Chances are the song “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” has never been a big hit back in Russia or Belarus.
But the ditty certainly has applied to the Flyers’ two goaltenders in the last pair of games.
After Ivan Fedotov, who grew up in Russia, held the New York Rangers at bay in a 3-1 win in Philadelphia on Friday. Aleksei Kolosov, a Belarus native, did him one better with a tougher 3-2 overtime decision over the Blues in St. Louis on Saturday night.
Another Russian, rookie Matvei Michkov, scored the game-winner on a breakaway 28 seconds into overtime.
The Flyers (12-10-3) ran their point streak to four games (3-0-1) and maintained a top-eight spot in the Eastern Conference.
Travis Konecny triggered the Michkov goal with a brilliant outlet pass while lying on his back in the Flyers’ zone.
Tyson Foerster’s goal at 12:02 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie. Foerster followed up the rebound of Bobby Brink’s shot with a flip past goaltender Jordan Binnington.
However, the Blues tied it with 20 seconds to play on a goal by Jack Neighbours.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen said Kolosov, who stopped two clean breakaways in the second period, was the key performer in the victory.
“He’s very calm,” Ristolainen said in a second intermission televised interview. “He kept us in the game today. It (the team performance) hasn’t been pretty. He’s been there when we needed him.”
Coach John Tortorella appreciates what both of his current goalies bring to the table. And he has Sam Ersson coming off the injury list pretty soon so it will be a pleasant problem to have.
“In the third period I thought we struggled a bit,” Tortorella said in a televised interview. “ ‘Koly’ made some big saves for us. He was outstanding.
“We’re going to keep on alternating (with Fedotov) and see where we go.”
Having a weapon like Michkov doesn’t hurt either when it comes to approaching overtime. Michkov now has three OT game-winners and overall the Flyers are 7-3 in the tiebreaker.
“We’ve had some confidence with it (OT),” Tortorella said. “ ‘Mich’ has helped us quite a bit there. A couple years ago, last year we struggled with it. We just keep plugging away.”
Kolosov held off the Blues until a goal by Dylan Holloway at 11:11 of the third.
But the Flyers bounced right back on Foerster’s goal.
Foerster is impressed by what Michkov brings to the table in the late stages of games.
“When we have ‘Mich’ and ‘TK’ (Konecny) out there, good things are going to happen,” Foerster said. “He always gets a breakaway. We told him before, ‘no posts!’ He finally buried one so it was awesome.”
In the first period, Owen Tippett scored just his second goal in the past 11 games courtesy of a forward lead-in pass by Michkov to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Tippett was right at the doorstep and poked the puck past Binnington at 9:15.
Tippett can’t help but admire the 19-year-old Russian’s skill level.
“He’s so creative,” Tippett said. “I think he’s got a different game than a lot of us. I think the pass was there early, he did a great job of making it sell, then found the lane when I was wide open.”
It was the second straight game the Flyers have started out well in the shots-allowed department.
In Friday afternoon’s game against the Rangers, the Flyers didn’t allow a shot for the first 11:11. Against the Blues, they held the opponent without a shot until the 11:36 mark.
>Konecny still rolling
As of Friday, Konecny led all NHL right wings in scoring since Oct. 26.
He’s playing perhaps some of the best hockey of his career and he looks like a pretty sure thing for Canada in the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament in February.
During an interview broadcast prior to the game, Konecny touched on a number of subjects, including why he seems to have taken a significant step forward in his career this season.
Like leadership. But No. 11 kind of downplays that aspect of his game.
“I just try to come to the rink every day,” Konecny said. “Whether it’s checking, blocking a shot. I just try to come and work hard.
Going into Saturday night’s game at St. Louis, the Flyers were tied with Minnesota and New Jersey for most points since Nov. 7 (16). According to Konecny, there have been several reasons for the streak.
“It’s dialing in on the things each individual needs to work on,” Konecny said. “If you do your job, then everything will take care of itself.”
>Short shots
Defenseman Egor Zamula returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous four games. Rookie Helge Grans got a night off. . .The Flyers will get Sunday and Tuesday off before returning to action with a home game against Florida on Thursday. . .Binnington recently won his 152nd career game, moving him past Mike Liut into the first on the Blues’ all-time wins list. . .Flyers entered Saturday night’s game with 16 points since Nov. 7, tying them with Minnesota and New Jersey for most in the NHL.
