No Michkov again, Flyers battle defending champs but fall in shootout

No Michkov again, Flyers battle defending champs but fall in shootout originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers went the distance with the Panthers before losing Saturday night, 4-3, in a five-round shootout at Amerant Bank Arena.

The clubs combined for nine shots in a back-and-forth overtime The Flyers had six of them, featuring breakaway looks from Joel Farabee, Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny. Sergei Bobrovsky, though, was brilliant in net for Florida.

Evan Rodrigues was one of two Panthers to put one past Samuel Ersson in the shootout. Owen Tippett was the Flyers’ lone scorer in the skills competition. John Tortorella’s club is 2-1 in the shootout this season.

The Flyers (5-8-2) went 1-1-1 on their difficult three-game road trip. They fell, 6-4, in the final minute to a Hurricanes team that entered Saturday on an eight-game winning streak. Then they rallied for a 2-1 shootout decision over the Lightning, who own a pair of titles since 2020.

Farabee, Anthony Richard and Garnet Hathaway scored the Flyers’ goals Saturday night. Scott Laughton had two assists. The offensive effort was without Matvei Michkov, who was a healthy scratch for a second straight game.

Hathaway made a nice play and then received a friendly bounce to draw the Flyers even at 3-3 in the third period.

Richard, who was called up Wednesday, recorded his first with the Flyers to tie things up at 2-2 in the middle stanza. The Flyers had an extra skater because of a delayed penalty.

But Florida regained its lead not even two minutes later when Sam Bennett was left alone in front. The Flyers appeared to have a bad line change.

The Panthers (11-3-1) have won seven straight by a combined score of 33-17.

The Flyers took two of three meetings from Florida last season, beating it twice on the road. They face the reigning champions two more times this season, with both matchups in Philadelphia.

• Ersson was back in net after leaving last Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury and missing the next two games. He converted 28 saves on 31 shots.

The 25-year-old beat the Panthers twice in Florida last season, making 49 saves on 51 shots. This time, the Panthers got him for three goals in the second period.

The Flyers used a coach’s challenge on Florida’s go-ahead 2-1 marker by Dmitry Kulikov. They believed there was a missed stoppage prior to the goal for the puck possibly hitting the netting above the boards.

After a lengthy review, the goal was upheld and, as a result, the Flyers were penalized for a delay of game.

The challenge made sense there. The Flyers have struggled to score and their penalty kill has been great. For them, being down 2-1 versus tied 1-1 is a big difference. So they took the chance and then relied on their PK, which kept the Panthers off the board.

Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and Stanley Cup champ last season, stopped 34 of the Flyers’ 37 shots.

• One would think Michkov will back in the lineup come Monday night.

The Flyers undeniably played a couple of strong games without him. But the power play could use him, going 0 for 4 over the last two games. And Michkov is a player that can really help in overtime given his abilities to facilitate and finish.

• Tippett was all over the ice, hitting a couple of posts and finishing with seven shots in 24:18 minutes. He didn’t score against his old club, but he was excellent on the road trip. The Flyers are a different team when he turns it on.

• The Flyers are back home Monday when they welcome 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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Tags: MLB