Postgame RAV4: Michkov Lifts Flyers Past Rangers

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Rangers in overtime, 3-2, at Madison Square Garden on Thursday evening. Two goals by Matvei Michkov made the difference. 

Philly shook off a poor start and later overcame a two-goal deficit and found a way to win.

Midway through the first period Sam Carrick (4th goal of the season) opened the scoring for the Rangers. Early in the second period, Alexis Lafreniere (13th) opened a two-goal advantage. In the middle stages of the frame, Matvei Michkov (PPG, 14th) cut the gap to 2-1.

In the opening minute of the third period, the Flyers forged a 2-2 tie on a transition rush goal by Trevor Zegras (21st). Philly had ample opportunity to pull out a win on power plays but they were unable to get over the hump in regulation.

The Flyers had to kill off a power play at the start of overtime. Finally, Michkov (15th) moved in and scored.

Samuel Ersson earned the win in net with 23 saves on 25 shots. Igor Shesterkin made 21 stops on 24 shots.

The Flyers went 1-for-5 on the power play. They were 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

On the first shift of the game, the Flyers' turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Ersson made a 10-bell lateral glove save on Adam Fox from point blank range. One shift later, Ersson denied a debuting Brendan Brisson's five-hole attempt.

New York continued to dominate puck possession. The Rangers had six of the game's first seven shots on goal.

Carrick scored a goal that leaked through Ersson at 9:55. Carrick picked up a loose puck off the wall, shot and scored. The assists went to Taylor Raddysh and Will Borgen.

Carrick and Hathaway dropped the gloves at center ice. The fight was in response to a hit in the corner by Hathaway that was penalized on a boarding minor. at 16:11. The Flyers killed off the penalty.

Shots: Flyers 5 - Rangers 9
Faceoffs: Flyers 5 - Rangers 14

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

At 1:23, Jamie Drysdale was drawn away from the net by Will Cuylle. After a centering pass to goal scorer Alexis Lafreniere, the Rangers had a 2-0 lead. The second assist went to Vincent Trocheck.

The Flyers went to their first power play on a cross-checking minor on Brennan Othmann at 3:29. The Rangers blocked several shot attempts. Finally, Cates had a point blank opportunity on a Tippett rebound.

The Flyers went back to the power play at 8:27. Michkov was clipped by a high stick from Conor Sheary. Brink was denied on a lateral save by Shesterkin. Tippett later hit the post. Finally, the Flyers got on the board on a backdoor pass from Cates to goal scorer Michkov at 10:25. Tippett drew the secondary assist.

Philly took exception to a Cuylle hit from behind in Dvorak. Seeking vengeance, Zegras cross-checked the Ranger and was called on a high-sticking minor at 11:53. Cates was in the thick of a shorthanded counterattack. At 13:17, Cates was cross-checked by Trocheck. Trocheck was penalized for interference.

Michkov and Cates had a two-on-one opportunity that narrowly missed connections.

Shots: Flyers 10 (15 overall) - Rangers 5 (14 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 (13 overall) - Rangers 10 (24 overall)

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers knotted the score just 39 seconds into the period. Capitalizing on a Calgary turnover,  Travis Konecny attacked 2-on-1 with Zegras. Taking a pass from his linemate, Zegras wired the puck into the net. Travis Sanheim drew the second assist.

Several minutes later, a Rasmus Ristolainen shot found its way through traffic and forced Shesterkin to make a scrambling save. It was a strong shift with the Flyers' fourth line out on the ice.

Sanheim had his stick slashed out of his hands. The Flyers went back to the power play at 7:28 as Lafreniere went to the penalty box. Philly failed to generate any shots on goal.

Hathaway was high-sticked by Vladislav Gavrikov at 14:40, creating yet another power play for Philadelphia. Zegras set up an excellent chance for Cates. Once again, Shesterkin had the answer.

Michkov was called for goaltender interference at 19:51.  The Rangers took a 4-on-3 penalty into overtime.

Shots: Flyers 8 (23 overall) - Rangers 9 (23 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 5 (18 overall) - Rangers 7 (31 overall)

OVERTIME SYNOPSIS

Zibanejad shanked a one-timer off a feed from Adam Fox. Ristolainen later blocked a JT Miller shot out of play.

Existing the penalty box, Michkov went in alone on Shesterkin and scored through the five hole to end the game at 2:09. The assists went to Sean Couturier and Nick Seeler.

Shots: Flyers 2 (25 overall) - Rangers 1 (24 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 0 (18 overall) - Rangers 1 (32 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Matvei Michkov — Noah Cates — Bobby Brink
Denver Barkey — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin — Carl Grundstrom — Garnet Hathaway

Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drydale
Nick Seeler —  Emil Andrae

Samuel Ersson

[Dan Vladar]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Screens and deflections

Shesterkin didn't have much to do in the first period. In the second period, the Flyers' play picked up and they made more concerted pushes to get pucks and traffic to the net.

2. Between the pipes

Samuel Ersson made several excellent saves in the first period but it was undone by the Carrick goal that went past him from a bad angle.

3. Flyers centers: Cates

Cates (five shots on goal) had a very active game. Coming off a goal last game in Washington, he had the Flyers' best scoring opportunity in an offense-starved first period. Cates had a great chance on Philly's first power play and later set up the Michkov tally.

4. The Zibanejad factor

Veteran Flyer-killer Mika Zibanejad was held off the scoresheet on this night.  He was -2 with three shots on goal.