Matvei Michkov’s second straight two-goal game leads Flyers past Buffalo Sabres

Some will be happy and some will be sad, but all can agree that what happened at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon was fun.

Facing the Buffalo Sabres, a team that entered the day one point behind the Flyers in the standings and currently slotted into fourth spot in the upcoming draft, the Flyers won, 7-4.

Their second straight win moved them ahead of the Seattle Kraken, who play Saturday night against the Dallas Stars, and into a tie, in points, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who play next on Sunday.

But while some will argue a win diminishes the Flyers’ chances of picking in the top five come June, the youngsters on the team showed Saturday what the future could hold.

Sitting in his stall in Voorhees on Friday, Matvei Michkov was joking that he was going to score a hat trick Saturday after coming within a post — with an empty net — of getting his first NHL hat trick in the Flyers’ 6-4 win against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

After the game Thursday, interim head coach Brad Shaw, who raised his hand in disbelief when the Russian forward just missed, joked: “Maybe he saved it for Saturday.”

The Russian rookie didn’t score three, but he came close with a pair of goals.

Michkov’s first came when he kept the puck on a two-on-one with Travis Konecny and fired the puck short-side. The play started when defenseman Egor Zamula intercepted an Owen Power pass for JJ Peterka deep in the Flyers’ end.

“He’s finishing every time, and he’s getting those opportunities, and playing the way he’s been playing has been big for us,” Noah Cates said.

On his second, Michkov raced down the right side and got a little past Sabres defenseman Connor Clifton before burying the backhander over goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. He now has five goals and nine points during a five-game point streak.

Shaw said he sent him and his linemates Konecny and Sean Couturier out toward the end for another chance at the hat trick and “hopefully hit the inside of the post this time.”

“He’s got a real unique skill set,” Shaw said. “And for me, after just two games, I’m still trying to figure him out a little bit and how to best use him, and when to use him, and against which types of players. But it just seems, for the vast majority of the shifts with them, they are generating, and they’re a dangerous line to play against.”

Already the rookie goals leader, Michkov’s sixth multigoal game gave him some padding over Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks. Michkov now has 24, and Celebrini had 21 going into the Sharks’ game Saturday night.

The Flyers phenom’s two points also tie him with Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson for the points lead at 56.

Eighteen is a lucky number, so it’s only fitting that Jakob Pelletier broke through in his 18th game with the Flyers.

“Unreal. ... Felt good, to be honest,” he said about finally finding the back of the net.

After passing the puck to Owen Tippett as the duo raced out of the zone, Pelletier got the puck back for the goal. But Tippett did all the work as he made Sabres defenseman Jacob Bryson look silly, dipping around him, before sending a pass back towards Pelletier.

“Just the pass he made me, I was like, man, like, wow,” Pelletier said. “I thought he was going to shoot it. He’s been good [and] it’s so easy to play with him.”

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After spending most of his Philly tenure on the fourth line, the recently elevated Pelletier has brought his speed and spunk to his new line, which includes the speedy Tippett and Poehling.

“He’s been a guy that’s sort of taken a little bit of time to find his way here, but he’s such a positive guy on the bench,” Shaw said. “I think he’s more happy than the guy who scored the goal when the other guy scores. But he’s a real breath of fresh air, and he’s an energizing guy. He’s an easy guy to put on the ice right now because he is playing well.”

Aside from Michkov and Pelletier, the Flyers got goals from Cates, Tippett, Tyson Foerster, and Poehling.

Tippett, a one-timer from high above the left faceoff circle, and Poehling, who slapped in a pass from Cates near the top of the crease, each scored on the power play. Since snapping a 0-for-34 drought on power plays against Montreal on Thursday, the Flyers now have scored three goals in its past four man-advantages.

“Our unit, it’s kind of new, so in practice, you want to take advantage of that and kind of read off each other,” Tippett said of skating with Cates, Poehling, Olle Lycksell, and Jamie Drysdale. “I think our mindset toward it has just kind of kept it as five-on-five, and stick to those simple aspects. It’s nice that the last couple of games it’s been going in for us.”

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Cates’ 15th of the season made it 4-3 Flyers after Bobby Brink drew two Sabres to him on the boards and Foerster set him up with a pass from the bottom of the right circle. Foerster fired home the puck on a drop pass from Brink — sent between his legs— to make it 6-3.

“It’s just a mental reset,” Cates said. “A little more mental clarity, mental focus, where we’re just executing, forechecking well, just thinking a little bit less. ... But just any change, I think, at that point in time is welcome.”

Before the game, and throughout the afternoon, the Flyers honored Bob “The Hound” Kelly, who announced his retirement from the organization after 50 years.

“I came through Buffalo, my first time as a 19-year-old kid, not knowing where Philadelphia was,” said the Oakville, Ontario native on Saturday. “It’s the best move we ever made, not only for the people, for the city, for the sports, but also for everybody involved out there.”

Kelly played 10 years in Philly, scoring 154 goals and 362 points in 837 regular-season games. But the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft pick is known for what he did in the playoffs, scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1975, which gave him and the Flyers back-to-back Cups.

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After retiring, Kelly moved into the Flyers’ community relations department and has impacted the lives of thousands in the Philly area.

“From his days as a hard-hitting, relentless competitor, to his unwavering commitment to growing the game at the grassroots level, Bob has embodied what it truly means to be a Flyer,” Comcast Spectacor CEO and Flyers governor Dan Hilferty said. “His passion, dedication, and love for this city and this organization have left a lasting mark that will be felt for generations to come.”

Michkov is the fourth Flyers rookie to record multiple goals in consecutive games since Dave Poulin in 1983-84.... Konecny has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past five games. ... On his 29th birthday, defenseman Travis Sanheim played 24 minutes, 41 seconds. ... After spending the last game on the bench and playing under 4 minutes on Tuesday, defenseman Cam York played 18:53 on a pairing with Dyrsdale. ... Flyers goalie Sam Ersson allowed four goals on 21 shots. Jack Quinn scored twice, and JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch each scored once. Tuch’s goal was a shorthanded goal 29 seconds before Poehling’s power-play goal. Shaw said he apologized to Ersson for going with five forwards on that power play. ... Poehling has scored in four of his past six games. ... The Flyers had 32 shots on goal. ... Forward Garnet Hathaway, who has been a full participant in practice, did not dress.

The Flyers practice on Sunday before hosting the Nashville Predators on Monday (7 p.m., NBCSP). Nashville has been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.