PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Matvei Michkov had a goal and two assists and Porter Martone had one goal to lead the playoff-bound Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
The Flyers rested most of their key veterans a night after they secured their first playoff berth since 2020 and first home playoff series since 2018.
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Philadelphia Flyers' Matvei Michkov, center, celebrates his goal with Noah Cates (27) and Oliver Bonk during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Montréal Canadiens, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Flyers' Porter Martone skates the puck past Montréal Canadiens' Zachary Bolduc (76) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Montréal Canadiens' Joe Veleno skates with the puck past Philadelphia Flyers' Noah Cates (27) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Montréal Canadiens' Jake Evans, center, high fives Brendan Gallagher (11) after Evans scored during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Flyers fans dressed in orange waved “Let's Go Flyers” rally towels and were in a joyous mood for most of the festive night.
There are more good times ahead. The Flyers are set to travel to Pittsburgh for the first two games of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Michkov and Martone helped spoil Montreal's shot at hosting the East first-round series against Tampa Bay.
The 19-year-old Martone, who starred for Michigan State only weeks ago, scored his fourth goal of the season when he deflected in Michkov's point shot early in the first period for the 1-0 lead.
Oliver Bonk scored his first career NHL goal later in the period for a 2-0 lead. Michkov assisted.
Brendan Gallagher scored for Montreal to make it 2-1 in the second.
Michkov scored unassisted (his 20th overall) for a 3-1 lead in the second period as one fan raised a “We Want More!” sign.
Jake Evans cut it to 3-2 in the final seconds of the second period.
Alex Bump sealed the win in the third with his fifth goal of the season that made it 4-2. Samuel Ersson made 27 saves foe the Flyers and Jakub Dobes had 21 for Montreal.
The Flyers ended the season on an 18-6-1 tear that propelled them into third place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Flyers and Montreal hit the road to open the NHL playoffs.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Philadelphia Flyers' Matvei Michkov, center, celebrates his goal with Noah Cates (27) and Oliver Bonk during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Montréal Canadiens, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Philadelphia Flyers' Porter Martone skates the puck past Montréal Canadiens' Zachary Bolduc (76) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Montréal Canadiens' Joe Veleno skates with the puck past Philadelphia Flyers' Noah Cates (27) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
Montréal Canadiens' Jake Evans, center, high fives Brendan Gallagher (11) after Evans scored during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvians will vote in a presidential runoff in two months after none of the 35 candidates secured an outright victory in the weekend election, though by Tuesday afternoon, the two contenders in the June vote were still unconfirmed.
Electoral authorities continued to count the ballots for a third straight day as authorities were forced to extend voting into Monday after ballots had not been delivered in time to polling stations.
With 77% of ballots tallied, official results on Tuesday showed Keiko Fujimori, the conservative daughter of a disgraced former president, leading the count with 16.86% of the votes, while Rafael López Aliaga, the ultraconservative former mayor of Peru’s capital, Lima, earned 12.66%.
Jorge Nieto Montesinos was close in the third place, with 11.74% of the vote, maintaining a narrow chance of making it into the June 7 runoff.
The sluggish pace of the count mirrored Peru’s 2021 presidential election, a contest where final tallies weren't completed until five days after polls closed.
A presidential candidate needs more than 50% of votes to win outright. The two candidates with the most votes in a first round advance to the runoff. The winner will be Peru’s ninth president in just 10 years.
A European Union election observation mission said Tuesday it didn't see “sufficient grounds” supporting claims of fraud, following allegations by López Aliaga, who described the election — without providing evidence — as a “fraud of a kind unique in the world.”
The election has been mired with logistical issues that left thousands in the country and abroad unable to cast ballots. That prompted authorities to allow more than 52,000 residents of Lima to vote on Monday. The extension, announced after vote counting had begun Sunday evening, also covered Peruvians registered to vote in Orlando, Florida, and Paterson, New Jersey.
“I’m fed up,” Iris Valle, 56, said as she waited to vote on Monday at a public school in Lima, the country's capital. She feared that her employer would cut her pay for not showing up early, because she had to fulfill her voting obligation.
Voting is mandatory for Peruvians from the ages of 18 to 70. Failure to vote comes with a fine of up to $32.
The election took place amid a surge in violent crime and corruption that has fueled widespread discontent among voters, who largely view candidates as dishonest and unprepared for the presidency.
Peru’s economy, however, has defied both the crime surge and the political instability stemming from a revolving door of presidents, having had three since last October alone. Aided by its status as one of the world’s largest copper producers, the country posted more than 3% growth in 2024 and 2025, though that’s lower than the 5%-6% annual growth it saw in the 2000s.
Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, explained that the independence of the country’s central bank has also contributed to economic growth.
“Although Peru has had all these presidents, it has had only one central bank president since the mid-2000s, Julio Velarde,” Freeman said. “He’s been a real source of stability and given investors some confidence that there is an institutional core that remains from one presidency to the next in Peru.”
Still, Freeman warned, Peru can't afford to be complacent as current growth is lower than the 5%-6% annual rates the country saw in the 2000s and recent congressional decisions point to “a more conservative economic populism.”
In her fourth bid for the presidency, Fujimori has promised to crack down on crime but has also defended laws that experts say make it difficult to prosecute criminals. The laws, which her party backed in recent years, eliminated preliminary detention in certain cases and raised the threshold for seizing criminal assets.
If elected, she has said that judges presiding over criminal cases will be anonymous and prisoners will have to work to earn their food.
Meanwhile, López Aliaga has proposed building prisons in the country’s Amazon region, and lobbied for allowing judges to conceal their identities and expelling foreigners who are living illegally in Peru.
For the first time in more than 30 years, voters were also asked to choose members of a bicameral Congress, following recent legislative reforms that concentrate significant power in the new upper chamber.
Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Rafael Lopez Aliaga, presidential candidate of the Popular Renewal party, speaks to supporters as electoral authorities continue to count the ballots two days after general elections in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
Keiko Fujimori, presidential candidate of the Popular Force party, departs a polling station after voting during general elections in Lima, Peru, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerardo Marin)
Voters line up as voting resumes at a polling stations affected by delays during general elections in Lima, Peru, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
A woman votes as polling resumes at a station affected by delays and logistical problems during general elections in Lima, Peru, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
An election official checks voter lists as voting resumes at polling stations affected by delays and logistical problems during general elections in Lima, Peru, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
Voters check the rolls as voting in the general election resumes at polling stations affected by delays and logistical problems in Lima, Peru, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
