Three Flyers Thoughts: Fedotov Bounces Back; A New Cam York; Poehling Steps Up

The Philadelphia Flyers improved their season record to 31-36-9, crossing into the 70-point threshold with just six games remaining in the season.

Under Brad Shaw as interim head coach, the Flyers are now 3-0 and have continued to look refreshed and more confident offensively.

While the Nashville Predators have not been the biggest challenge this season, the Flyers have continued their impressive stretch of games with Monday’s win.

Ivan Fedotov had a great bounce-back game, Cam York looks different, Ryan Poehling has stepped up, and Matvei Michkov continues to show how great he is going to be.

Read More: Flyers Hang On in a Close One to Beat Nashville 2-1 on Monday

Fedotov Rebounds

Ugly is the nice way to describe Ivan Fedotov’s previous two starts. It seemed to be a leading factor in recalling Aleksei Kolosov. There was a legitimate chance that Monday’s start could have been do-or-die for Fedotov, and he stood tall.

Fedotov played arguably his second-best game in a Flyers uniform. Nothing will top his game in Winnipeg earlier this season, but Monday’s start was a damn good one.

The Flyers’ backup netminder faced 29 shots on goal and turned aside all but one.

He played extremely well in a pivotal stretch late in the game. He remained focused and confident, which is why the Flyers were able to hold on and win the game. He certainly got help from his teammates, but the Flyers wouldn’t have won this game without Fedotov.

The goalie was under immense pressure to bounce back after his past two starts, and he came through with one of his best games in his young career.

A New Cam York?

Don’t let the scoresheet say anything else. Cam York looks like a completely different player.

Maybe it is the pair swap, or maybe it is just coincidental timing. However, York looked like a much more confident player during Monday’s win.

On the stat sheet, York had no registered shots on goal and two missed shots. I say that does not tell the whole story because he looked much more comfortable on the offensive attack.

Through his career, York has had a change in his play style. He is much more of a defensively sound defenseman and less of an offensive threat. Despite both shots missing the mark, I don’t think he would have taken those shots a week ago.

He looks a lot more willing to pull the trigger, and that is an encouraging sign moving forward.

York also just seems a bit more aggressive. He had two hits in the game. I’d also like to point out that he got involved in a scrum around the net, getting a nice little push in on Steven Stamkos while Travis Sanheim took him down. That is not typical of York, who is usually more reserved.

Cam York is beginning to look like a different player and is someone to keep an eye on in the final six games.

Read More: Flyers Practice: Cam York Takes Responsibility, Addresses Future

Poehling’s Contribution to the Flyers

Ryan Poehling has quietly been one of the best Flyers in recent times. He has seven goals in his last ten games, compared to just four goals outside of that stretch. Poehling also adds three assists to that total, making it 10 points.

Not only is he finding production, but Poehling continues to be a cornerstone of the Flyers’ shot-blocking. Poegling led the Flyers with four blocked shots, tied with Sanheim, and came up huge for Philadelphia in the final stretch of the game.

He was the Flyers’ first goal-scorer of the night, and he continues to be in all the right places.

Quietly, Poehling has put together a really solid stretch and is picking up a lot of the responsibility left behind by Scott Laughton, and then some. The Flyers already have one do-it-all type player with Noah Cates; Poehling is proving he can do it too.

Bonus Thought: Michkov Makes His Case to win the Flyers’ First Calder Trophy

I won’t dive too much into this, especially since I intend to do a more in-depth column sooner rather than later; Matvei Michkov continues to show why he belongs at the top of the Calder Trophy conversation.

The Flyers’ rookie has been on an unbelievable heater, earning four multi-point games in the last five, and extending his point streak to six games.

Michkov added two assists to his resume in Monday’s win, showcasing his elite ability both with and without the puck. Lately, it had been his scoring touch on display. Monday night, you saw the playmaking ability from the rook.

He now has four goals and seven assists in his last six games.

Matvei Michkov is a truly special player who is on his way to being a superstar in this league.

Read More: Flyers Notebook: Lineup Updates From Monday’s Morning Skate

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