Flyers Bounce Back for a Shootout Win

The Flyers began their second homestand of the year with a 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders. Zegras had an explosive game for the Flyers, securing three points and his first goal in Philadelphia. Ersson played for his third game of the season and earned his first win of the year. After the Flyers’ disappointing performance against the Senators on Thursday, it was exciting to see them break the Islander’s four-game win streak.

A shorthanded goal in the first and an early goal in the second gave New York a 2-0 lead. Zegras helped put the Flyers on the board as he and Michkov earned assist points on Dvorak’s goal in the second. Michkov’s cross-ice pass to Zegras set him up to feed the puck to Dvorak for an impressive backhand goal. This was Zegras’ sixth assist of the season. Zegras continued to shine in the third, tying the game early. Dvorak’s rebound earned the primary assist for the pairs’ second set of points for the night. Zegras’ former Anaheim teammate, Jamie Drysdale, earned secondary assist points in Zegras’ first goal in Philadelphia. 

The Flyers continue to allow excessive penalty minutes, recording 18 minutes of shorthanded play on Saturday. Three of the team’s six penalties came in the third period, including a five-minute major against Rodrigo Abols for fighting Kyle MacLean. Luckily, Zegras was able to take advantage of the powerplay by sticking against Scott Mayfield for his second goal with Philadelphia midway through the third. The game was tied 3-3 sending the game to overtime, where no further goals were scored.

A brief, 3-round overtime ended with a win for Philadelphia. After Bobby Brink and Bo Horvat each had their shots blocked in the first round, Zegras scored for Philadelphia and Ersson allowed a goal from Simon Holmstrom to keep the game tied. Michkov scored a snapshot against Sorokin to give the Flyers the lead, and Ersson’s save against Anthony Duclair earned the Flyers the win for the night. 

Zegras shared the support of Philadelphia’s fanbase in his success for the night. Zegras hasn’t had a three-point game since January 2023. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for the young forward’s development. Drysdale also shared the positive environment created in the locker room. It seems that the positive environment both within and beyond the locker room is proving beneficial to Zegras’ performance, another example of the successful moves by both Briere and Tocchet.

The Flyers continue their homestand tomorrow for the return of the battle of the turnpike. The 4-3-1 Flyers faceoff against the 6-2-1 Penguins for a 6pm puck drop.

Flyers Fall to Former Captain and Senators

The Flyers faced former captain Claude Giroux and his Ottawa Senators last night on the road for a 2-1 loss. Their play last night was a completely different tune from Monday night’s appearance against Seattle, and was far more comparable to last week’s 5-2 loss against Winnipeg. Lots of the progress from Monday seemed to have worn off, as our penalty kill died and the team played slow all around. 

Let’s start with numbers. Our offense was slow and unable to keep possession of the puck for any true scoring chances. The Flyers were outshot 33-23, making Vladar an even more valuable asset to this team. Another number I can’t stand: 12 penalty minutes. 12 minutes of some of the worst hockey this team seems to play, seeing as though they’re top 10 in short-handed time per game. Sure, this team is gritty and plays hard, but this can’t keep happening if they can’t handle the penalty kill. While their own man advantage has seen some improvement this year, their penalty kill has certainly not. 

Michkov’s slow progression continues to worry fans and the team. An unsuccessful breakaway out of the box kept the Flyers from the advantage in the first period. He left us to dry again in the second after a turnover by Jamie Drysdale. Originally, I had hoped for Michkov’s turnaround when Tocchet moved him to play alongside Zegras earlier this week. That was apparently stupid. He’s still not seeing the growth, grit, and skill we had seen from him last season. I had excused it in earlier games as we discovered an ankle injury had kept him largely out of camp, but we’re seven games in now. His play in the upcoming week or two will be very telling, and I’ll be curious to see how Tocchet handles the situation if we don’t see improvement. Torts would have benched him by now, and Tocchet already switched his linemates like he’s done for others. Time will tell. 

After a successful start, with Foerster scoring 29 seconds into the game, the Flyers seemed mostly dormant. Yet by the second period, they seemed like they might have had a chanse. The aggression was coming back, not to the same extent, but it was more similar to the gameplay of the early first and previous games. That’s the Philadelphia Flyers for you, keeping you on your toes when a team notorious for falling apart in the second comes together to play semi-watchable hockey for 20 minutes. There were plenty of good opportunities that were not built into chances. The team needs to get back to creating those chances as they have been in other games this season. They could have won, or at least tied, this game multiple times in the second, yet they fell short. 

A failed powerplay and a few too many penalties in the third reverted them back to the first period status. Even pulling Vladar for the final nearly minute and a half for the man advantage wasn’t enough. Ottawa’s defense sustained the 2-1 lead.

At least Vladar has proved himself to be capable of sustaining his success when the rest of the team leaves them to dry. The Flyers look to turn things around as they return home for a 12:30 puck drop against the Islanders on Saturday.

