Youth Served as Flyers Down Montreal

In the final game of the regular season, with their playoff spot already locked up, the Philadelphia Flyers put some young players on display. And did they ever deliver.

The Flyers closed out the regular season with another victory, defeating the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, on Tuesday night.

How It Happened

The Flyers opened the scoring at 8:08 on a delayed penalty call. Matvei Michkov took a shot that was deflected in front of the net by Porter Martone for his fourth goal of the season. At 14:42, the Flyers added to the lead as Oliver Bonk scored his first NHL goal in his NHL debut.

Montreal got one goal back at 6:50 of the second with Brendan Gallagher burying a cross-ice pass from Kaiden Guhle. The Flyers answered back at 13:52 with Michkov jumping on a loose puck for his 20th goal of the season. Jake Evans was able to do the same on a loose puck that squeezed through Sam Ersson with 10.8 seconds remaining in the period to cut the lead to one again.

With eight minutes to go in the game, Alex Bump added some insurance with his fifth goal of the season to cap the scoring.

Box Score

1st Period

PHI Porter Martone (4) (Matvei Michkov, Oliver Bonk) 8:08
PHI Bonk (1) (Michkov, Hu

2nd Period

MTL Brendan Gallagher (7) (Kaiden Guhle, Alexandre Texier) 6:50
PHI Michkov (20) (Unassisted) 13:52
MTL Jake Evans (12) (Arbor Xhekaj, Joe Veleno) 19:49

3rd Period

PHI Alex Bump (5) (Martone) 12:00

By the Numbers

Shots: Flyers: 25, Canadiens: 29
Power Play: Flyers: 0-for-0, Canadiens: 0-for-3
Faceoffs: Flyers: 43.1%, Canadiens: 56.9%
Goalies: PHI Sam Ersson: 27 saves on 29 shots, MTL Jakob Dobes: 21 saves on 25 shots

Key Performers

⭐ Matvei Michkov — What a way for Michkov to end the regular season. His goal was his 20th of the season, a number that didn't seem possible with his early-season struggles. He also had two assists to finish with 51 points.

⭐⭐ Sam Ersson — Ersson's last start was on April 2 against Detroit, and outside of a relief appearance against Detroit a week later, he was on the bench. So in his first start in almost two weeks, he delivered a strong performance with 27 saves on 29 shots and got the win. Ersson finished the regular season with wins in six of his last seven starts.

⭐⭐⭐ Oliver Bonk — The other first-round pick in 2023 alongside Michkov, the newcomer made the most of his first impression. Bonk was known for his offensive game in London and showcased it here with a goal and an assist, becoming just the third defenseman in Flyers history with a multi-point debut.

The Takeaway

Monday night's culmination of a playoff push and clinching a spot was largely a testament to the youth the Flyers have assembled. And there may just be more on the way. It's unlikely you will see Bonk or Hunter McDonald or David Jiricek again this postseason unless extreme circumstances arise, but they will certainly be on the radar for next season. With plenty of energy still around from the previous night's celebration, they ended the regular season on a high note and capped off quite the stretch from late February until now. With that, it's on to the playoffs and a first-round matchup with the cross-state rivals.