The Philadelphia Flyers played their last game of the 2024-25 season against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. This game determined where they’d finish draft position-wise. Devin Kaplan made his NHL debut. Karsen Dorwart came out of the lineup, and Aleksei Kolosov got the start in net. Michkov collected three points in a five-to-four loss in the season finale. Brink scored late to get the Flyers within one, but the comeback fell just short. The Flyers finished the season with a 33-39-10 record.
Alex Tuch gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at the 4:35 mark of the first period. He tipped in Jason Zucker’s pass from the right circle past the glove of Flyers goaltender Aleksei Kolosov. Zucker and Jacob Bernard-Docker collected assists.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 12:36 mark of the first period as Bernard-Docker was called for delay of game. The Sabres took advantage first as Peyton Krebs scored a shorthanded goal at the 13:49 mark. Tuch made a nice pass to him from the defensive zone to send him on a breakaway. Krebs then put a backhander over the glove of Kolosov. This made it 2-0 Sabres. Tuch and Connor Clifton tallied assists.
Michkov scored his 25th goal of the season to get the Flyers on the board on the power play at the 15:09 mark of the first period. Tyson Foerster made a pass from behind the net to Michkov in the slot. Michkov then put a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Sabres goaltender James Reimer. Foerster and Sean Couturier were given assists.
Michkov is ending year one with a bang.
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 17, 2025#PHIvsBUF | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/kMVPAY40OK
The Sabres took a 3-1 lead at the 16:11 mark of the first period courtesy of Jack Quinn. Ryan McLeod was able to get around Egor Zamula and make a pass to Quinn. Quinn then put a wrist shot past the blocker of Kolosov. McLeod and J.J. Peterka picked up assists.
Peterka gave the Sabres a 4-1 lead at the 1:24 mark of the second period. McLeod made a nice cross-ice pass to him, and Peterka put a wrist shot past the blocker of Kolosov. McLeod was given the lone assist.
The Sabres got their first power play at the 5:04 mark of the second period as Travis Konecny got called for slashing. Garnet Hathaway had a chance on a breakaway while shorthanded but couldn’t get a shot off. The Flyers did a nice job stealing and clearing the puck to kill the advantage.
Michkov scored his second of the game at the 7:11 mark of the second period. Couturier made a nice pass to him, and Michkov went skate to stick past the left skate of Reimer. This made the score 4-2 Sabres. Couturier and Konecny collected assists.
Your @NHL rookie goals king.
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 18, 2025#PHIvsBUF | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/K81TtUOIVB
15 seconds into the third period, Foerster got the Flyers within one. He tipped Noah Cates’ pass past Reimer’s left skate. This made the score 4-3 Sabres. Cates and Bobby Brink tallied assists.
That's nine goals in Tyson's last nine games.
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 18, 2025#PHIvsBUF | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/UVLU9gAq9r
The Flyers got their second power play at the 17:01 mark of the third period as Tuch was called for tripping. Reimer had to make two big saves on Michkov and Konecny. Kolosov also had to make a big save on Krebs on a shorthanded breakaway.
Kolosov was pulled with 1:18 left in the third period. The Sabres took advantage as McLeod scored an empty-netter. Jamie Drysdale tried to make a pass, but it didn’t make it. The Sabres went up 5-3 with this goal. The goal was unassisted.
The Flyers pulled Kolosov again with 40 seconds remaining in the game. It paid off as Brink’s slapshot from the blue line went past the glove of Reimer. This made it 5-4 Sabres. Michkov and Ryan Poehling picked up assists.
No other goals would be scored.
The Flyers went one for two on the power play and managed to kill off the Sabres only man advantage.
Kolosov made big saves throughout the game to keep his team in it. He saved 26 of 30 shots, giving him a .867 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Tuch (36) Assists: Zucker (32), Bernard-Docker (6)
Krebs (10) (Shorthanded) Assists: Tuch (31), Clifton (15)
Michkov (25) (Power Play) Assists: Foerster (18), Couturier (29)
Quinn (15) Assists: McLeod (32), Peterka (41)
2nd Period:
Peterka (27) Assists: McLeod (33)
Michkov (26) Assists: Couturier (30), Konecny (52)
3rd Period:
Foerster (25) Assists: Cates (21), Brink (29)
McLeod (20) Assists: none
Brink (12) Assists: Michkov (37), Poehling (19)
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