Some takeaways from Flyers’ 2-1 shootout win over Winnipeg

The Flyers played one of their more complete games of the season, defeating the NHL league leaders Winnipeg Jets in a 2-1 shootout victory Saturday night in Winnipeg.

The basics

First period: 9:58 – Mark Scheifele (Gabriel Vilardi, Kyle Connor)

Second period: 3:48 – Jamie Drysdale (Noah Cates, Nick Seeler)

Third period: No scoring

Overtime: No scoring.

Shootout: Mark Scheifele – no goal, Travis Konecny – no goal, Kyle Connor – no goal, Matvei Michkov – goal, Gabriel Vilardi – no goal

SOG: 32 (PHI) – 31 (WPG)

Some takeaways

Deslauriers doing Deslauriers things

Nic Deslauriers go the rare call into the lineup after Garnet Hathaway’s injury Thursday night. Deslauriers got things going with a fight against Logan Stanley, neither one landing much. Deslauriers was a bit of a wrecking ball in the second where he knocked down a few Jets with clean, heavy bodychecks.

Cates line on wrong end, right end

Noah Cates had to deal with Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid the last three games. So with Mark Scheifele not in that same tier of talent, Cates should’ve had a better or easier night. However he was hemmed in his own end midway through the opening frame when Scheifele opened the scoring. The Scheifele line was getting the best of Cates’ crew as they had difficulty with the Winnipeg top line.

In the second period, Noah Cates made a fantastic pass to Jamie Drysdale who found himself in the slot. Drysdale buried a shot behind Connor Hellebuyck to tie things up 1-1.

Double-doink and in for Drys. #PHIvsWPG | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/q466yeNgLc

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 2, 2025

Just like the first period, the Flyers jumped on Winnipeg in the opening moments of period two. They were outshooting Winnipeg 21-10 and matching the pace and intensity the Jets came with. And Cates, despite the slow start, was almost perfect the rest of the game. He thankfully avoided injury whe he looked to be elbowed by Logan Stanley. No penalty was called despite the yells from the Flyers bench. In overtime Cates made a game-saving save, getting his hand on the puck that was head behind a rather incredibly strong Fedotov.

Ivan anything but terrible

Winnipeg winger Mason Appleton took the first shot against Flyers starter Ivan Fedotov and the lanky keeper swallowed it up with no rebound. He had a ridiculously bad miscue halfway into the first when he lollygagged with the puck behind the net and gave it away. Fortunately a few Flyers were in front to block any shot attempt. After the Scheifele goal, Fedotov made a key save on Kyle Connor and another, the second a short-handed breakaway he stoned the sniper on. He stifled Connor again in the dying seconds of the first.

Perhaps his best save of the night came on a left pad save when Cole Perfetti tried to go around him but was foiled by Fedotov’s pad. Although he wasn’t quite as busy as his fellow netminder at the opposite end, the quality of Winnipeg’s chances made for a very strong effort by Fedotov. Meanwhile, the Flyers were giving Sam Ersson the night off as Aleksei Kolosov was the backup for the Saturday night tilt.

In the third, during a Jets power play, Fedotov made a glove save that wasn’t quite highlight reel despite the goalie making it look like it was. The Flyers killed the penalty against the top-ranked power play in the league. A second power-play with less than three minutes to go was also killed rather nicely. Fedotov had his hands full in overtime but stood strong, and kept a clean sheet in the shootout for the win.

Decent beginning

After Travis Konecny made a lengthy pass to Owen Tippett, who made a nice move by Dylan Demelo, Philadelphia had a few good shifts, with nice plays by Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Sanheim keeping the puck far away from Fedotov and making the Jets defend. Although only five minutes in, the Flyers had a handful of shots (and a goal post) and were working hard against one of the league’s elites. A great rush from Konecny ended with the second post of the first.

The Flyers outshot Winnipeg 14-7 after the first and you couldn’t really fault them for the effort. That gameplan had a few brief dips throughout the game but the Flyers deserved the 2-1 win, draft placement or lottery ball obsessives be damned.

Kuzmenko? Kuzmenkshow!

Andrei Kuzmenko was on the right side of the puck to start the game, putting a few quality shifts and rushes up ice, but wasn’t rewarded. Kuzmenko appeared to be creating some chemistry with Konecny and Scott “The Last Supper” Laughton. His greatest demonstration of talent was in the second when he took a short backhand pass from Laughton, waited a moment, then threaded a cross-ice pass to an oncoming Ristolainen who had a good opportunity.

Kuzmenko led all Flyers in chances for after the first two periods with a red hot 18-8 chances for (69.23 per cent) while his linemates in Konecny (21-8) and Laughton (18-11) were also strong. In the third he was also gangbusters, feeding Bobby Brink close in but Hellebuyck again foiled the scoring chance.

Michkov avoids the doghouse

After some controversy Thursday night where Mattvei Michkov was on the bench in the closing minutes of regulation, the Mad Russian avoided some scolding in the first period when he had the puck taken away from him. Seconds later a feeble attempt to clear the puck looked like it was put on a tee for the opposition but fortunately the puck bounced before a shot was taken. It wasn’t pretty but Michkov got the job done. He was around the net early in the second period and had a solid chance but miffed on the shot.

Michkov had a better scond period, getting a tight, high wrist shot on Hellebuyck the star goalie had some trouble with but kept it out. He wasn’t having an ideal night, down 9-15 (37.50 per cent) in chances for five-on-five. And fortunately he was more defensive-minded in overtime, not looking lost on the coverage. A short time trying to cherry pick was nixed moments later. Michkov got back into the play to finally help out in his own end.

Coach John Tortorella gave Michkov a chance in the shootout. And Michkov was money, faking out Connor Hellebuyck and making the gold standard of NHL goalies look foolish.

Matvei Michkov shootout masterclass #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/GdnJvCSVvi

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 2, 2025

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/some-takeaways-from-flyers-2-1-shootout-win-over-winnipeg/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Monday Morning Fly By: Beat the best to be the best

*After that ugly loss to the Penguins last week it was hard to go into this weekend’s game against the league-best Jets feeling confident about the Flyers’ chances. JOKES ON US HUH? RECAP!

*If you’re a subscriber over at Charlie’s website you can check out his Observations about Saturday’s overtime win. [PHLY]

*Matvei Michkov dunked on the best goalie in the world in the shootout. We figured you would want to watch it again. [BSH]

*Up in Allentown it was bad news for Phantoms forward Samu Tuomaala, who left the game against Bridgeport over the weekend with injury. [BSH]

*Back to Good Stuff: Matvei Michkov was rookie of the month for February. He’s back, baby! [BSH]

*Trade deadline is Friday, and folks are starting to think maybe the Flyers won’t do much at all. [The Athletic]

*One reason is that apparently no one is that interested in acquiring Rasmus Ristolainen. [BSH]

*While we still have five days ’til the deadline, much like the last few years, looks like NHL teams are starting the trade frenzy early. [TSN]

*Why is Future Flyer Elias Pettersson™ struggling right now? If this article is correct it’s certainly a fixable problem. [Sportsnet]

*Turning back to the prospects for a second, it was a really good week for Jett Luchanko. [BSH]

*And finally, on the tear-it-all-down rebuild and why it isn’t the great idea you think it is. [The Athletic]

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/monday-morning-fly-by-beat-the-best-to-be-the-best/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Why it’s fine if the Flyers don’t do anything at the trade deadline

We are just days away from Friday’s NHL trade deadline. As soon as 3:00 p.m. hits on March 7, no trades can be made and every National Hockey League general manager is forced to be content with their team for the rest of the regular season. When it comes to Danny Briere and his Philadelphia Flyers, there are a couple of balls up in the air.

Unless you live under a rock or just woke up from a year-long coma, both forward Scott Laughton and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen could find themselves on other teams soon. Their names have been on trade boards throughout the whole season and especially when it comes to Laughton, the noise and the rumblings are getting louder and louder as we edge closer to Friday.

But, what if the Flyers don’t make any more trades? What if the season finished with Briere trading Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee to the Calgary Flames as the only trade of note? We don’t think it would be a disaster, and there are substantial reasons why.

Time is on their side​

While some other general managers are in more of a panic to trade their pending unrestricted free agents — to get anything of value back for a player who will not be on the team next season — Briere can relax. Laughton is under contract for one more season and Ristolainen is under contract for two. There is no rush to get these players out the door for as high of a draft pick that some playoff team is willing to give up.

To dumb it all down: The Flyers will get this opportunity once again. Whether that is during this upcoming offseason or even at the 2026 trade deadline, they will get another kick at the can to get what they want for both of these players.

For more of this conversation, watch one of the latest videos on the Broad Street Hockey YouTube channel.

Briere sticking to his guns​

Now this is more of a point for the long-term future of Briere as the Flyers’ general manager, but considering that he is just really starting his own journey as an executive in the NHL, there should be no settling on a trade. Maybe the worst thing to do could be Briere being just fine with trading Laughton for a second-round pick, for example, and come down from his ask of at least a first-round pick.

It would spell out a future of being taken advantage of in future negotiations and that is something no Flyers fan should want. Briere sticking to his ask for a player who holds immense value to his team, and being fine with not moving him at this time, is the right thing to do for now and the future.

Laughton’s and Ristolainen’s value should not significantly decrease​

If the Flyers wait out to make this trade, you have to think that both Laughton’s and Ristolainen’s trade value are not going to decrease by a large amount. Sure, one fewer potential playoff run with these players — down to just one year of Laughton and two for Ristolainen — would still result in a lower potential return.

But it should not be by that much. It is not crazy at all to imagine that the Flyers would still be able to get a first-round pick for Ristolainen, and then maybe something like a decent prospect and a second-round pick for just one season of Laughton. If the Flyers decide to hold firm and not trade either, they are not missing a significant opportunity that they would never be able to recover from. Some team is still going to want either of these players, and maybe more will pop up.

