Matvei Michkov supplied the finishing touch Philadelphia needed Monday, scoring twice as the Flyers outlasted the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 at Xfinity Mobile Arena for their second consecutive win after an 0-6-3 opening skid.
The Flyers were missing five regulars, yet the patched-up group showed more structure and push than it had during the season’s first nine games. Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster were unavailable up front, while defensemen Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen also remained out. Philadelphia filled the gaps with four rookies: Hunter McDonald, recalled from Lehigh Valley on Sunday, plus Alex Bump, Cole Knuble and Jacob Gaucher, who joined the club Monday.
“There was a lot of commitment from the group,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “We have asked for certain things, and we are starting to see more and more of them.”
Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots for Philadelphia (2-6-3), which followed Saturday’s 3-1 win over Ottawa with a stronger result against a Colorado team that arrived at 5-3-1. Mackenzie Blackwood made 21 saves for the Avalanche.
Michkov opened the scoring on the power play at 7:41 of the first period. Working from the right corner, he fed Trevor Zegras across the zone. Zegras sent a hard pass toward Denver Barkey at the crease, and after the puck kicked back out, Michkov buried it from below the right circle into an exposed net. Colorado challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal remained on the board.
The 20-year-old winger struck again at 12:23 of the second. Michkov circled through the attacking zone, found space above the faceoff dots and snapped a shot through traffic past Blackwood for a 2-0 lead.
“Those are scorer’s goals,” Tocchet said. “His timing is good. Sometimes you can get there too early or too late, but he has that ability. He is skating well.”
Michkov has scored in three straight games and has power-play goals in each of the past two. His six goals in 11 appearances lead Philadelphia; he required 22 games to reach six goals last season. During the current three-game run, he has four goals and an assist.
“I feel good,” Michkov said. “I feel very good on the ice. I think I have energy for the season. I want to play and help the team more.”
Colorado got on the board at 17:52 of the second, three seconds after a Flyers penalty ended. Artturi Lehkonen found Martin Necas above the right circle, and Necas drove a shot through bodies and over Woll’s blocker.
Noel Acciari restored the two-goal margin at 6:34 of the third, getting his stick on Oliver Bonk’s blast from the right point. It was Acciari’s first goal and first point in 11 games with Philadelphia. The Flyers had not previously scored three times against an opposing goaltender this season; their third goal against Ottawa had gone into an empty net.
T.J. Hughes made it a one-goal game with 5:20 left. Sam Malinski’s shot from the right point changed direction off Fedor Svechkov’s stick before reaching Hughes near the right circle, where he beat Woll to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Blackwood went to the bench with 2:02 remaining, but Colorado could not create a clean late push. The Avalanche managed one shot on net, while Travis Sanheim blocked three other attempts to close out the victory.
“Anybody can go into the lineup and play the way we need them to,” Woll said. “Guys are taking on larger roles, and the players coming in did not make us take a step back in our structure. Honestly, we raised our level.”
Colorado coach Jared Bednar pointed to his club’s lack of execution after the loss. “Sluggish and sloppy,” he said. “The pace was a big factor. Our passing was not good, receiving passes was not good. It is hard to get anywhere when you are beating up the puck.”
Defenseman Josh Manson said the Avalanche found their rhythm only after the game had tilted away from them. “We were not as sharp as we needed to be,” he said. “Maybe we found our game too late.”
Zegras finished with three assists, his fourth three-assist game in the NHL and his first since joining Philadelphia two seasons ago. Knuble recorded one shot in 13:44 during his NHL debut. Lehkonen extended his point streak to four games, collecting his fifth point in that span with the assist on Necas’ goal.
