Brink finding his sharpshooter’s eye again

Bobby Brink

 

NEWARK, N.J. – For 20 games there, Bobby Brink sort of looked like he was going through one of those rookie season struggles again.
But he broke out of that scoring slump the other day and on Saturday afternoon, he was cool, calm and collected when he took a pass from Noah Cates and buried the game-winner with 7:16 to play in a 3-1 Flyers’ victory.
The Flyers have been getting a lot out of the Cates line and now Brink is enjoying some of the fruits of his labor.
Goaltender Sam Ersson said Brink is stronger than he looks for a guy who’s listed at 5-foot-8, 169 pounds.
“He’s so strong on the puck,” Ersson said. “Not the biggest guy but he’s so strong in the battles. It’s great. Those are huge goals for us. This was a huge game for us so that (winning goal) is great to see.”
Brink takes it all in stride. He takes a steady approach to the game and often plays with the confidence of a 30-year-old.
“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t,” he said with a grin. “Right now, the last couple, they went in.”

>Hathaway offense picking up

Garnet Hathaway is known more for his physical play than his offensive prowess but there are times when the puck finds its way from his stick into the net.
A recent three-goals-in-four-games streak has raised his season total to six and puts him close to a pace to eclipse his career high of 14 set in 2021-22.
When he came to the Flyers at the start of last season, he figured he could continue to play his bumping style. But he had no idea he would total a career-high of 132 penalty minutes, well above his previous top total of 88.
Playing on a line with Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling (before he was injured on Thursday night at Long Island), Hathaway seems to be generating more chances around opponents’ nets.
“There have been weird patches of games where the puck goes in,” Hathaway said. “Then when you get a lot of chances and they don’t go in. It’s weird. It’s one of those things where I’ve fallen back on the basic principles of my game, staying strong on the puck, trying to keep it north going in the right direction.”
The 33-year-old native of Kennebunkport, Maine has posted 664 penalty minutes in 585 career games. He’s been invaluable this season due to the unavailability of Flyers’ top enforcer Nick Deslauriers.
He’s played for successful teams in Washington and Boston, so he’s encouraged by what he’s seen from this season’s Flyers team, even though they began Saturday’s play still on the outside of the postseason picture.
“Every season has waves,” Hathaway said. “You go on streaks, good and bad. It’s about controlling your emotions.”

>Michkov getting comfortable

With the Flyers’ season now well into its second half, rookie Matvei Michkov indicated more comfortable with American culture.
“I’ve adapted to the lifestyle,” he said through an interpreter. “Every day is better.”
The 20-year-old Russian never played more than 47 games in his career (with the Kontinental Hockey League). Saturday’s game in Newark was his 45th with the Flyers. He still has 37 more to complete his first season in the NHL.
Has the grind gotten to him yet?
“The first season has been really hard,” he admitted. “There have been some ups and downs.”

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About Wayne Fish 2701 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.