Michkov, Woll carry Flyers past Colorado; Buffalo up next
The Flyers beat the Avalanche 3-2 last night and did it with a short-handed lineup, getting two goals from Matvei Michkov and 24 saves from Joseph Woll. Trevor Zegras set up all three Philadelphia goals, and the win moved the Flyers to 2-6. They’re back at it Wednesday in Buffalo, so the question now is whether this was a one-night spike or the start of something steadier.
A win that came from the middle of the roster
Philadelphia’s 3-2 win over Colorado mattered because it came from players who had to carry more than usual. Noel Acciari scored his first goal of the season, Michkov scored twice, and Zegras finished with three assists. On the back end, Oliver Bonk logged 24:22 and had an assist, while Jamie Drysdale and David Jiricek were part of a blue line being asked to patch things together.
The numbers show why this one held up: the Flyers had 26 hits, and Woll stopped 24 of 26 shots. Colorado got goals from T.J. Hughes and Martin Necas, but Philly won the special teams battle with one power-play goal and no Avalanche power-play goals.
Sources: Broad Street Hockey, The Athletic, Mcall, NHL.com, NBC Sports Philadelphia
Michkov keeps looking like the driver
The bigger takeaway is that Michkov is giving the Flyers a real top-end threat again. He now has the kind of finishing touch that can change games even when the roster is thin, and multiple outlets highlighted how central he was to Monday’s result.
For a team that had been stuck at 2-6, that matters more than one good night. If Michkov keeps scoring and Zegras keeps feeding him, the Flyers at least have a repeatable offensive shape instead of hoping for bounce luck.
Sources: The Athletic, Mcall, Broad Street Hockey, Yahoo Sports
What to watch in Buffalo
The immediate test is Wednesday at Buffalo, and that game will tell us more than the celebration from Monday. A road game after an emotional upset is where a young, banged-up roster has to show whether it can string together something useful.
If the Flyers can carry over the same pace, same goaltending, and same commitment to the middle of the ice, this result starts to mean something beyond a nice story. If not, Colorado becomes a good snapshot of the ceiling on a good night.
Sources: Broad Street Hockey, NHL.com
Further reading
- Tuesday Morning Fly By: They’re never losing again (Broad Street Hockey)
- Matvei Michkov, Joseph Woll lead undermanned Flyers in win over Avalanche (The Athletic)
- Michkov leads the way again in Flyers’ 3-2 win over Colorado (Mcall)
- Michkov scores twice, Flyers hold off Avalanche | NHL.com (NHL.com)
- ‘Next-man-up mentality' fuels Flyers' win over Avalanche (NBC Sports Philadelphia)
- Takeaways: Matvei Michkov leads the way as Flyers beat Avalanche 3-2 (Broad Street Hockey)
- Matvei Michkov put the Flyers on his back when no one thought he could (Broad Street Hockey)
- Michkov Mania Is Back: Flyers Win Another, Survive Juggernaut Avalanche (Yahoo Sports)
- Matvei Michkov’s first 10 games tell a different story than previous seasons (Broad Street Hockey)
- Flyers vs. Avalanche: How to watch, lineups, and gamethread (Broad Street Hockey)
- Where Alex Bump and Cole Knuble fit in the Flyers’ lineup (Broad Street Hockey)
Philly Sport Daily writes this brief each morning with the help of AI, working only from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Let us know @sport_philly.