Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists for the Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-2 win against the visiting Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
Porter Martone and defenseman Oliver Bonk, in his NHL debut, each had a goal and an assist. Samuel Ersson made 27 saves for the Flyers (43-27-12, 98 points), who won their last three games of the regular season and finished third in the Metropolitan Division. They play the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Brendan Gallagher and Jake Evans scored for the Canadiens (48-24-10, 106 points), who finished third in the Atlantic Division. Jakub Dobes made 21 saves.
Martone scored on a delayed penalty to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead at 8:08 of the first period. Michkov took a short pass from Bonk to the middle of the blue line and moved up above the circles for a shot that Martone tipped through Dobes’ pads.
Bonk made it 2-0 at 14:42. Michkov retrieved the puck along the left well and dished it to Bonk high above the slot for a wrist shot that beat Dobes stick side. The play began with defenseman Hunter McDonald, also making his NHL debut, laying a hit on Evans to separate the Montreal center from the puck along the wall.
Gallagher, back in the lineup after being scratched the previous four games, cut the deficit in half at 6:50 of the second period. Kaiden Guhle received a pass from Alexandre Texier at the top of the left circle and directed it toward the net for an oncoming Gallagher for the tap-in.
Michkov capitalized on a misplay by the Canadiens to push it to 3-1 at 13:52. Neither Dobes nor Evans could corral a loose puck in front, and it rolled off Dobes’ left pad to Michkov, who quickly buried it into an open net.
Evans pulled the visitors within one late in the second frame. Arber Xhekaj’s shot from the blue line squeaked through Ersson, and Evans was first to get to it to narrow it to 3-2 with 11 seconds left.
Alex Bump snapped a shot over Dobes’ glove from the slot to push it to 4-2 at 12:00 of the third period.
–Field Level Media
