Observations from the Flyers' preseason win over the Capitals

With the 2024-25 season on the horizon, the Flyers had their first test against the Washington Capitals, the team that played a role in ending their season last year.

Despite heavy skating in the days leading up to this game, the Flyers didn't show many signs of fatigue. They took it to the Capitals in all three periods, coming out with a 6-2 victory.

Here are three observations from the big win.

Bobby Brink makes roster case

Bobby Brink didn't come into training camp expecting to be handed a spot. It's that mindset that helped him make the Flyers roster last season. Danny Briere admitted that they had Brink penciled into the Phantoms roster before his strong showing in camp.

Brink isn't wasting any time on making another case for himself. He was a man on a mission against the Capitals. And it was his backhander that was on display in a multi-goal outing.

The second goal came off a turnover in the defensive zone and featured a slick dropback pass from both Joel Farabee and Jett Luchanko, who impressed in his first preseason action.

Morgan Frost, Matvei Michkov show chemistry

One of the things to watch in the Flyers' first preseason game was Matvei Michkov. How was he going to fair in his first real game action? Another thing to watch was going to be his line with Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost.

The three have skill sets that perfectly match one another. Tippett has the speed, Frost has the creativity, and Michkov has the high IQ to make plays happen. It was the latter two who teamed up for a slick goal that started with a play behind the net.

When Michkov goes behind the net, he is facing away from Frost. But his hockey sense is off the charts enough to know that he can spin the pass behind him. Frost does the rest by curling around the net and using a strong backhand to raise it above the goaltender and under the crossbar.

Frost would add a power-play goal in the third period. It was a nice keep-in at the line by him to keep the cycle going during the man advantage. After some more passing, Michkov slid the puck to Farabee in the slot. His slow-rolling shot was stopped but Frost was quick to follow it up and slam it past the Capitals' goaltender.

10 players register a point

There was plenty of offense to be found in the Flyers' win over the Capitals. Ten different players would register at least one point.

Farabee led all skaters with an impressive four-point performance. After a career-high 22 goals and 50 points last season, he is one of the players John Tortorella is looking to take another step forward.

Frost would finish the night with three points. Consistency is always something that follows him around and this is another big year for him. It was clear in this game that Frost wanted to get off to a strong start.

Brink, Luchanko, and Michkov would finish with two points apiece. Olle Lycksell, Noah Cates, Rhett Gardner, Tippett, and Emil Andrae all registered one assist as well.

Other Observations

• Ivan Fedotov played in the first two periods, stopping 10 of 12 shots.
• Carson Bjarnason stopped all eight shots he faced in the third period.
• The Flyers went 2/3 on the power play.
• The teams elected to practice the shootout as well. Brink and Tippett scored the only goals.

The Flyers will be back in action tomorrow night when a new group travels to Montreal to take on the Canadiens.