Flyers-Canucks takeaways: The kids were all right and Sam Ersson was better in a season-opening win

VANCOUVER, British Columbia ― By the time the Flyers hit the ice against the Vancouver Canucks, it had been over a week since the last time they played in a game. And only two guys who played in that game suited up Friday.

The cobwebs had to be shaken off at times, and despite not having a high-danger shot at five-on-five for the first two periods, according to Natural Stat Trick, the Flyers stuck with it and earned a comeback win — a third-period comeback win to boot — to start the season. (Last season they had the second-fewest comeback wins with nine).

Here are three things we learned from the Flyers 3-2 shootout win against the Canucks.

Before Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko officially made their NHL debuts, the pair hit the ice for one of hockey’s best traditions: the rookie lap. Sans helmets the duo skated around, even made a couple of passes back-and-forth before their teammates joined them on the ice.

Then they became NHLers. Michkov started the game for the Flyers; Luchanko’s first shift came 65 seconds in.

“Unbelievable experience,” Luchanko, who became the youngest-ever Flyer at 18 years and 51 days old, said. “Something I’ve always dreamed about. So it was just cool to be out there and to be amongst those guys and kind of feel the game. It was amazing.”

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Michkov’s first shift saw him forecheck and put pressure on the Canucks in their own end. In the first period, at times, he didn’t seem to connect with the puck but his skill level elevated as the game wore on. He just missed a pass to Travis Konecny as he crashed the net just under nine minutes into the game.

In the third period, Michkov’s creativity flashed. He tried scoring between his legs and then got another shot on goal in the blink of an eye.

Coach John Tortorella turned on the blender and at one point Michkov and Luchanko — who did play well together in the first game of the Rookie Series — were together. Two minutes before Michkov’s between-the-legs move, he fired a hard shot on goal. Luchanko pounced on the rebound but was robbed by the paddle of Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen. After Lankinen couldn’t cover, Michkov got the loose puck and tried to bury it at the other post but was denied by the glove of a sprawling Teddy Blueger.

“They deserved to play,” Tortorella said when asked about using the teens late in the game. “I thought Mich looked a little nervous. Both of them were in situations. Both of them made some good plays, had some struggles too, as probably all the hockey players, all 40 of them out there tonight. So I like what they bring. I do. I don’t think they’re afraid of anything.”

Michkov logged 18 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time, including time on the first power-play unit, and finished with four shots on goal, one shot that missed the net, and a blocked shot on a Quinn Hughes point shot in the third. He did have his name announced to the crowd — when he was called for hooking in the first period.

Luchanko skated 14:36, including time on the second power-play unit and a few seconds on a penalty kill. He had three shot attempts, with one shot on net, was 3-for-9 in the face-off circle, and was on the ice for the second Canucks goal.

“I feel like when I played my first game, I was really just trying not to mess up out there,” winger Joel Farabee said. “Those guys just went out there and played their game so that’s what we need them to do if we’re going to be successful.”

Michkov did not speak to the media after the game.

Sam Ersson is known for being cool, calm, and collected in net and he was all of those things on Friday night. It wasn’t a surprise he was named the game’s No. 1 star.

As Tortorella said: “The key of the game was Erss just giving us a chance to get our legs.”

The Swedish netminder was playing his angles well and not panicking as he faced a barrage of shots, including 12 in the first period. A goalie who likes to get into games early, seeing nine shots in the first 6:46 — thanks to a pair of penalties taken by the Flyers — surely helped to settle the nerves.

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“He’s been so good,” center Morgan Frost, who scored the winning goal in the shootout after a very slow skate up, said. “Even going back to last year, he’s just a rock back there. He’s very calm. And, yeah, definitely helps us. I think we’d like to give him a little bit more help, maybe not put such a load on him. But yeah, I thought he played really well. So, you know, keeps us in the game and gets us a chance to win.”

In the first period, he stopped a J.T. Miller shot off his chest and then saved a rebound attempt by Jake DeBrusk. His best save of the night was on a Vancouver power play in the opening frame when he slid across and robbed Brock Boeser with a glove save. Ersson also did a good joh locating the puck despite all the traffic he faced, including making a save on a Kiefer Sherwood backhand with players screening him.

Ersson finished with 24 saves on 26 shots. According to Natural Stat Trick, he made eight saves on nine high-danger shots. Each goal he allowed was off a defensive zone breakdown: the first off a miscue on a pass to Ryan Poehling that allowed Conor Garland to set up Nils Höglander, and the second off, as Tortorella put it, “Luch gets beat to the net on the deflection” by Blueger.

“Yeah, looks calm, confident,” Farabee said. “When he plays like that, gives us a chance to win every night. So I was really impressed by him tonight.”

For a moment, the Flyers power play was 100% effective. By the end of the night, it was 1-for-4. Either way, a goal is a goal, and it was a good way to start the season for a Flyers power play that finished dead last at 12.2% last season.

The Flyers second power-play unit netted the goal after Bobby Brink carried the puck into the zone down the right boards and found Farabee skating into the high slot. Farabee didn’t hold the puck long as he one-tapped — really a push — the puck to Tyson Foerster down low for Foerster to finish from eight-feet out.

“I think the biggest thing with the power play, you’re just trying to create momentum, whether you score or not,” Farabee said. “So obviously nice to get the one goal early. I think both units, we have a little different mix on each unit; I feel like our unit we try to move guys around and I feel like the first unit kind of have their spots and things like that. But I think for first game of the year, I think it looked pretty good.”

Michkov spent time on the first power-play unit with Frost, Konecny, Jamie Drysdale, and Owen Tippett. The second power-play unit consisted of Luchanko, Farabee, Foerster, Brink, and Egor Zamula.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the power play had 12 shot attempts with eight from high-danger spots.

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