Flyers clobber Capitals 6-2 in preseason opener: What we learned

Some Philadelphia Flyers players hopped on the luxury bus for a short ride down Interstate 95 to Washington, D.C. yesterday afternoon for the first of seven preseason games on the 2024 schedule. With plenty of eyes focused on rookie forward Matvei Michkov, a different young forward stepped into the preseason spotlight to lead the Flyers to victory. Sophomore forward, Bobby Brink, scored twice as the Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals, 6-2, in the Nation’s Capital. 

Flyers strike first & cruise to win

Brink scored early in the first period on a goal with the helpers from Joel Farabee and Jett Luchanko. It is the first official preseason point for the 18-year-old Jett Luchanko, who was Philadelphia’s first-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Morgan Frost scored with less than four minutes remaining to give Philly a 2-0 lead.  Matvei Michkov picked up an assist on the Frost goal marking his first official NHL preseason point. Washington cut that lead in half, 2-1, heading into the 1st intermission break on an Andrew Cristall one-timer goal. 

Midway through the second period, Joel Farabee netted a POWERPLAY GOAL to extend the Flyers lead to 3-1. Philadelphia owned the worst powerplay percentage in the league last year with a 12% success rate while the second-worst team in the league, Columbus, operated at 15% efficiency. Washington responded with their own goal on the man advantage late in the second frame leaving the score at 3-2 after two periods of play.

Any comeback hopes for Washington were quickly extinguished by a pair of Philly goals early in the final regulation period. Bobby Brink scored his second goal of the game, while Olle Lycksell provided an insurance tally for a 5-2 lead for the Black and Orange. Morgan Frost capped off the scoring with his second of the night for a 6-2 final score in Washington. Ivan Fedotov stopped 10 of the 12 shots he faced from the Capitals before being replaced by Carson Bjarnason in the third period.

Before the game, the teams agree to a post-game shootout independent of the final score in the game. Philly scored twice on goals from Bobby Brink and Owen Tippett, while Matvei Michkov was denied on his lone shootout attempt.  Flyers prospect goaltender Carson Bjarnason, 19, stopped all three Washington attempts in the practice shootout. 

Veteran Leadership on Display by Farabee, Frost

Joel Farabee finished with a goal and three assists on a dominant night for the winger entering his sixth NHL season. At just 24 years old and with 334 NHL games played for Philadelphia, the Syracuse-born first-round pick will be looking for his third 20-goal season in the NHL. Farabee set a new career high with 22 goal celebrations last season for the Flyers. 

Another standout on the night was Flyers pivot, Morgan Frost. Another former first-round draft selection with a huge opportunity in front of him this season, Frost notched three points on the afternoon with 2 goals and an assist in the win.  Last year, Morgan finished the season with 13 goals and 28 assists for 41 points in 71 games. Philadelphia will be looking for that to improve and with Matvei Michkov on the wing, the man they call “Frosty” will get every opportunity to push that point total even higher this season. 

Matvei Michkov, 19, finished with two assists in his first official preseason game in the NHL.  Michkov and Frost looked like a solid combo on the ice together, and it will be interesting to see if the Philly coaching staff keeps those two creatives together during the rest of the preseason.  

Philadelphia returns to the ice with a different lineup for preseason game #2 against the Montreal Canadiens in Canada at Bell Centre tonight. Game time is scheduled for 7 pm EST. 

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images