Matvei Michkov helps Flyers beat Sharks 4-3 in shootout

On By Littum

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Matvei Michkov had a goal and an assist and then scored in a penalty shootout to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.

Michkov returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for two consecutive games.

Travis Konecny ​​and Erik Johnson also scored for the Flyers, who had lost three of four.

Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. William Eklund and Barclay Goodrow also scored in regulation for San Jose.

After both teams missed their first shots in the tiebreaker, Michkov went from his backhand to his forehand to beat Vitek Vanecek. Konecny ​​then hit it with a shot high over Vanecek.

Only Nashville (11 points) and Montreal (10) entered with fewer points than San Jose and Philadelphia, each starting with 12 points.

Michkov was the 7th overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Russia. The 19-year-old forward was scratched on Philadelphia’s recent road trip to Florida by coach John Tortorella, who apparently wasn’t happy with the rookie’s play away from the puck in recent games.

Samuel Ersson made 28 saves for the Flyers. Vanecek had 40 stops.

Takeaways

Sharks: San Jose has been outscored this season 59-40.

Flyers: Philadelphia is clearly a better offensive team with Michkov in the lineup.

Key moment

After Johnson opened the scoring, Givani Smith got physical with Michkov after a faceoff. Johnson quickly stepped in and defended the rookie, dropping the gloves with Smith. The Flyers rallied behind the game and scored the next two goals to take a 3-0 lead.

Key state

Michkov has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 14 games.

Next

The Sharks continue a four-game Eastern road trip at the Rangers on Thursday. Philadelphia plays at Ottawa on Thursday.

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