It wasn’t a foregone conclusion that the Matvei Michkov we fell in love with through the first third of the season was going to be back. We all assumed that after a couple of forced weeks off thanks to the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, the 20-year-old would be able to recover from playing the most hectic hockey schedule he has ever faced in his life, and Michkov would be back to scoring points and running the show for the Philadelphia Flyers. But, it wasn’t a guarantee.
Well, it turns out that some rest can do the hockey soul good.