The potential of the summer​

The offseason is full of possibilities. It is a time where teams reimagine what their team can do for the upcoming campaign, contracts expire and cap space is opened up, and there is generally more active involvement around transactions.

It’s not impossible to think that a team who is currently not in the playoff picture whatsoever, would give Briere a call and inquire about either of these players. Someone like the Montreal Canadiens could sure use some veteran forward depth as more and more young players graduate into the NHL. Maybe the Chicago Blackhawks don’t want to make Connor Bedard fall out of love with hockey and want to solidify their blue line for a couple years and all it would take is to hand over one of their billions of high-end prospects.

More teams should want to actually improve from their previous year and solidifying their foundation is a way to do this. But even for current playoff teams, if they have the cap space opening up, they can re-shape their roster to fit one of these players where they might not be able to make it work financially before Friday’s trade deadline.

While it might not be for the same desired return as right now for the Flyers, the market opening up for both of these players in the offseason could potentially get them close enough to pull the trigger.

Throw in all the good-feeling motives of no player really able to replace Rasmus Ristolainen right now on the blue line and without him the defense beyond the top pairing could collapse; and Laughton being the heartbeat of this entire team and if anyone in that locker room had their way, he would be a Flyer forever. It’s not the absolute worst thing to happen if the Flyers keep the status quo beyond Friday’s trade deadline.

---

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...news-its-fine-if-the-flyers-dont-do-anything/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Old friends return to Philly as Flyers face off with Flames

The Game: 7:00 PM, NBCSP, ESPN+, 93.3 WMMR

The Flyers are back at home again tonight and set to kick off another gauntlet. They’re staring down seven home games over the next 12 days as the schedule picks way up again, to make up for time lost during the break. It’s going to be a tough stretch, but the Flyers are hoping that they can keep the good vibes rolling from beating the best team in the league on Saturday back in Winnipeg. Tonight’s matchup might not have major divisional standings implications — they’re still four points back on the Rangers and can’t close that gap tonight — but they’ll still be motivated, all the same.

On the flip side, while vibes are high for the Flyers, they’re a little less high for the Flames. They’re still holding on to that last wildcard position in the West, but the Canucks are breathing down their necks, and that position is anything but secure. Add into the mix the fact that the Flames are sitting with a three-game losing streak and have failed to score more than one goal across that span, and things are beginning to creep towards feeling dire over there. So that’s something the Flyers will have to be mindful of, that they’re facing off against a team that’s very quickly approaching desperation time, and their focus can’t slip here.

Storylines to Watch​

The return of old friends

There’s a lot that can be dug into as far as the hockey itself in this matchup is concerned, but there’s no bigger storyline than the fact that tonight will be the first time back in the Wells Fargo Center for both Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost since the trade at the end of January. And this game is going to be a weighty one. Certainly, too, both players will be working to bring their A-game to make an impression, and that will be something to look out for, but above all, this will be a heavy one emotionally — two players returning who were with the team for a long time and who meant a lot to the team and who the team meant a lot to them. Certainly, their welcome back will be a warm one.

Ersson again

After having a full and complete night off when the Flyers were in Winnipeg — with Ivan Fedotov starting and Aleksei Kolosov (remember him?) backing up — Sam Ersson is right back at it tonight, starting against the Flames. Perhaps the one benefit of having a trio of goaltenders hanging around on the roster at the moment means that the Flyers are really able to better manage Ersson’s load, and avoid running him into the ground as has happened (but we’ll acknowledge more of less needed to happen) in seasons past. Hopefully with that bit of rest taken in, he’ll be back in top form and ready to go against the Flames — a team who hasn’t exactly been lighting it up offensively recently, but will certainly be motivated to make things interesting on the Flyers.

The race is on

Matvei Michkov is on fire. You know it, we know it, everyone knows it. Since returning from the break, he has three goals and five assists, and has pulled himself well and truly back into the conversation among skaters for the Calder Trophy. Though Lane Hutson’s pulled ahead in total points (48), Michkov is tied for second in rookie points (44) with Macklin Celebrini, and has a one-goal edge on him as it stands. Now, Michkov was held off the board in Winnipeg, and he’ll all but certainly be extra motivated to get himself back on the scoresheet again tonight, and start chipping away at Hutson’s advantage again.

The Lineups​

Philadelphia Flyers

Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Owen Tippett – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Andrei Kuzmenko – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny
Jakob Pelletier – Ryan Poehling – Nic Deslauriers

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale

Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)

Calgary Flames

Jonathan Huberdeau – Nazem Kadri – Matt Coronato
Joel Farabee – Mikael Backlund – Blake Coleman
Connor Zary – Morgan Frost – Martin Pospisil
Ryan Lomberg – Kevin Rooney – Adam Klapka

Kevin Bahl – Rasmus Andersson
Joel Hanley – Mackenzie Weegar
Jake Bean – Daniil Miromanov

Dustin Wolf
(Dan Vladar)

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/old-friends-return-to-philly-as-flyers-face-off-with-flames/