Monday Night Recap

Looking ahead to tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators, let’s take a look at Monday’s victory against Seattle. The Flyers played a fantastic game, securing two points over the Kraken in a 5-2 win. The evening featured great goal tending, the right moves from Tippett and the continuously successful FCB line, as well as substantial improvement on the powerplay. 

First things first, I’m loving this team under Tocchet. As much as Torts helped develop this team, he was too straight-forward to push this team to their full potential. He was not one for rearranging the status-quo, he simply wanted the team to form around the basic lineups. From Tocchet’s first game starting Vladar over Ersson, he’s been willing to switch things up when he sees something playing out well. Giving Vladar our starting spot has done wonders for the team’s goaltending, which has seemed to be in an infamous ongoing drought. Vladar is 3-1 in his starts for Philadelphia and has not allowed more than two goals in a game all year. Monday’s game was no different, only allowing a deflection goal from Eberle and a powerplay goal from Nyman for Seattle’s only two goals on the evening compared to their 22 shots. 

Tippett is finally breaking out of his shell and his skills are showing again. His three-game goal streak continued Monday with two goals, his fourth and fifth of the season. Goal #4 came off a Seeler feed from Couturier in the first period to tie the game 1-1.  #5 came late in the third period for the final goal of the night with another assist from Sean Couturier. Couturier and Tippett have worked well together as the Flyers starting line, and the pair is certainly working better than Couturier and Michkov. Michkov did however earn the assist on Travis Konecny’s second period goal.

It’s pretty obvious that the Foerster-Cates-Brink line is continuing to shine. The line scored two of the five goals on Monday, both of which were on the power play. Foerster even earned third star of the game honors for his goal and overall encouraging play. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the chemistry on this line is impeccable. Their success is another great example of Tocchet’s eye for chemistry on the team, and it’s working great so far. Both Foerster and Cates have registered five points in 6 games, and Brink close behind has earned 4. 

Cam York’s return has also been vital to our powerplay, earning some of our first PPGs of the season. His assist on both Foerster and Cates’ goals has reminded fans of his importance to our powerplay. I’m hoping his skill on the man advantage, as well as the success of our top six forwards will continue to help the team improve the power play, which has been known to be a challenge for the team. 

Briere’s offseason moves also need to be noted. Zegras and Vladar have turned out to be valuable assets to the team. Zegras was a highly anticipated arrival with a potentially worrisome outcome, yet he’s recorded five assists in six games. His playmaking has done great things for the team so far, and I expect to see this continue in upcoming weeks. Vladar speaks for himself with a 1.75 GAA and a .929 SV% in four games played. Trading Fedotov and bringing in Vladar has done numbers, literally, on the team’s goaltending. Briere’s negotiation and scouting skills are showing greatly.

The Flyers face Tippett’s original team and former captain Claude Giroux tonight as they take on the Senators on their home ice at 7pm. This is the last away game before a five-game home stretch going into November.

Cates Tallies in OT for Flyers Win

The Flyers earned their second win of the season in overtime on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. Tippett scored his third goal of the season to tie the game, with Cates scoring the game winning goal. The Flyers were the offensively dominant team, attempting 21 shots compared to the Wild’s 16. Vladar got another start in net and saved 15 of 16 shots, bringing his season average to 1.65 GAA and a .934 SV%. It was overall a hard-fought game compared to Thursday’s blowout. 

Beyond shots on goal, Philadelphia outplayed Minnesota in nearly every aspect. They blocked slightly more shots, won slightly more faceoffs, and dominated hits and takeaways. Their offense was incredibly productive in both the first and third period. Tippett played a fantastic game, with his prominent skating and play-making shining bright. 

Although Tippett and Zegras seem to be playing well together, and I would have liked to see that combination more moving forward, Tocchet moved Tippett into Michkov’s spot alongside Couturier on Saturday. As much as I would like to see Tippett and Zegras together, I’m hoping Zegras’ powerful playmaking will help fuel Michkov’s fire after a slow start to the season. 

The Flyers still seem to be gaining too many penalties, which normally I would not argue in the slightest. My issue lies in the fact that this team struggles to no end on the penalty. Having Cam York back has begun to help slightly, as they do not seem to be chasing the puck as much, but this is still not the team that should be willingly taking penalties.

The low-event game worked well for Philadelphia. Hopefully this fuel will keep the team going into tonight’s home game against Seattle.

Flyers Optimism Halted Against Winnipeg

The Flyers faced the Winnipeg Jets for their second home game of the year, falling in a disappointing 5-2 loss. This was a much different tone from the first three games of the season, which were filled with hunger and grit. 

The hunger of our young roster died off as Philadelphia only attained 17 shots on goal, their lowest of the season thus far. Tippett had a nice top-shelf snapshot with an assist from Zegras late in the second. It was good to see Tippett making those shots again, as his first few games began slowly. It was also good to see Michkov score his first of the season after a slow start with his own snipe with the man advantage for the Flyers. With a gorgeous feed from Noah Juulsen for his first point of the season, Michkov seems to be picking up speed again and is hopefully back on track. 

