ALLENTOWN – It was only a Rookie Series game but when a certain play unfolded in the second period on Friday night, the crowd at the PPL Center acted like it was a Stanley Cup playoff battle.
As soon as Flyers touted Russian prospect Matvei Michkov connected for his first goal in North American professional hockey competition, the crowd went nuts.
This was the moment a lot of Flyers faithful had been waiting for.
And even though the Flyers were on a five-on-three power play at the time, it didn’t diminish from the joy of the occasion.
The Flyers went on to a 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Rangers’ rookies but for those in attendance, that really didn’t matter. Their great hope from the other side of the world had demonstrated some rather awesome potential.
Assisting on the goal at 8:58 of the middle frame was the Flyers’ other promising high-end young talent, namely 2024 first-round draft pick Jett Luchanko, who centered a line of right wing Michkov and left wing Elliot Desnoyers.
When the puck went in the net, Michkov happily raised his stick, dashed to the corner to celebrate with his teammates, then headed to the bench to share congratulations.
The Rangers broke a 2-2 tie with a goal at 7:36 of the third period but the Flyers scored on a goal by Massimo Rizzo with 14.4 seconds to play and the extra attacker to send the game to overtime.
In the shootout, the Rangers won it on a goal by Brennan Othmann.
It’s safe to say the Michkov performance really stole the show for those in attendance.
“I think everyone was excited (by Michkov),” coach Ian Laperriere said. “He’s a special player. You can tell. As camp advances (to the regular veterans camp), he’s going to go with better players.
“NHL players are NHL players. I feel like he’s going to be even better. Just having him on the bench is fun because he loves the game. He wants to be out there and he was out there quite a bit.”
Laperriere gave Michkov additional playing time in the third period.
“In the third I double-shifted him,” the coach said. “He’s in great shape. He made plays on the power play. He made plays out of nothing five-on-five. It’s a special gift he’s got. I can’t wait to see his development.”
Michkov was all smiles as he entered the post-game media room for interviews.
Flyers defenseman Egor Zamula, who speaks fluent Russian, served as Michkov’s interpreter.
“It was such a nice feeling to score my first goal,” Michkov said. As for the additional ice time in the third period, the player admitted he was getting more into the competition.
“When you get more ice time,” he said, “you start playing better. I haven’t played in a long time so each game should be better. But I was happy about my game today.”
Luchanko and Michkov looked like they had been playing together for years, not just days.
“This game, we’ve been kind of waiting for all summer,” Luchanko said. “It feels good to get out there and play games.”
After a sluggish start to the first period, a goal by Alexis Gendron tied the score for the Flyers with 1:06 to play in the opening frame. Gendron tipped a shot from the right point through a screen and the puck went right through the legs of New York goaltender Dylan Garand.
The Flyers surrendered a power-play goal at 4:51 when New York’s Adam Edstrom sent a short shot past Flyers goalie Carson Bjarnason.
Philadelphia’s offense struggled in the first half of the period and didn’t get a shot on net until the 11:48 mark. New York built a 7-0 shot edge but the Flyers came on strong toward the end of the period and closed the Rangers’ advantage to 8-7.
After Michkov’s goal, the Rangers tied the score on a second goal by Edstrom at 14:22.
