Hours after firing their head coach, the Philadelphia Flyers received two goals apiece from Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov in a 6-4 home victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
With the team riding a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) and likely to once again miss the playoffs, the Flyers (29-36-9, 67 points) parted ways with John Tortorella earlier Thursday. Brad Shaw took over behind the bench on an interim basis, and the players delivered an inspired effort in his debut.
Couturier and Michkov each added an assist, while Tyson Foerster and Nicolas Deslauriers also scored for Philadelphia. Samuel Ersson made 26 saves, sending Montreal (33-29-9, 75 points) to its fourth straight defeat (0-2-2).
Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, Christian Dvorak and Patrik Laine scored for the Canadiens, while Jakub Dobes made 24 saves. Montreal holds the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot by one point.
Michkov opened the scoring just under two minutes into the game, shoveling the puck past Dobes following a great setup from Travis Konecny. Newhook tied it at 1-1 six minutes later, but Deslauriers' wrister and Couturier's deflection - just 62 seconds apart - created a two-goal lead for the hosts after one period.
Following a scoreless middle session, Montreal got within 3-2 on Caufield's 34th goal of the season just over two minutes into the third.
Foerster answered with a rebound goal to restore a two-goal cushion. The Canadiens challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the goal stood, giving the Flyers an immediate power play.
On the ensuing man advantage, Couturier scored on an offensive rush, giving the Flyers their first power-play goal since late February.
Montreal scored twice in the final seven minutes to keep things interesting, but in between those goals, Michkov buried his 22nd of the season on a 2-on-0 rush. The Russian rookie had a chance to record his first NHL hat trick in the waning seconds, but his shot from point-blank range clanked off the post.
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