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Having one of their best players out of the lineup was challenging enough. But when Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov, a healthy scratch, was joined by a newly injured goaltender Aleksei Kolosov on the sidelines Thursday night, it looked like the task would be too great for a victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then the Flyers put together their most inspired comeback of the season.
Nikita Kucherov scored a first-period goal but then Owen Tippett took over. First he scored a tying goal with 4:16 to play off a rush and great backhand shot. Then he scored a clinching goal in the shootout as the Flyers prevailed, 2-1, at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
Travis Konecny also scored in the shootout for Philadelphia. The Flyers’ goaltending picture, already clouded by a recent lower-body injury to regular starter Samuel Ersson, got a little darker when Kolosov was a no-show prior to game time. That left the netminding chores up to former No.
2 goalie Ivan Fedotov, who turned in one of the better performances of his brief NHL career. Fedotov gave up the goal to Kucherov on an around-the-net play with 44 seconds left in the opening frame. The puck clicked off Sean Couturier’s stick as it crossed the goal line.
It stayed that way until a rush by Tippett, who ripped a shot past Vasilevskiy. Michkov, goal-less in his last five games, was scratched for the first time in his rookie season and replaced by center Anthony Richard, who was called up from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. Over the five-game stretch, Michkov recorded just one assist and delivered only eight shots on net.
In contrast, he fired nine shots on goal in his first three games. The 19-year-old Russian had a goal and an assist in both the Washington game on Oct. 23 and the Minnesota on Oct.
26. But then things dried up. Coach John Tortorella pointed to Tuesday night’s 6-4 loss at Carolina as a game in which Michkov may have gotten a bit away from the game plan.
“Just fire the puck,” the coach said. “It [evaluation of Michkov’s game] is part of the process. Young guys can watch games, too, as far as development.
It’s trying to help him.” Richard, 27, signed with the Flyers as a free agent last summer. Prior to Thursday’s debut, the 27-year-old native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec had played in 24 NHL games: Two with Nashville, 13 with Montreal and nine with Boston.
“He had a really good camp,” Tortorella said. “Skated well down there [with the Phantoms]. He brings some offense.
I told him in camp I’m hoping. ..
. I want him to take a chance offensively. I don’t want him to worry about making mistakes.
” Richard has had a decent amount of success at the AHL level. He scored 30 goals with the Lavel Rocket as recently as 2022-23, then 25 with the Providence Bruins last year. Tortorella mentioned he expected to have Richard on the power play for the Tampa game.
Richard, who has posted four goals/nine points in seven games with the Phantoms, indicated he was pleased with the coach’s decision. He got word he was being called up the other day when he was out playing golf. “It’s always exciting to be with a new team, I know a lot of guys from training camp,” he said.
“It’s always nice when you spend time with them. “With a good training camp, it always sets you up for a good start. My game was trending in the right direction.
I was actually playing golf with a couple guys. We had the day off. I was on the green and I felt a buzz go off.
I picked up my phone after finishing the hole, got the call to come here and I was excited.” Center Ryan Poehling was placed on injured reserve, with the IR stint officially beginning on Nov. 2.
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The Flyers began the game 26th in the NHL in power-play goals per game (2.62), tied for 30th in shots per game (24.9) and just one for last 14 on power play.
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The Flyers signed goaltender Kyle Konin due to the Kolosov injury. He has played in two NHL games on an emergency basis. One was for Tampa last April.
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The Flyers head south to face the Panthers on Saturday at 6 p.m. Wayne Fish is a freelance writer.
Follow his coverage at www.flyingfishhockey.com.
