Matvei Michkov might need to make a stop in Gritty’s rage room after tonight’s Philadelphia Flyers game against the New York Islanders.
The 20-year-old Russian forward got into a heated shouting match with head coach John Tortorella after the Flyers gave up an Islanders goal with 9:58 remaining in the second period. The back-and-forth confrontation led to Michkov being stapled to the bench for the rest of regulation.
The Isles goal, which put New York up 1-0, came after Michkov made what Tortorella seemingly thought was an ill-timed move toward center ice. Simon Holmstrom used the hole in Philly’s defense to snap a shot bar down on Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov.
“Like I’ve said all along here with him, we are so far ahead of the process with him being here this year,” Tortorella said postgame. “We’re trying to teach him how things are done here, the things of understanding conduct of a pro, all the things you do to play. I’m not going to get involved in the situation on the bench tonight. I’m not going to give you specifics.
“You may not believe it, but it’s for the right reason. We care about him. I care about him. I’m not going to fail him by cowering away from situations that people may second guess or whatever it may be. We’re going to do it the right way with this kid because we think he’s that special. It’s my job to do that no matter what happens.”
Michkov played just 8:30 of ice time in the 3-0 loss, the least he has played in a single game since making his NHL debut this past fall. The 2023 first-round draft selection is second on the Flyers in scoring this season with 34 points (14g, 20a) in 51 games.
“There’s certain situations where you need to accept responsibility,” Tortorella said. “I guess that’s the general term I’ll give you. I don’t want to get too involved in it because it’s unfair to him. I get put into a box sometimes when these situations come. This is to help him. In my heart, it’s to help him, and I’m going to do the things I think I need to do to try and help him.”
The former KHL standout lined up for the game against New York on Philadelphia’s fourth line with veteran center Sean Couturier and long-time AHL star Anthony Richard.
Flyers lines/pairs in warmups:
Foerster – Cates – Konecny
Farabee – Frost – Brink
Laughton – Abols – Hathaway
Richard – Couturier – MichkovYork – Sanheim
Ginning – Ristolainen
Seeler – Drysdale— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) January 31, 2025
Tortorella has been open about the perceived challenges of coaching Michkov in his rookie campaign. In a November guest spot on a TNT broadcast, the veteran bench boss explained the rationale behind healthy-scratching Michkov for two games. He also admitted that he had mostly abandoned trying to coach the young winger, partially due to a language barrier.
The Flyers planned to have Michkov participate in weekly meetings with Tortorella through an interpreter, Slava Kuznetsov. However, given Thursday’s blowup, they may need to talk more than that.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, Philadelphia also made an interesting trade postgame, acquiring another Russian winger, Andrei Kuzmenko, from the Calgary Flames in a multi-player deal. Kuzmenko was previously a teammate of Michkov in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg.
