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Recap: Flyers Earn 3-2 OT Win vs. Bruins |
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The Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins in overtime, 3-2, at the Wells Fargo Center in Saturday evening to improve to 3-1-0 on the preseason. Power play and 3-on-3 goals by Matvei Michkov paced the Flyers to victory. The 19-year-old Russian rookie has six points (3g, 3a) in three games during the exhibition season.
Rasmus Ristolainen also scored for the Flyers, while Olle Lycksell and Travis Konecny collected two helpers apiece.
With the win, the Flyers improved to 3-1-0 in the preseason.
The Flyers got off to a rough start early in the first period, and Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Vinni Letieri deflection goal. A pivotal moment in the game happened at 16:11 of the opening period. Boston gave Michkov rough treatment in the attack zone, and Flyers captain Sean Couturier moved in immediately to put a stop to it. He dropped the gloves with Boston's Billy Sweezey.
On the very next shift, Ristolainen scored from the right circle to tie the game at 1-1. From there, the Flyers were the better team for most of the game, aided by seven power play opportunities to three for the Bruins.
Philly had a hiccup on the power play at 2:40 of the second period. After Couturier passed up a point blank shot off a Joel Farabee feed, Farabee had a bad giveaway. Taking a pass from Trent Frederic, Matt Poitras beat Ivan Fedotov under the glove for a 2-1 lead.
The Flyers tied the game at 4:14 on their next power play. Lycksell found Michkov near the right post and the rookie batted the puck home. Konecny got the secondary assist.
The Flyers controlled most of the scoreless third period. Just before the buzzer, Ristolainen knocked Poitras to the ice. After the game, assistant coach Brad Shaw (who ran the Flyers' bench against the Bruins) said with a half-grin that sometimes the veteran Finnish defenseman "likes to wear the bully hat."
With 1:08 remaining in sudden death overtime, Konecny fired a lead pass ahead to Michkov. Michkov carried the mail to the left dot, and cut inward to score the winning goal.
Flyers' goalie Ivan Fedotov (25 saves on 27 shots) looked shaky early in the game but went on to stop 25 of 27 shots. Boston's Joonas Korpisalo (37 saves of 40 shots) was the much busier of the two goalies after the first period. The fact that the Flyers were just 1-for-7 on the power play was not due to bad puck movement -- quite the opposite in fact -- but due largely to the Boston goalie.
The Flyers have an off-day on Sunday. After a practice day in Voorhees on Monday, the Flyers will rematch with the Bruins the next day. This time, the scene will shift to TD Garden. Look for a much different Bruins lineup, with a host of regulars dressing.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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