Michkov also is starting to feel more comfortable living in the Philadelphia area, where he shares a home with his mother, Maria, and his brother, Prokhor. He's even managed to bring a bit of Russia into the Flyers' practice site. "Mom and the chefs we have with the team, they cook a lot of good food," Michkov said.

Michkov has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in seven games since returning from the 4 Nations break on Feb. 22. He sits second in NHL rookie scoring with 47 points (20 goals, 27 assists), two behind Lane Hutson of the Habs and one better than Macklin Celebrini of the Sharks.

Yeah, sure, some guys sashay into the NHL as teenagers and immediately start skating around like they own the place. Gretzky, Ovechkin, Crosby, Lemieux, Hawerchuk, Orr, Murphy, Barrasso. Freaks, every last one of them.

Michkov becomes the first rookie of the 2024-25 campaign to earn Rookie of the Month honors for the second time and the only Flyers rookie in franchise history to do so in the last 30 years. He previously earned the award in October after leading all rookies with four goals and tying for the points lead with nine.

The Flyers continue to roll in their return from the 4 Nations break, but one last wave of trade deadline rumors does hang over the heads of Scott Laughton and the rest of the team.

Michkov has 10 points and 27 shots on goal in the Flyers’ six games since the break. On Thursday night, he scored his team’s lone goal to spoil Eric Comrie’s shutout bid in the third period. While the 10 points are impressive, those 27 shots are also important.

In Part 2 of our interview with Brière, the Flyers general manager provided updates on several key prospects and how the team plans to address its lack of a No. 1 center.

The Kraken are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators. Adam Larsson got the Kraken on the board first just 32 seconds into the game, but the Predators scored the next four goals before Jared McCann's third-period power-play goal finally broke that streak.

Philadelphia rookie Matvei Michkov scored on a backhander against Connor Hellebuyck ... passing Al Arbour for sixth place in games coached in NHL history. His players produced a tight-checking game and blocked 22 shots compared to Winnipeg's 12.

Johnson, who was kept around as a veteran presence on the blue line, is getting reunited with Colorado for another playoff push.

Michkov picked up an assist in a 4-1 loss to the Kraken on Saturday.

Michkov enters Saturday leading all rookies in goals and is tied with Montreal Canadiens’ Lane Hutson for first in points.