The mood at the arena was light and upbeat from the parking lots to the press box. With the Flyers clinching their playoff spot Monday night the pressure is off and the focus has shifted to the upcoming post-season series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Tonight a stripped down version of the Philadelphia Flyers would take on the Montreal Canadiens. This game had ramifications for the Canadiens who are still jostling for positioning with Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division. The Flyers future plans are already set so this was a chance to rest some veterans and give some of their up and coming players a chance to prove themselves.
Matvei Michkov who has been the Flyers most prolific scorer as of late was looking to reach the twenty goal mark in this final game of the season. He got his opportunity very early in the opening period. Michkov broke in to the Montreal zone on a breakaway. He did all the right things with the puck but Jakub Dobes stayed with him and made a spectacular save. It was highway robbery.
The Flyers young squad looked good all night long and did not seem at all intimidated by the challenge at hand.
On a delayed penalty call with the extra skater on the ice. Hunter McDonald passed to Michkov along the side boards. Michkov carried across the ice to the top of the slot and unleashed a wrist shot. Porter Martone had the net-front deflection and picked up his 4th goal of the season 8:08 into the 1st period. Martone has 10 points in his 9 NHL games since joining the Flyers.
The Flyers made it two zip 14:42 into the period. Hunter McDonald delivered a crushing check in the Montreal zone that broke the puck free. McDonald passed to Michkov. Michkov to Oliver Bonk. Bonk fired a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Jakub Dobes scoring his first NHL goal. McDonald’s physical play in this game was stand-out from start to finish.
6:50 into the 2nd period Brendan Gallagher scored a tap in goal off a beautiful set up pass from Kaiden Guhle. 2-1 Flyers.
Matvie Michkov itching for number 20 found himself alone by the side of the net with Dobes out of position and waisted no time slamming it home. You could clearly see by his reaction how important that goal was to him. It’s been a choppy sophomore year but things are really starting to come together for him. The goal was unassisted.
Mystery Pucks
With just 10.8 seconds left in the 2nd period the Habs struck again. Samuel Ersson made the initial save on a shot from Arber Xhekaj. The rebound illuded him. It somehow squirted out of his gear and ended up sitting behind him in the crease. Jake Evans dove to push the puck over the goal line. 3-2 Flyers.
Samuel Ersson played another strong game with his 5th win in his last 6 starts. He made a save in the 3rd period that was followed by a prolonged search for the puck which had gone missing somewhere on his person.
The search started to no avail while he was still kneeling on the ice. The officials had him stand and eventually started going through his pants. Then his jersey and upper body pads. At one point he removed his mask and shook it like the puck might be somewhere in there.
The game could not proceed until they found the disappearing disk. If it was still inside his gear somewhere and dislodged after play resumed you would suddenly have two pucks in play. Eventually the TSA style puck pat-down proved successful and play resumed.
With eight minutes left in regulation it was Alex Bump who rounded out the scoring with his 5th goal of the season. Porter Martone found Bump in the slot, he found himself some space to shoot from and fired a wrist shot past the Montreal goaltender. 4-2 Flyers.
Flying Colors
This group of young Flyers not only handled the challenge well, they absolutely ruled the score sheet. Seasoned veteran Matvei Michkov (21 years old) led the team with 8 shots-on-goal. Michkov had a goal and two assists. Porter Martone had yet another multi-point game with a goal and an assist.
Oliver Bonk scored his first NHL goal and had an assist. Hunter McDonald registered his 1st NHL point. Alex Bump scored his 5th goal of the season. Denver Barkey although not on the score sheet had another strong game. He is speedy, relentless, and will take his lumps to get the job done.
This was a very promising look at the up and coming players in the Flyers ranks. No wonder the mood around the rink was so positive tonight. The 2025-26 regular season is in the books. This year instead of saying goodbye to the local hockey club for the Summer the Flyers are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Next Up: Flyers vs Penguins Game 1 in Pittsburgh
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