Michkov leads Flyers past Canadiens 6-4 in first game after Tortorella's firing

Michkov leads Flyers past Canadiens 6-4 in first game after Tortorella’s firing

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Philadelphia Flyers’ Matvei Michkov, left, scores past Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes, center, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Philadelphia Flyers interim head coach Brad Shaw, center, talks to his team during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Philadelphia Flyers interim head coach Brad Shaw calls out to his team during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Philadelphia Flyers’ Matvei Michkov, right, celebrates his goal with Jakob Pelletier during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Philadelphia Flyers’ Travis Konecny (11) is wrestled to the ice by Montreal Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovský during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Philadelphia Flyers’ Ryan Poehling skates the puck up ice during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Philadelphia Flyers’ Noah Cates, left, skates with the puck past Montreal Canadiens’ Alexandre Carrier during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Montreal Canadiens’ Christian Dvorak, right, skates the puck against Philadelphia Flyers’ Owen Tippett during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Montreal Canadiens’ Alex Newhook, second from right, celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Philadelphia Flyers’ Sean Couturier, left, skates the puck past Montreal Canadiens’ Alexandre Carrier during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

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Montreal Canadiens’ Nick Suzuki (14) plays the puck past Philadelphia Flyers’ Bobby Brink during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matvei Michkov had two goals and an assist and the Philadelphia Flyers got off to fast start in their first game after coach John Tortorella’s morning firing, beating the Montreal Canadiens 6-4 on Thursday night.

With Brad Shaw serving as interim coach, Philadelphia ended a six-game losing streak and handed Montreal its fourth straight loss.

Michkov opened the scoring at 1:55 of the first period, assisted on the first of Sean Couturier’s two goals and added his 22nd goal in the third. Tortorella came under scrutiny when he scratched Michkov or benched him for long periods, explaining it was part of a tough-love approach toward with the Russian rookie.

Nicolas Deslauriers and Tyson Foerster also scored, and Samuel Ersson made 26 saves.

Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield, Patrik Laine and Christian Dvorak scored for Montreal. Jakub Dobes stopped 24 shots.

Takeaways

Canadiens: Montreal is in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Flyers: Philadelphia lost 11 of its last 12 games under Tortorella.

Key moment

Michkov shoveled the puck high into the net against Dobes to give the Flyers the early lead.

Key stat

Michkov had six shots in 20:29 of ice time.

Up next

The Canadiens are at Ottawa on Friday night. The Flyers host Buffalo on Saturday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl