The Flyers beat the Capitals, 6-2, in the preseason opener. How did Matvei Michkov do?

WASHINGTON ― The ice was ready to go at CapitalOne Arena. The lights were bright. The music was blaring.

"The boys are back," sang the Dropkick Murphys.

Indeed.

The Flyers headed south on I-95 on Sunday for a preseason matchup with the Washington Capitals. Posting a roster split between young, rising stars and grizzled veterans, the Flyers skated away with a 6-2 win.

And while wins are important as the regular season ticks on, it is the preseason. The score sheet gets wiped clean once the puck drops on Oct. 11 in Vancouver for the season opener.

So, with that, here are three questions that came with answers on Sunday.

How did Matvei Michkov do? Obviously, the talk of the town is the Flyers' top prospect. Michkov skated on the Flyers' top line with veterans Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett .

The 19-year-old winger once again showed off his vision and high hockey IQ, which he first brought to the attention of fans during the Rookie Series against the Rangers in Allentown. Michkov got pucks through traffic and set up his teammates for Grade A chances while also carrying the puck into the offensive zone. In the first period, he tracked down the puck at the end board and fed Frost with a no-look backhand pass behind the net. Frost took it in front and scored on a nifty backhand.

Phantoms head coach Ian Laperrière said pregame he would play Michkov a ton. The direction came from above. "They want to see what he can do," he said. And he did. Through the first 40 minutes, Michkov played 14 minutes, 25 seconds as he saw power-play time (skated 2:19 in the first 40) and was double-shifted. It was the most on the team, even ahead of the defensemen.

In the third period, Michkov added another assist Morgan Frost's second goal of the game. On the power play, Michkov took a drop pass from Frost at the blue line, skated into the right face-off circle, and fed it back to Frost, who buried his own rebound.

Can Ivan Fedotov succeed as the backup? Fedotov signed a two-year, $6.55 million extension after the season ended and is expected to be the No. 2 goalie on the depth chart. Last season he appeared in three games for the Flyers, including one start, and posted a 4.65 goals-against average and .811 save percentage. Not great numbers, but he hadn't played since March 8 when he relieved Sam Ersson against the New York Islanders on April 1.

There is no denying Fedotov, at 6-foot-7, is a big body in net. He was spotted through his two periods of work on Sunday peering over bodies in front of him to see shots from low-danger spots. And he also showed what he's been working on in practice — appearing to crouch down more to take up more of the bottom third of the net — and used it to move laterally and go down along the ice.

Fedotov stopped 10 of 12 shots, with the first goal actually nicking Nick Seeler and changing direction. The second goal was a ridiculous snipe by his countryman Ivan Miroshnichenko on a Capitals power play. Outside of the goals, Fedotov seemed to be moving well, especially on shots and loose pucks around the crease.

Is the old Jamie Drysdale back? A healthy Drysdale will be critical for a successful season. Not only will he help solidify the pairings on the back end but he will be a key cog for the offense.

Coach John Tortorella said on Friday that "Jamie looks free. We all know how great a skater is. He just looks more confident in his skating." Paired up with Nick Seeler, his partner at the end of last season, Drysdale showed off the skating ability that made him the sixth-overall pick in 2020.

He skated with aplomb, whether it was carrying the puck up the ice, walking the blue line to create space, or skating around the offensive zone to create time and find open teammates. Through the first two periods, he skated 14:08, just 17 shy of Michkov. Of that, he played 2:05 on the power play and 2:12 while shorthanded.

Carson Bjarnasson played the third period and stopped all eight shots he faced. ... Olle Lycksell is fighting for a spot and continues to stand out with his hard-nosed play and net-front presence. He took a bad penalty at the end of the second period when he sent the puck over the glass but answered in the third when he left all alone in front and scored on the backhand. The celebration said it all. ... Bobby Brink scored twice and add a "hat trick" in the shootout that the teams participated in after 60 minutes.

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