Things were looking concerning for the Philadelphia Flyers and Matvei Michkov when head coach Rick Tocchet yanked the Russian phenom from the lineup after a 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4.
A 3-2 Game 5 loss to the Penguins was even less inspiring, and Pittburgh played it like they knew they would win if they could stop the Flyers from scoring. It worked.
After one game, Tocchet decided to reinstate Michkov to the Flyers' lineup, making wholesale lineup changes and removing veteran Garnet Hathaway. His faith in the 21-year-old winger was rewarded on Thursday night.
The benching seemed to light a fire under Michkov, who looked his typical self for much of Game 6. Hunting for open space to make an impact offensively, being creative with his passes, and shooting when given an opportunity.
The 2023 No. 7 overall pick probably could have scored two or three times in the contest, notably missing a power-play one timer, being denied by Arturs Silovs on a partial break, and then forcing Silovs into the splits on a rush shot against the grain.
Still, in a contest that was deadlocked at 0-0 for 77 minutes, Michkov delievered.
After Noah Cates won an offensive zone faceoff to defenseman Cam York, Michkov took a pass from York, evading pressure from Ben Kindel before dealing back to York.
York let a long-range wrister fly, beating Silovs cleanly through loads of traffic in front of the net. It was Michkov's first point of the series and first playoff point of his nascent NHL career, helping York earn his first playoff goal in the tense 1-0 win.
"It was good for him to come back and have an impact, obviously he had some chances. It's playoff hockey, it's hard. For a young kid, it's always tough," Cates said of his linemate.
"Hopefully, he kind of learned. He got his chances and was flying tonight. So, good on him to take it for what it was and come back ready and hungry to help the team."
With the lineup changes, Michkov was paired with Cates and Alex Bump, with Denver Barkey moving up to play with Christian Dvorak and Travis Konecny.
"Mich is a young kid. Bumper . . . now we got a group of guys, by them being a pack, it might help," Tocchet added. "It's not just we have a couple of young guys. We have a bunch of them. So, maybe that'll help the mental part of the game, too."
The Flyers are now overall 14-3-1 this season when Michkov and Bump are both in the lineup, and it's clear that they thrive off each other and play well.
Of course, the pack Tocchet refers to includes Michkov, Bump, Barkey, and Porter Martone, who all figure to be important parts of the Flyers both now and in the future.
After a rollercoaster six games against the Penguins, they'll get to experience at least four more games of NHL playoff hockey against a daunting Carolina Hurricanes team next week.