It’s only been two games, but after Saturday’s overtime loss to Carolina — one which didn’t see Matvei Michkov on the ice for the extra session — some began to wonder if something was wrong with the Flyers sophomore phenom.

Well, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet shed some light after Monday’s practice. Namely, Michkov is recovering from an ankle injury that took place over the summer.

Tocchet says that re: Michkov, he did deal with an ankle injury this summer that affected some of his offseason training. He’s fully healthy now, though.

“So he’s a little bit behind the eight-ball when it comes to that, but it’s something that we’re going to correct.”

— Charlie O’Connor (@charlieo_conn) October 13, 2025

Michkov played 14:57 time-on-ice in the season opener in Florida on Thursday and saw that ice time reduced slightly in Carolina (13:27), the latter not seeing him record a shot on goal. Last season, Michkov recorded no shots on goal only eight times. One of those eight was also his second game of the year against the Flames in a 6-3 loss.

“I know it’s been a big issue here,” Tocchet told the media after practice Monday. “We’ve had five power plays against, so the game is 50 minutes now. And against Carolina we had four or five power plays against us. So all of a sudden he’s getting 15 minutes. If we don’t have penalties he’s probably getting about 17 minutes. I think everybody is making an issue of it. Second of all, I think he dealt with something this summer, something with an ankle, I didn’t even know about, and it limited some of his training. So he’s a little bit behind the eight-ball when it comes to that. But it’s something we’re going to correct. But I think he got a little bit behind the eight-ball when he came to camp.”

There was no word as to when the injury took place. But an injured ankle would certainly hamper any professional athlete when it came to training or gym work in preparing for a rigorous season. So while he’s not hampered by a lingering or nagging injury, the fact his conditioning might not be at the optimal level he’d want would be a temporary issue. That could explain why Michkov looked a little out of sorts so far two games in.

Of course, playing two of arguably the best teams in the Eastern Conference for the first three games of the year probably isn’t a huge help. And Michkov’s line featuring Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny aren’t quite working on all cylinders yet. So at least there’s an explanation why Michkov isn’t looking fully 100 per cent thus far.

Michkov was reportedly involved in a car accident in Dubai in May but at the time there was no report of any injury. Regardless of when the injury happened or how it happened, the fact the winger is on the ice now and hasn’t missed any time is the main thing. It might just take little longer to see him at his best.

But for now Michkov will be lined up with Konecny and Couturier this evening when the Flyers play their home opener against the Panthers. The game will also see the season debut of Emil Andrae as Cam York remains out of the lineup and Egor Zamula appears to be a healthy scratch.