January 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nWas the hit dirty? Maybe. It\u2019s up for interpretation, but one thing is for sure: in a game where you\u2019re down three goals in the 3rd period after getting blown out three games in a row, it would have been a great time to give this team a spark.<\/p>\n
You didn\u2019t need someone to drop the gloves with David Pastr\u0148\u00e1k. You just needed something \u2013 a shove, a couple of words, a stick in the back of the knee \u2013 any indication that the Flyers were willing to respond as their 21-year-old teammate lay on the ground. Instead, nothing happened. Michkov\u2019s linemates on that shift were Bobby Brink and Trevor Zegras \u2013 two players who, combined, have one NHL fight \u2013 and the defensive pair was Cam York and Jamie Drysdale, neither of whom has dropped the gloves at the NHL level. The players explain the silence, but it doesn\u2019t excuse the lack of response.<\/p>\n
Michkov himself has already stood up for a Flyers teammate<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret that Matvei Michkov has struggled this year compared to his breakout rookie campaign. Is that in large part due to the fact that he came into camp out of shape, had to learn his second new system in two years, is playing on his off wing, and has been lacking ice time? Possibly, but excuses are excuses. The kid needs to produce, but at the same time, he has shown that he\u2019s not lacking that tenacity that we saw from the Russian winger last season at times.<\/p>\n
During the Flyers game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 15, 20-year-old rookie Denver Barkey took a hard open-ice hit from Blake Lizotte. The winger was shaken up, and who was the first player to jump in to defend his young teammate? Matvei Michkov. Obviously, Matvei Michkov isn\u2019t known for his fighting skills, but he did what was right and stood up for his younger teammate and dropped the gloves.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sometimes in a game, you\u2019re getting blown out, defending your teammates and dropping the gloves, or even getting involved in a scrum, can benefit the team down the road. These are exactly the moments that are supposed to define the \u201cculture\u201d Flyers staff members often reference. The fact that no one responded after Michkov was hit \u2013 just two weeks after he stood up for a teammate \u2013 says a lot about the Flyers\u2019 current issues.<\/p>\n
What this says about the Flyers\u2019 identity<\/p>\n
With the Flyers having lost 10 of their last 12 games and falling eight points out of the playoff race, their season is clinging on by a thread. It\u2019s not a shock that after a back-to-back and with the team getting blown out yet again, the players would be deflated. However, a majority of the guys on this team are here to stay, so stand up for your teammate and show the kid \u2013 and the team \u2013 that you still care, and drag them into the fight, the same way Travis Konecny has singlehandedly been doing.<\/p>\n
On Thursday night, Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway slotted back into the lineup after missing Wednesday night\u2019s matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets \u2013 in which the Flyers lost 5-3. They are supposed to be your \u201ctough guys\u201d who stick up for your players and assert physical dominance, and you saw nothing from those guys. Even captain Sean Couturier, who stood up for Michkov against Boston before in 2024 when he fought Billy Sweezy. He has been struggling as well, so maybe a fight could have done him some good to get his spark back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, it felt like another low point for a Flyers team that now looks closer to a top-10 draft pick than a playoff spot. Culture has been a point of conversation during this team\u2019s collapse in the past few weeks, and Tuesday night offered another reason to wonder. When there\u2019s no response after their 21-year-old star winger takes a high hit, it\u2019s fair to wonder whether this is a culture issue \u2013 or a team that\u2019s completely run out of energy.<\/p>\n
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