Thermostat down: Flyers win, Briere speaks, and the Michkov mania stems - for now

PHILADELPHIA -- Matvei Michkov isn't going anywhere. Nor is Rick Tocchet. Flyers fans are not bleeping morons (at least not most of them) and the Flyers got a badly needed win. 

Just another day in paradise for the the local hockey team. 

The win was crucial, in that it turned the temperature down from searing to boiling. A 4-2 victory over the Washington Capitals stopped a four-game losing streak, and gave the Flyers a little belief that they were not as bad as losing 11 of the previous 13 games may have indicated.

But it also doused, at least temporarily, some of the flames that spread like wildfire around the team, after some pointed comments by Tocchet that were seemingly directed at Michkov.

Things got so crazy on Tuesday, that news of Tocchet's comments went national and elicited such crazy responses on social media that national commenters started weighing in on the state of the team.

First you had Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast calling for the Danny Briere bat signal to come out and try to quell this tidal wave of animosity. 

Friedman on Briere and Michkov. Went ahead and clipped some of the 32T show. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/Xyx4cuVuXN

— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) February 3, 2026

Then there was Daily Faceoff's Anthony DiMarco, who wrote a story about Michkov and cited a team source saying that the situation isn't great for everyone involved. 

If that wasn't enough, TNT studio analyst Paul Bisonnette - who worked with Tocchet at the network last year - went on his podcast Spittin' Chiclets and had some unkind words for Flyers fans on social media.

TNT studio analyst Paul Bissonnette has an absolute meltdown on his podcast calling #Flyers fans “fucking morons” multiple times.

“I would get into Harvard compared to how fucking stupid these people are.”

Biz says Rick Tocchet is doing Matvei Michkov a favor with his… pic.twitter.com/plPD27NR9y

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) February 3, 2026

Once that went viral, he doubled down with a tweet that riled the masses even more. 

I want to personally thank some of you incredible Flyers fans on this app. Because of you I’m not the dumbest person on here. You make me feel intelligent in ways I never have. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. That’s brotherly love. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xXDX8B5aUz

— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) February 3, 2026

While I have railed against Flyers Twitter many times, I've never gone so far as to call Flyers fans "F-ing morons," because they are not (although I admit I may have thought it in my head once or twice about specific individuals). 

Needless to say, Philadelphia sports fans don't take kindly to being disparaged on a national scale, so those comments only made a bad situation worse. 

It got to a point where things were getting so out of control, that Briere had to have a hasty and impromptu press conference in the Xfinity Mobile Arena press box 15 minutes before the game Tuesday night to tell everyone things that should have been pretty obvious, but that in times like these, came into question because of internet sleuthing and misinformation.

"One thing I can tell you, first of all, is Matvei Mchkov is not going anywhere. Let's make that clear," Briere said. "Matvei is going to be here for a long time. He's going to be a good player here for the Flyers and what he's going through right now is all part of the learning process. So that's out of the way. He's not going anywhere. He'll be here."

It's crazy that the G.M. even had to say this. But here we are. 

He later went on to talk about Tocchet's comments and the relationship between his coach and Michkov. 

"I talk to Rick Tocchet on a daily basis," Briere said. "He wants Matvei to succeed. He wants to develop him to be the best player he can be, and along the way, there are tough lessons that come with that. That's like raising a child. 

"There's tough lessons that he's learning. It doesn't matter if he's playing 12, 14, 16 or even if he was playing 52 minutes a night - he's learning along the way. It's part of the process and it's going to make him a better player. ... And Rick Tocchet wants that. He wants to be here for the long haul to lead this team. 

Briere continued, "(Tocchet) and Matvei, they have a good relationship. Sometimes they're fiery. Sometimes, when you are not winning, things are done and said, but they always come back to the table. And they want the best for this team, and Rick wants the best for Matvei." 

Sounds like a typical player/coach relationship.

An example I always bring up in times like these is Patrick Sharp. When he was a young player on the Philadelphia Phantoms in the AHL, he was an alternate captain and arguably the team's best center and it became clear pretty quickly that he was an NHL-caliber talent.

But when he reached the NHL, he struggled with the Flyers, mostly because his coach, Ken Hitchcock, was hard on him and trying to get him to play the game in a different way than he did even for the team's AHL affiliate. 

There was friction between the two. Eventually, the Flyers traded Sharp, in one of Bob Clarke's worst deals, sending him to Chicago. 

All Sharp did there was win three Stanley Cups as an integral player on the team. 

During his first Cup run, in which he beat his former team, we had a chance to grab a coffee together in Chicago. He told me that day that the most important time in his career was playing 69 games for Hitchcock. 

He said he didn't realize it at the time, but Hitchcock taught him how to play the right way to win in the NHL and he carried that forward with him to Chicago and it made him the player that he was. 

Sharp has said that several times since his career wrapped up as well. It's all part of being a young player in the league - even for someone with star potential like Michkov. 

Now, was the fact that Briere spoke a bit of an attempt to regain control of narrative for the Flyers? Sure. But it never should have had to get there. 

And yet it did. 

Which is why it was equally important for the Flyers to win the game and for the team to show an ability to block out noise and play well. 

It wasn't a perfect game. Dan Vladar had to rescue the team at times - especially in the first period when he stopped all 11 shots he faced. He also stopped Alex Ovechkin on two vicious slappers from the high slot in the third period when the Capitals were trying to make a push to tie the game and force overtime. 

"He's a leader," Tocchet told reporters after the game. "He came by the bench (during a timeout) and said, 'Why you guys holding your head down? Let's go here.' I love that. I love to hear that. He's our goalie and he's got character. He's been like that all year.

"He doesn't have a letter on his jersey, but he could. He does have one for me, in my head."

Michkov, who otherwise had a solid game, lost the puck on the half wall while on the power play and it lead to a 2-on-1 breakaway that resulted in a shorthanded goal for the Caps. 

But there were a lot of positive signs, too. 

Owen Tippett scored on a nice passing play from Michkov to Travis Sanheim to Tippett. Carl Grundstrom, back from a two-game hiatus as a healthy scratch, potted a goal from the fourth line. Jamie Drysdale snapped a 20-game drought without a goal scoring on the power play. And Travis Konecny had another two assists, for his fourth consecutive multi-point game. 

It may not mean anything in the grand scheme of this season - they are still seven points out of a playoff spot, albeit with two games in hand, so they can be the object in the mirror that is closer than they appear, but that's not why the win mattered most. 

No, it mattered because the Flyers needed shelter from the storm that only a win could have provided. 

They likely will need another on Thursday to prevent some of these bitter feelings from lingering during the Olympic break. But a loss on Tuesday, on top of everything else, could have been a tipping point. 

The immediate goal for the team is no longer about winning enough games to make the playoffs, or making moves at the trade deadline. Instead, it's simply getting back to room temperature. 

And winning the game Tuesday was akin to simply finding where the thermostat was located while being blindfolded in an unfamiliar room.