It's been one week since the NHL resumed after the 2026 Winter Olympic break, and the Philadelphia Flyers have played four games in that time. Coming out of the break, the Flyers' playoff chances looked pretty bleak. Their odds are still low, with Money Puck giving the Flyers a paltry 11.3 percent chance of making the postseason, but going 3-1-0 to start the home stretch of the season is a solid start. And a big part of those three wins has been Matvei Michkov.
This has not been the season many fans, let alone Michkov, wanted or expected the 21-year-old winger to have. His scoring's down, with 15 goals and 31 points in 59 games. His usage has been curious at best, and downright baffling at worst. And head coach Rick Tocchet has been airing dirty laundry and outright criticizing Michkov all season, even playing him on his off wing.
The Olympic break couldn't have come at a better time, and it seems to have served as a reset for Michkov.
Since returning from the break, Michkov has looked much better on the ice. It's only four games, but his average ice time's been bumped up to 16:23 per game, nearly two minutes higher than his season average of 14:42. He scored two goals against the New York Rangers, one of them an overtime winner, and beat Anthony Stolarz in the shootout to help the Flyers triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Perhaps most exciting was Michkov's elevation to the top power play unit alongside Trevor Zegras against the Leafs, though whether this is a long-term change or just a temporary adjustment due to Travis Konecny's day-to-day injury status remains to be seen.
There are 22 games left in the season, and it looks like Michkov's going to finish strong for the second year in a row: in the final 22 games of the 2024-25 season, Michkov scored seven goals and 19 points. Replicating that sort of scoring streak to end the season (and maybe carry into the playoffs?) could make us look more positively on Michkov's season when all is said and done.