The Philadelphia Flyers are, perhaps surprisingly, seriously threatening for a berth in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, and it comes as a result of everyone pulling together at the perfect time.
Much-maligned sophomore forward Matvei Michkov was the star of the show in Friday night's 4-1 win over the Metropolitan Division rival New York Islanders, scoring a goal, two assists, and a team-leading three points in just 11:43 of ice time.
It was a significant departure from his performance one night prior, when he, Noah Cates, and Denver Barkey were an abject disaster as a unit, crowding each other's space in the offensive zone and showing not an ounce of cohesion.
Michkov, given his talent, high upside, and lofty expectations, predictably took a beating on social media, but head coach Rick Tocchet left him in the lineup, then gave a helping hand.
Ahead of Friday's game against the Islanders, Tocchet pulled Barkey from the lineup and instead inserted fellow rookie Alex Bump, who had sat out the previous two games as a healthy scratch with the return of Tyson Foerster and arrival of Porter Martone.
Tocchet's new unit clicked almost immediately, with Bump's first-period snipe, assisted by Michkov, standing as the game-winner.
Cates assisted that goal as well, and as a trio, all three players were +3 on the night and all recorded points.
Bump played just 9:09, while Cates got some run at 16:06. Neither Bump nor Michkov has the full-fledged trust of Tocchet just yet, but they got some valuable defensive reps, alongside newcomer Porter Martone, defending the Islanders' 6-on-5 with the goalie pulled late in the game.
Sure, the stakes were low with the Flyers up three goals, but if these players are going to be important pieces for the organization in the future, they have to learn to do it eventually.
The NHL is the NHL, and it's not like Matthew Schaefer, Brayden Schenn, Bo Horvat, Mat Barzal, and the Islanders weren't trying to score.
For as much heat as Tocchet has taken this season, especially over Michkov, he deserves his flowers: the Flyers' bench boss absolutely got this move right in the biggest game of the season.
Overall, it might have been his best performance as the coach this season, too.
It remains to be seen if Tocchet continues to roll with this line, but they were dominant. According to Natural Stat Trick, Bump, Cates, and Michkov played 6:30 together at 5-on-5 against the Islanders, out-attempting their opponents 7-3, out-shooting their opponents 5-0, out-scoring their opponents 3-0, and out-chancing their opponents 5-1.
As noted above, Cates bounced around a bit away from Michkov and Bump, and Tocchet also freestyled lines comprised solely of veterans for faceoffs when needed.
Still, the Flyers found a way to meaningfully involve their young players while managing the context of the game, and that was critical, both for now and for the future.