The Flyers beat the Capitals, 6-2, in the preseason opener. How did Matvei Michkov do?

WASHINGTON ― The ice was ready to go at Capital One Arena. The lights were bright. The music was blaring.

“The boys are back,” sang the Dropkick Murphys.

Indeed.

The Flyers headed south on I-95 on Sunday for a preseason matchup with the Washington Capitals. Posting a roster split between young, rising stars and grizzled veterans, the Flyers skated away with a 6-2 win.

And while wins are important as the regular season ticks on, it is just the preseason. But what was impressive was a Flyers team that found its legs early and did not wilt despite facing John Tortorella’s dreaded skate test and hard practices in the days leading up to the game. But the score sheet gets wiped clean in the next few weeks when the puck drops on Oct. 11 in Vancouver for the season opener.

So, with that, here are three questions that came with answers on Sunday.

Obviously, the talk of the town is the Flyers’ top prospect. Michkov skated on the Flyers’ top line with veterans Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett.

The 19-year-old winger once again showed off his vision and high hockey IQ, which he first demonstrated during the Rookie Series against the New York Rangers in Allentown.

Michkov got pucks through traffic and set up his teammates for Grade A chances while also carrying the puck into the offensive zone. In the first period, he tracked down the puck at the end boards and fed Frost with a no-look backhand pass behind the net. Frost took it in front and scored on a nifty backhand.

“Chemistry did happen. Scored a goal on the power play but still need to work on it,” Michkov said through Flyers consultant/translator Slava Kuznetsov.

Did he see Frost on the pass, as he seemed to have his back turned?

“No, I closed the eyes and threw the puck out,” he said with a chuckle before adding, “For sure I saw him. I gave him a good pass and Morgan was able to finish quick. All good.”

Phantoms head coach Ian Laperrière said pregame he would play Michkov a ton. The direction came from above. “They want to see what he can do,” he said. Through the first 40 minutes, Michkov played 14 minutes, 25 seconds as he saw power-play time (skated 2:19 in the first 40) and was double-shifted. It was the most on the team, even ahead of the defensemen. He finished with 19:16 of ice time, tops among Flyers forwards.

“I think he’s a little bit tired from skating tests and all that skating that they’ve been doing for the past three days, but he’s got the hands of a star in this league,” Laperrière said. “He makes plays under pressure. Not too many people can make those plays that he was making on the power play with that poise. And for me, I’m just blown away that he’s only 19 years old.”

In the third period, Michkov added another assist on Frost’s second goal. On the power play, Michkov took a drop pass from Joel Farabee at the blue line, skated into the right face-off circle, and fed it back to Farabee for a shot on goal before Frost knocked the rebound in.

The Flyers power play finished 2-for-3. Before the first power play, which they did not score on, Michkov and Jamie Drysdale chatted for the entire commercial break. They were each seen pointing toward the zone.

“You kind of just have a little bit of a plan going in there and just kind of go from there,” Drysdale said. “[Michkov’s] great. He’s been great and I know he’ll all be great this year.”

Fedotov signed a two-year, $6.55 million extension after the season ended and is expected to be the Flyers’ No. 2 goalie. Last season he appeared in three games for the Flyers, including one start, and posted a 4.95 goals-against average and .811 save percentage. Not great numbers, but he hadn’t played since March 8 when he relieved Sam Ersson against the New York Islanders on April 1.

There is no denying Fedotov, at 6-foot-7, is a big body in net. He was spotted through his two periods of work on Sunday peering over bodies in front to see shots from low-danger spots. And, he also showed what he’s been working on in practice — appearing to crouch down more to take up more of the bottom third of the net — and used it to move laterally and go down along the ice.

“One hundred percent, I’m moving better,” he said. “So in the net, it’s control everything at first, and some small goalie details, setup. Overall, yeah, I think every detail, big detail, during the summer, I’m trying to build better next step. Overall, right now, if you compare from last season, definitely better. Definitely because more calm, more better understanding of how pucks go in our own zone.”

Fedotov stopped 10 of 12 shots, with the first goal actually nicking Nick Seeler and changing direction. The second goal was a ridiculous snipe by his countryman Ivan Miroshnichenko on a Capitals power play. Outside of the goals, Fedotov seemed to be moving well, especially on shots and loose pucks around the crease.

“Great feelings. [Had a] very good summer,” he said. “Spend all the time [going over] some details. Training camp going pretty good so far.”

Tortorella said on Friday that “Jamie looks free. We all know how great a skater is. He just looks more confident in his skating.” And a healthy Drysdale will be critical for a successful season; not only will he help solidify the pairings on the back end but he will be a key cog for the offense.

Paired up with Seeler, his partner at the end of last season, Drysdale showed off the skating ability that made him the No. 6 overall pick in 2020.

“It’s nice to skate the way you want to,” he said. “It was nice, real nice to get back in a real game, even though it’s preseason. Just kind of shocked the system a little bit, get back into that true game form. And, yeah, I felt good, boys look good, legs felt good out there.”

He skated with aplomb, whether it was carrying the puck up the ice, walking the blue line to create space, or skating around the offensive zone to create time and find open teammates. Through the first two periods, he skated 14:08, just 17 seconds shy of Michkov. Of that, he played 2:05 on the power play and 2:12 while shorthanded. Drysdale finished at 21:45; only Capitals defenseman Ethan Bear played more.

“It just allows me to play a little harder, to be honest with you,” Drysdale said. “Even though I’m not the biggest guy, just being able to get that angle and cut people off where you actually have a push to go off of things like that. Last year was what it was. I’m just feeling good, and I’m glad about it.”

Carson Bjarnason played the third period and stopped all nine shots he faced. ... Forward Olle Lycksell is fighting for an NHL roster spot and continues to stand out with his hard-nosed play and net-front presence. He took a bad penalty at the end of the second period when he sent the puck over the glass but answered in the third when he was left all alone in front and scored on the backhand. The celebration said it all. ... Bobby Brink scored twice and added a “hat trick” goal in the /practice/ shootout that the teams participated in after 60 minutes. ... Farabee finished with four points (one goal, three assists) and played on a line with Brink and Jett Luchanko. Like his teenage counterpart Michkov, Luchanko was equally impressive, and held his own among NHLers with two assists.

The Flyers will send a squad to Montreal to take on the Canadiens at 7 p.m. Monday. The game is expected to be streamed on the Flyers website.