For the first time in his overseas career, Matvey Michkov shared the ice with Connor Bedard. Fans were expecting a spectacular showdown from the most talented representatives of the 2023 draft, and the forwards did not disappoint.

At the same time, Michkov could miserably lose the duel to the Canadian. Matvey twice made blunders that almost led to missed goals. However, the Russian corrected himself and brought a strong-willed victory to Philadelphia. The Flyers forward beautifully put in place the analysts who didn’t believe in him a year ago.

Confrontation between Michkov and Bedard

To scouts and analysts, Bedard and Michkov were comparable in talent and potential. However, in 2023, Bedard became the first pick in the draft, and Michkova was taken by Philadelphia, which only had the seventh pick. Rumors about Matvey’s difficult character, a multi-year contract with SKA, the desire of NHL clubs to sign a player who could be in the team’s favor at any moment – all this contributed to the fact that the striker’s rating plummeted. The Hockey Writers portal said the day before that the forward’s Russian passport could be added to this list.

But the Flyers are just happy that others decided to ignore Michkov. In Philadelphia, he became the main star even before he first stepped on the ice in a “Pilots” uniform. And so far Matvey fully lives up to all expectations: the Russian scored 15 (6+9) points in 18 matches, he shared first place in the list of top scorers among newcomers with Logan Stankoven from Dallas. Many experts believe that the Russian will even win the fight for the Calder Trophy against Stankoven.

Matvey Michkov and Connor Bedard / Photo: © Mitchell Leff / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Michkov came into his first career matchup with Bedard on a two-game pointless streak. But Philadelphia head coach John Tortorella doesn’t even pay attention to the temporary scoring drought of the 19-year-old hockey player. The specialist is more concerned that Matvey almost does not understand him due to the language barrier, which he spoke about before the match with Chicago. At the same time, John noted that Michkov is a special player whom he is happy to have on his team.

Surely it was important for the Russian to receive a portion of compliments from a strict coach before the duel with Bedard. The Canadian himself is not in the best shape: the center forward has not scored for 11 matches in a row.

Michkov won the duel

Interestingly, on the eve of the game, Connor again confirmed that he keeps in touch with Michkov and is even worried about his success. However, once the match began, there was nothing left of the friendship. And it was Bedard who could say the first word in this confrontation. The Canadian shot dangerously into the post, the puck bounced off the hosts’ goalkeeper Alexei Kolosov in the back and almost ended up in the goal, but the goalkeeper did his job.

After a few shifts, Matvey could open an account. The Russian took out the defender with a stick-skate-stick feint and threw with an awkward hand, but he also failed to beat the goalkeeper. As a result, the guests scored first, but Bedard did not take part in the scoring attack.

In the 22nd minute, the hosts organized a 4-on-2, but the Flyers couldn’t even shoot on goal. Chicago players immediately ran into a counterattack, which was effectively completed by Lukas Reichel after a perfect pass from Patrick Maroon. Having missed the puck, Philadelphia began to have the advantage and created several dangerous chances, but they failed to convert them into goals. The Flyers’ activity only led to the removal of the opponent.

The hosts played the odds-out game terribly and even almost missed the goal. In the 21st minute, Ilya Mikheev, in a minority, ran one on one with Kolosov, but could not beat the goalkeeper. Soon the “pilots” earned another power play, but they didn’t cause any particular problems for Chicago in those two minutes.

Already with equal strengths, the Blackhawks managed to upset their opponents again thanks to the efforts of Maroon, who scored a double – 2:0. A few shifts later, Michkov burst into the zone at speed and fired a brilliant pass to the far post, but Travis Konecny ​​managed not to score into the empty corner. Philadelphia attacked more often in the second period, but was not at all careful about the chances created.

Matvey Michkov / Photo: © Mitchell Leff / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

But after the second break, the Flyers already began to experience difficulties in attack. In addition, at the start of the final period of the game, Michkov lost the puck twice in a row. First, in his own zone, he made an inaccurate pass, and then he was robbed in the middle zone, but in both cases, Matvey was lucky, and it didn’t lead to a goal.

However, in the middle of the period, Philadelphia managed to turn the tide of the match. First, in the 48th minute, Sean Couturier completed a beautiful combination that confused all Chicago players. Then Noah Cates shot almost from the blue line and hit the top corner of the goal – 2:2.

The Flyers soon nearly scored a third goal when multiple players tried to finish the puck, but goalie Petr Mrazek made a stunning save. After this episode the game slowed down, the teams seemed to have decided to calmly hold out until overtime.

As a result, in extra time, Philadelphia won, converting the majority. Konekny sent a pass to the far post, and Michkov threw it into an empty corner, putting an end to the match – 3:2.