The Philadelphia Flyers opened up the preseason with a big 6-2 victory over the Washington Capitals. It was a dominant performance for Philly as they look to have a big year after falling short in 2023-24.
There are mixed expectations surrounding this team but everything went as well as it could have in this preseason victory over the Caps. There were a few players who played quite well.
One of those players is Joel Farabee who led both sides in scoring. He had one goal and three assists for four points and was a key component to the victory.
Morgan Frost was the only other player to have at least three points in the game along with Farabee. His came in the form of two goals and one assist.
The Philadelphia Flyers had to enjoy watching that first preseason win
Multiple other players in the game had two points and that includes rookie forward Matvei Michkov. He makes his preseason debut after being drafted in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
At the time of his drafting, people wondered when he’d break away from the KHL to come over to North America. It took even less time than even the most optimistic people thought (one season). He would have gone higher than 7th overall had that been known.
Michkov is still waiting on this first preseason goal and then he’ll be looking for the regular season to begin so he can start making his mark. He seemed to have great chemistry with Frost which is a great sign of things to come.
Bobby Brink and Jett Luchanko are also very young players who made their mark on this game. Brink had two goals and Luchanko had two assists. Each helped their team win knowing that they are fringe roster players entering the year. Brink has a better chance as an older/more experienced player.
All of the young players that the Flyers would have wanted to see play well did. It won’t be that easy when the games begin for real but they were able to control play and take the win in this exhibition match.
The excitement had to take a step after that win. John Tortorella and his team have a long way to go but this was a great start. The team is right back at it again on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens but you can be sure the lineup will look different. They’d like to see similar results though.