Matvei Michkov's two-goal game leads Flyers past Sabres

Jackie Spiegel, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 29, 2025

Published in Hockey

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PHILADELPHIA — Some will be happy and some will be sad, but all can agree that what happened at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon was fun.

Facing the Buffalo Sabres, a team that entered the day one point behind the Flyers in the standings and currently slotted into fourth spot in the upcoming draft, the Flyers won, 7-4.

Their second straight win moved them ahead of the Seattle Kraken, who play Saturday night against the Dallas Stars, and into a tie, in points, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who play next on Sunday.

But while some will argue a win diminishes the Flyers’ chances of picking in the top five come June, the youngsters on the team showed Saturday what the future could hold.

Michkov mania rolls on

Sitting in his stall in Voorhees on Friday, Matvei Michkov was joking that he was going to score a hat trick Saturday after coming within a post — and an empty net — of getting his first NHL hat trick on Thursday in the Flyers’ 6-4 win against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

That came after the game, interim head coach Brad Shaw, who raised his hand in disbelief when the Russian forward just missed, joked: “Maybe he saved it for Saturday.”

The Russian rookie didn’t score three, but he came close with a pair of goals. Not too shabby.

Michkov’s first came when he kept the puck on a two-on-one with Travis Konecny and fired the puck short-side. The play started when defenseman Egor Zamula intercepted an Owen Power pass for J.J. Peterka deep in the Flyers’ end.

His second, he raced down the right side and got a little past Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton before burying the backhander over goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Already the rookie goals leader, Michkov’s pair gave him some padding with Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks. Michkov now has 24 and Celebrini has 21 with the Sharks playing Saturday night. The Flyers phenom’s two points also tie him with Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson for the points lead at 56; Montreal does not play on Saturday.

Give ‘em Pelts

Eighteen is a lucky number, so it’s only fitting that Jakob Pelletier broke through in his 18th game with the Flyers.

After passing the puck to Owen Tippett as the duo raced out of the zone, Pelletier headed towards the net and got the puck back for the goal. But it was Tippett who did all the work on the goal as he made Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson look silly, dipping around him, before sending a pass back towards Pelletier.

After spending most of his Philly tenure on the fourth line, the recently elevated Pelletier has brought his speed and spunk to his new line, which includes the speedy Tippett and Poehling.

Goals, Goals, Goals

Aside from Michkov and Pelletier, the Flyers got goals from Noah Cates, Tippett, Tyson Foerster and Poehling.

Tippett, a one-timer from high above the left face-off circle, and Poehling, who slapped in a pass from Cates, each scored on the power play. Poehling has scored in four of his past six games.

Foerster scored on a drop pass from Bobby Brink, and Cates’ goal from the slot came off a pass from Foerster.

Hockey and The Hound

Before the game, and throughout the afternoon, the Flyers honored Bob Kelly, who announced his retirement from the organization after 50 years.

“I came through Buffalo, my first time as a 19-year-old kid, not knowing where Philadelphia was,” said the Oakville, Ontario, native on Saturday. “It’s the best move we ever made, not only for the people, for the city, for the sports, but also for everybody involved out there.”

Kelly played 10 years in Philly, scoring 154 goals and 362 points in 837 regular-season games. But the 1970 Amateur Draft pick is known for what he did in the playoffs, scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1975, which gave him and the Flyers back-to-back Cups.

After retiring, Kelly moved into the Flyers’ community relations department and has impacted the lives of thousands in the Philly area.

“From his days as a hard-hitting, relentless competitor, to his unwavering commitment to growing the game at the grassroots level, Bob has embodied what it truly means to be a Flyer,” Comcast Spectacor CEO and Flyers governor Dan Hilferty said. “His passion, dedication, and love for this city and this organization have left a lasting mark that will be felt for generations to come.”

Breakaways

Flyers goalie Sam Ersson allowed four goals on 21 shots. Jack Quinn scored twice, and J.J. Peterka and Alex Tuch each scored once. Tuch’s goal was a short-handed goal 29 seconds before Poehling’s power-play goal. ... Forward Garnet Hathaway, who has been a full participant in practice, did not dress.

Up next

The Flyers practice Sunday before hosting the Nashville Predators on Monday. Nashville has been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.