On a night that was certainly unexpected, the Philadelphia Flyers played one of their best games of the recent stretch, beating the Montreal Canadiens 6-4. The game comes following John Tortorella’s dismissal. Brad Shaw, the team’s interim head coach, took over the reins and led the Flyers to their first win since March 18th in the shootout against the Lightning. It was Philadelphia’s first regulation win in March. The last time they won in regulation was February 25th against the Penguins.
Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier both scored twice, with Tyson Foerster and Nicolas Deslauriers also scoring for the Flyers. Cam York was benched for the second-straight game—the Flyers played with five defensemen. With the win, the Flyers improve to 29-36-9 for the season.
Who would have thought? Matvei Michkov (21) scored within the first two minutes from right in front of the net in the first game without John Tortorella. The Flyers’ rookie had a helluva game, which will show later on. The Canadiens answered the call six minutes later as Alex Newhook (14) evened the score at one. Lane Hutson (50), one of Michkov’s Calder competitors, earned the secondary assist on the score.
The Flyers found their answer a bit over two minutes later as Nicolas Deslauriers (1) regained the lead for the Flyers. It was Deslauriers’ first goal since March 19th, 2024. Just over a minute later, Sean Couturier (13) extended the Flyers’ lead to two. It was initially awarded as Michkov’s second tally of the game, but a scoring change later determined that the puck last touched Couturier. Michkov (32) was then credited with the primary assist. The Flyers would take their 3-1 lead into the first break.
No scoring in the second period took the lead into the third period as well. The third period made up for the lack of scoring in the second.
Cole Caufield (34) started the scoring in the third period. The Canadiens’ star gave them a jolt of life, bringing them back within one with plenty of time left in the game–17:45 to be exact. Shockingly enough, Hutson (51) earned the secondary assist on the score. Just about eight minutes later, Tyson Foerster (17) would score his first goal in 14 games, giving the Flyers some much-needed cushion.
The Canadiens would challenge for goalie interference on the score, but the failed attempt led to a delay of game penalty, putting the Flyers on the power play. After 34 failed attempts on the man-advantage in March, the Flyers finally got their first power-play goal of the month, with Couturier (14) getting his second goal of the game. Philly had a 5-2 lead with less than 10 minutes to play.
Christian Dvorak (10) gave the Canadiens life again, as his score came just over a minute after Couturier’s, and made the deficit closable for Montreal. However, Michkov (22) made a great play at the blueline to take the puck away from Montreal, led a breakaway with Couturier on his right side, and fired the puck through the pads of Jakub Dobes. The Flyers, once again, had a three-goal lead.
Patrick Laine (18) would bring the Canadiens back within two, but they could not close the gap. The Canadiens would empty the net, but the Flyers would not score. Travis Konecny made a great play to set up Michkov for the hat-trick on the empty net, but the rookie would hit the post rather than the net. It did lead to a pretty great reaction from the Philly bench. The game ended with a 6-4 final score, and the Flyers got their first regulation win in March.
What’s Next for the Flyers? The Flyers will practice on Friday, then return to the Wells Fargo Center when they host the Buffalo Sabres at 1:00 p.m.
After going through a coaching change 10 hours before puck drop, the Flyers responded with a 6-4 win Thursday night over the Canadiens at the Wells Fargo Center. News broke about an hour and a half before the team’s morning skate that John Tortorella had been fired. The Flyers went on to have a three-goal first period en route to ending a six-game losing streak.
“A really good friend of mine lost his job,” interim head coach Brad Shaw said. “He has been a real mentor to me in my career as a coach, so it’s very bittersweet.” Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov each tallied two markers on the night, while Nicolas Deslauriers and Tyson Foerster also found the back of the net.
Prior to the skid-snapping win, the Flyers (29-36-9) had lost 11 of their last 12 games (1-10-1), a stretch in which they were outscored 52-21. They had won just six times in their last 25 games (6-16-3).
“It’s a tough day, for sure,” Deslauriers said. “It’s mixed emotions for everybody. Not just for players; the coaching staff kind of has to take charge there. There’s something to play for. At the end of the day, it’s upon us. We weren’t good enough, so I think we have to take the blame for that, too.”
Last season, the Flyers’ rebuild was surprisingly a part of the playoff race. This season, after playing .500 hockey at best and trading five players to supplement the future, the Flyers have fallen toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Internally, before the season, the Flyers felt a drop-off was possible.
“I think there was a reality there that we knew there was a good chance we would take a step back,” general manager Danny Briere said Thursday. “And unfortunately it happened.” The Flyers have eight games left in the season.
“Right now, we’re just trying to take this team to a point where we can build something somewhat positive to take into the offseason,” Shaw said, “and then be way better next year.”
Players often have a strong response when a coach gets fired and the Flyers definitely did Thursday night. Couturier (two goals, one assist) and Michkov (two goals, one assist) had multi-point performances. Ten Flyers recorded at least a point.
“Torts built a good foundation here for the young guys and older guys, as well,” Couturier said. “To be accountable and how to handle yourself as a pro. We’ve got to keep that philosophy, but just maybe mold it into our own image from now on.”
Thursday night marked the Flyers’ first regulation win since Feb. 25, when they also scored six goals. “It has been a challenging day, so let’s just go out, this is what we do, this is our business, this is our job,” Travis Sanheim said of Shaw’s message to the team. “Go out and have some fun, play hockey, get your mind off of other stuff and go out and do it together as a team.”
Cam York suited up and was on the bench, but he didn’t play because of a “disciplinary issue,” Shaw said. The interim head coach wouldn’t comment any further on the matter. He said York is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday.
Ersson converted 25 saves on 29 shots to beat Montreal. Canadiens netminder Jakub Dobes stopped 24 of the Flyers’ 30 shots.
The Flyers’ power play delivered its first goal in March. It had gone 0 for 34 this month before Couturier broke the drought with his second goal of the night. “It’s nice to get one, give us some confidence,” Travis Konecny said. “Just keep building on it.”
Garnet Hathaway (undisclosed) and Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) remained out. The Flyers are back in action Saturday when they host the Sabres (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
Breakaways: The assist on Michkov’s goal was Konecny’s 69th point this season, setting a new career high. Forward Garnet Hathaway missed his 14th straight game with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen missed his eighth consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Flyers prospect Alex Bump and Western Michigan defeated Minnesota State 2-1 in double overtime to advance to the second round of the NCAA men’s ice hockey tournament.
