Flyers let an early lead slip away against the San Jose Sharks but secure a 4-3 shootout win

Will Smith, meet the new Fresh Prince.

After being a healthy scratch for two games, Matvei Michkov returned to the Flyers lineup on Monday night against the San Jose Sharks with vengeance. He notched his fourth multipoint game with his goal in the second period, but he also took a roughing penalty at the end of regulation, punching Macklin Celebrini after it looked like the 2024 No. 1 pick knocked the stick out of his hands.

In overtime, the Flyers, led by Noah Cates and goalie Sam Ersson, masterfully killed off the Sharks’ power play despite four shots on goal. Michkov and Travis Konecny scored in the shootout to seal a 4-3 win.

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Facing a Sharks team that had five wins on the season entering Tuesday’s game, coach John Tortorella was looking to see how his team would respond after being on a three-game road trip.

“Are you ready to play after the long trip?” he said before the team‘s morning skate. “I think we‘re beginning to find ourselves and I’m hoping we can do it another night.”

The Flyers showed they can play with intensity but did have their lulls as they let a 3-0 lead slip away. The win gives them points in three straight games (2-0-1) — each one decided by a shootout.

In his 998th NHL game, Erik Johnson got things rolling 1 minute, 40 seconds into the game. The grizzled blueliner joined Anthony Richard on a two-on-one and buried the puck for his first goal of the year and 94th of his career.

Off the ensuing center-ice faceoff, he dropped the gloves with Givani Smith after the Sharks forward went after Michkov, appearing to throw a punch, as they waited for the puck to drop.

The play seemed to awaken the 19-year-old phenom.

Later in the period, on a power play, Michkov fed Konecny for a one-timer as he was falling down on the inner edge of the right faceoff circle. The work of Owen Tippett and Emil Andrae, who is on the top power play with Jamie Drysdale placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury earlier in the day, on the left side of the ice helped to keep the puck in and allowed the Flyers control the zone.

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Michkov scored his first goal at five-on-five in the second period; he has one even-strength goal but it was scored during a delayed penalty against the Minnesota Wild. Egor Zamula knocked the puck away from the Sharks’ Will Smith, fed Ryan Poehling, who hit Michkov with the stretch pass. He scored his fifth goal of the season past Sharks goalie Vitek Vanecek to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead.

The Sharks scored a pair of goals in the second period to make it a one-goal game. William Eklund’s centering pass went in off the skate of Jack Thompson as he crashed the net. Mikael Granlund made it 3-2 from the right circle through a screen.

Barclay Goodrow, who dropped the gloves with Nick Seeler in the second period, scored in the third to tie things up at 3. He knocked in the puck from the right circle with Johnson defending him.

The Flyers put 42 shots on goal. … Center Morgan Frost was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. … Forward Nick Deslauriers was also a healthy scratch. … Veteran combat engineer and Flyers warrior Sergeant Josh Chilcote had his service dog, Turbo, drop the ceremonial puck. They were joined on the ice by SEAC John Wayne Troxell, U.S. Army (Ret.), the 3rd Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha, U.S. Army (Ret.), a Medal of Honor recipient.

The Flyers head north of the border for a game against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP).