Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists and Porter Martone had one goal to lead the playoff-bound Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
The Flyers rested most of their key veterans a night after they secured their first playoff berth since 2020 and first home playoff series since 2018.
Flyers fans dressed in orange waved “Let’s Go Flyers” rally towels and were in a joyous mood for most of the festive night.
There are more good times ahead. The Flyers are set to travel to Pittsburgh for the first two games of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Michkov and Martone helped spoil Montreal’s shot at hosting the East’s first-round series against Tampa Bay.
The 19-year-old Martone, who starred for Michigan State only weeks ago, scored his fourth goal of the season when he deflected in Michkov’s point shot early in the first period for the 1-0 lead.
Oliver Bonk scored his first career NHL goal later in the period for a 2-0 lead. Michkov assisted.
Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal to make it 2-1 in the second.
Michkov scored unassisted (his 20th overall) for a 3-1 lead in the second period as one fan raised a “We Want More!” sign.
Jake Evans cut it to 3-2 in the final seconds of the second period.
Alex Bump sealed the win in the third with his fifth goal of the season that made it 4-2. Samuel Ersson made 27 saves for the Flyers and Jakub Dobes had 21 for Montreal.
The Flyers ended the season on an 18-6-1 tear that propelled them into third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Two days remain in the NHL’s regular season, but we already know which teams will battle it out in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
The Boston Bruins‘ 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday locked in the four series.
Here are the matchups:
Carolina Hurricanes (Metro 1) vs. Ottawa Senators (WC 2)Pittsburgh Penguins (Metro 2) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (Metro 3)Buffalo Sabres (Atlantic 1) vs. Boston Bruins (WC 1)Tampa Bay Lightning (Atlantic 2) vs. Montreal Canadiens (Atlantic 3)
The Bruins’ win set up a battle with the Atlantic Division-winning Buffalo Sabres, while forcing the Senators into a confrontation against the Metropolitan Division-winning Hurricanes.
Ottawa and Carolina have never met in the playoffs.
The Sabres last played the Bruins in the playoffs in 2010, with Boston winning a six-game Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
The playoffs start Saturday.
