There should be a few takeaways from Thursday’s game, certainly one of which is that the Flyers should never consider themselves to be out of a contest. If they can stage a three-goal comeback against Florida, they can stage one against anybody. Here’s a look at two of the goals that were part of the comeback.
When Matvei Michkov gets the puck, especially in the offensive zone, you can see the wheels start turning. On his first assist, he’s looking at the net to see what his options are. Initially, all that’s there is a jumble of sticks and legs. Joel Farabee’s stick is not necessarily available as a target; neither is Tyson Foerster’s, although it’s possibly in a deflection lane. But there’s the matter of Gustav Forsling, who’s in the way of both of them.
Michkov’s solution was to fire this pass off Farabee’s skate. To get it there, he put the pass directly through Forsling’s legs. Farabee, to his credit, kept his skate at the proper angle to bank the puck back across the crease, where Foerster was able to clean it up. But this whole thing was no accident.
