Matvei Michkov passed one of the first tests of his young career and will look to author another strong performance Thursday when the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Ottawa Senators.
One of the league's most dynamic rookies, Michkov was a healthy scratch in consecutive games for Philadelphia last week. However, coach John Tortorella reinserted the 19-year-old Russian into the lineup Monday against the San Jose Sharks, and Michkov responded with a goal in regulation and another in the shootout.
"He played good," Tortorella said after the 4-3 victory. "... I wasn't worried about how he was going to respond. I wasn't worried about that at all. He competes."
Michkov's absence was framed by the organization as more of a reset, rather than a punishment; an opportunity to build on what he's already learned while watching a couple of games from the press box.
"With the two games missing, I had plenty of energy and feel really good," Michkov said through an interpreter. "The two games I watched, it was good to watch and good to get some time off and rethink."
Meanwhile, from a team standpoint, the Flyers are playing their best hockey of the season. They have earned a point in three straight games for the first time in 2024-25 and, since starting the season 1-5-1, they have put forth positive efforts against quality teams like the Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.
"You can sense that our game is really coming," said speedy forward Travis Konecny, who leads the team in goals (eight) and assists (nine). "We're playing more consistently the last four games in the style we want to play and getting better results."
The Senators have been getting better results lately, as well. After a stretch of five losses in seven games, Ottawa went on the road and defeated the Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, allowing just two goals over the two games.
Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season in Tuesday's 3-0 triumph over Toronto.
"Any time you've got a guy who's won a Vezina (Trophy), it's going to give you confidence," Senators coach Travis Green said. "He was great tonight."
Tim Stutzle, Michael Amadio and Josh Norris scored for Ottawa, while Artem Zub had a pair of assists.
"I think all four lines were great. Our defensive pairings were great. We gave them no room, and that's the way we've got to play if we want to win more games," said Stutzle, who has a team-high 20 points, including seven goals.
Ullmark knows that the Senators need to continue displaying this type of consistency if they hope to make the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
"This is the sort of the thing that you have to do every night," said the veteran goaltender. "And with that comes also a lot of respect around the league. Because once you start (playing) game after game after game in this sort of manner, people are going to start noticing you and know that you're a good team and start bringing their ‘A' game and not taking you for granted, so to speak, and with that comes even more things coming your way."
