Matvei Michkov doubles down, scores twice in preseason overtime win over Bruins

The Flyers headed back to the Wells Fargo Center, looking to win their second straight after a shutout victory over the Islanders.

It was a slow start in which the team had to rely on Ivan Fedotov for a large part of the opening stanza. But the Flyers turned it up and were led by Matvei Michkov, who registered two goals and flashed even more creativity and skill in the 3-2 overtime victory.

Olle Lycksell makes his case

As preseason nears an end, the roster battles get harder and the cuts get tougher to make. Olle Lycksell is trying to make it hard on the Flyers to send him down. And to be fair, there doesn't seem to be much else he can learn in the AHL. It's sink or swim time.

Lycksell used the Flyers' preseason game against the Bruins to continue showing what he has to offer. On Philadelphia's opening goal, Lycksell helped keep the puck in the offensive end and took the chip pass from Ryan Poehling behind the net. After skating to the right side, he found Rasmus Ristolainen alone at the faceoff dot. The defenseman took care of the rest, beating Joonas Korpisalo to tie the game.

After allowing a shorthanded goal to give Boston the lead back, the trio of Lycksell, Michkov, and Travis Konecny worked together on the power play to tie things back up. Michkov did a strong job of protecting the puck before sending it to Konecny as the two traded spots. Konecny found Lycksell on the cross-ice pass as he skated in with the puck. Lycksell saw Michkov back door and fired a pass right on the dot for the tap-in goal.

If Lycksell can find a way to impact the game at this level consistently, he could find himself on the NHL roster to start the season.

Michkov putting on a show

This Michkov kid is going to be quite the player, huh? After getting his first goal of the preseason on an empty netter against the Islanders, he doubled down with two goals in the victory. As noted above, Michkov helped tie the game at 2-2 in the second period off the nice feed from Lycksell. That score would last through the remainder of the second and the third period.

With overtime needed, Michkov decided to take the game into his own hands. Konecny spotted the young winger up at the blue line, firing a feed from his defensive zone. Michkov skated in, electing to shoot as Konecny had joined to make it a 2-on-1. Korpisalo didn't challenge the shot and seemed to get caught watching as Michkov easily hit the opposite side of the net for the game-winner

It was Michkov's sixth point in his third preseason game. The offense is there, there is no doubt in that. With John Tortorella ready to help him round out the defensive side of his game, Michkov is going to be extremely dangerous in the regular season.

Ivan Fedotov provides strong outing

Eyes will be on Fedotov as he enters his first real season in the NHL. You can't fault him for what happened last season so this is a fresh slate. In his second preseason appearance, there was a lot to like from the Russian goaltender.

He did a strong job at keeping Boston off the board for the majority of the first period. The Bruins had double-digit shots in both the first and second periods as Fedotov only allowed one goal in each period. He ended up with 25 saves on 27 shots and was a big reason that the Bruins weren't able to pull away.

If Fedotov can find his footing in the NHL, it will go a long way to helping the Flyers not have to rely on Sam Ersson as much. With Alexei Kolosov now with the team, Fedotov will have to work that much harder to keep his job.

Other Observations

• Don't mess with Michkov. Sean Couturier showed that by dropping the gloves with Billy Sweezey after the rookie tried to goad Michkov into a fight.
• Hunter McDonald was his usual physical self, getting in the middle of multiple scrums and even trying to drag a player away from Fedotov's crease. He finished with three hits and was nabbed with a roughing penalty.
• The Flyers had seven power plays, though only scored on one of them. But the unit had a lot of cohesion and made some good plays in the zone. If they can even be average this season, they will win more games.