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Michkov shows his offseason work as Flyers beat Bruins in preseason
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- Michkov shows his offseason work as Flyers beat Bruins in preseason
Michkov shows his offseason work as Flyers beat Bruins in preseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
After dressing some inexperienced lineups in their first two preseason games, the Flyers had much more of an NHL look Thursday night .
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They played like it, picking up a 2-0 exhibition win over the Bruins at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Matvei Michkov and Cole Knuble provided the Flyers' goals. Joseph Woll delivered the shutout in net.
The Flyers improved to 1-2-0 in the preseason and have one game left before opening night next Wednesday .
• It was an exhibition game, but all the hype about Michkov's big offseason looked legit.
The 21-year-old winger moved extremely well. His hands and legs were at a different gear.
"Mich I thought was skating really well and felt it with the puck," Rick Tocchet said. "It was really nice to see."
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Michkov scored just 4:02 minutes into the game on a rebound. During that sequence, he displayed some crisp passing in the offensive zone.
In the second period, he had a nifty touch pass through his legs to spring Christian Dvorak for a scoring chance.
"He made a ton of plays tonight," Trevor Zegras said. "I thought he was great around the net."
Michkov would have had two goals if he buried a Grade A look in the third period. He was excellent, though, and provided a really good sign of him bouncing back from his sophomore slump .
"He was awesome," Porter Martone said. "He played really well. … I think we should expect a big season from him."
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• Woll, the Flyers' new backup goaltender , stopped all 28 shots he faced.
"He looks big in net," Tocchet said. "He made some really good saves."
It was a good tune-up for the 28-year-old. We'll see if Woll will be needed on opening night. Dan Vladar is day to day with an upper-body injury .
• Zach Aston-Reese , Jack Studnicka , Danila Klimovich , Nolan Foote and Cam Dineen cleared waivers Thursday and were loaned to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
Carl Grundstrom also cleared, but he'll stay with the big club for now. That's likely related to the uncertainty around Denver Barkey 's status for the regular-season opener. The 21-year-old forward has been considered day to day with a lower-body injury .
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Barkey was skating Thursday in a non-contact jersey with the non-game group. However, he left the ice early, according to Travis Ballinghoff of the Nasty Knuckles podcast .
If Barkey is unavailable for the opener, the Flyers could turn to Grundstrom or Nikita Grebenkin . Grebenkin has to be healthy, though. He exited briefly in the third period after taking a hip check into the boards. The 23-year-old had a delayed start to training camp because of a flare-up with his injury from last season .
It's also possible Knuble has forced his way into the conversation. The Flyers have given him a good look and he hasn't wasted it. In three preseason games and one rookie game, Knuble has put up three goals. The Flyers are high on the 22-year-old prospect . Tocchet didn't rule out Knuble making the season-opening roster.
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"Yeah, it could happen," Tocchet said. "There's a numbers game, but he's definitely pushing some people."
Jett Luchanko has also played in all three preseason games and has collected an assist in each one.
"We're building some chemistry there," Knuble said. "He's fun to play with, he's so fast, he creates turnovers — an easy guy to play with."
Helge Grans left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury and didn't return. The 24-year-old defenseman recorded an assist on Michkov's goal.
The Flyers' roster is at 30 players . It can have no more than 23 when it's submitted before next Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline.
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Update: Knuble among cuts as Flyers' season-opening roster is just about set
• The Flyers have a day off Friday before wrapping up the preseason Saturday when they host the Capitals (5 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