Another positive note is the success of our defense, who only allowed Winnipeg an opportunity on 15 shots. While this may sound exciting, it also poses the worry that Ersson only made 10 saves on fifteen shots. I’ve personally never been a huge Ersson fan, as I’ve seen his only true benefit to the team is that he is consistently mediocre. I’ve very rarely seen him play a game that I thought he truly looked like an impressive goalie, rather than seeing him helping out a team that has been impressively bad in recent years. I see this as fuel to give Vladar more time on ice, as he has earned a starter spot, at least in my mind. 

I was also glad to see the Flyers only facing a penalty once last night, as they have been frequently in the box in the first three games of the season. Their powerplay has been a struggle recently, and this season is no different. It was good to see them playing smarter if they couldn’t play harder for the night.

Cam York also made his return last night after coming off injured reserve. Deslauriers, Abols, and Zamula were scratches for the night. 

Tocchet and Konecny were available for postgame interviews and expressed their optimism for the upcoming games. Both reflected on the positive takeaways and look to continue to bring them out among the young team. Although this game did not end in our favor, there were definitely positive takeaways that should continue to grow throughout the season.

The Flyers next game will be on Saturday night at home as they face the Minnesota Wild for a 7pm puckdrop.

Flyers Dominate in a Victorious Home Opener

The Flyers faced the Panthers for the second of their three-game series, emerging victorious in their home opener. A 5-2 win for Philadelphia was spearheaded by captain Sean Couturier, who was responsible for four points last night. Dan Vladar was also back in the net against the Panther’s 26 shots, securing his first win with Philadelphia and earning a .933 SV% on the season so far.

The first period brought a Tyson Foerster goal with an assist from Couturier to put the Flyers in the lead. With the feed from Couturier, Foerster weaved through the Panther’s defense for a top-shelf goal. The Flyers were clearly the better team throughout the first period, outshooting and overall out-playing Florida. They possessed the puck for lots of the play and created scoring opportunities for themselves. With some more fine-tuning, this is entirely the direction the team needs to be moving in. Foerster’s goal was a hopeful example of the strong playmaking and hockey IQ this team possesses. 

The second period began stagnant, although the Flyers continued to hold their own. Couturier netted his second point of the night late in the period after a cross-ice assist from Konecny. Couturier took the puck from the blueline on a 1v1 with Bobrovsky for a gorgeous goal to bring the Flyers to a 2-0 lead. A late penalty against Seth Jones didn’t end in the Flyers favor, as Sam Reinhart found the opportunity for a short-handed goal. Reinhart took advantage of a challenging situation for Vladar moments after another shot by Florida, and got one in the back of the net on a clever wrap-around goal.

Florida tied the game midway through the third with a clean, right in front of the net goal by Sam Bennett on the feed from Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand. After multiple Flyers shots on goal from Noah Cates and former Anaheim teammates, Zegras and Drysdale, the pair assisted Couturier as he regained the Flyers lead. Zegras fed the puck to Couturier from behind the net, reminding Philadelphia of his impeccable playmaking. As Zegras continues to find his groove in Philadelphia, I’m hopeful his intellect in regards to the game around him continues to shine. Along with his reputation for creative goals of his own, Zegras could be vital to the offensive plays of the team. 

Late in the third brought an exciting few plays for the Flyers. Florida pulled their goalie as the Foerster-Cates-Brink line was on for Philadelphia. After a few disappointing shots, Brink netted one to make it a 4-2 game for Philadelphia. The Panthers recovered and quickly put Bobrovsky back in the net, only to pull him again and allow Christian Dvorak to earn the final goal of the game with the assist from Sanheim, as well as Couturier for his fourth and final point of the night.

As exciting as the game was, there is room for improvement, especially in Philadelphia’s powerplay after going 0-5 on the night. I also will be curious to see what goes on with Michkov’s development, as he is noticeably slower after an ankle injury deterred his training in the offseason. I’m hoping to see him return to his previous strength in the coming weeks. 

It was a great effort from both our captain and some younger guys for a successful win for Philadelphia. They were hungry to win, something so simple that has been absent at times.

The Flyers return to Xfinity Mobile Arena for a 7pm puck drop on Thursday night against the Winnipeg Jets.

A Neck-and-Neck Battle Against Carolina Ends in Carolina’s Favor

The Flyers fell short in a neck-and-neck battle with the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday evening. Philadelphia played an overall competitive game against a team consistently earning a playoff spot with plenty of established veterans. Tippett started the game with a powerplay goal in the first period. All three of Carolina’s regulation goals came in the second period, interrupted by a Philadelphia goal by Bobby Brink. Travis Sanheim tied the game late in the third, and the game concluded with a Carolina goal in a deep, competitive overtime. A snubbed overtime goal from Brink ultimately cost them the game, but there was definitely room for improvement across the board. 

Our young team is filled with potential, yet the dots aren’t connecting yet. It’s to be expected with a group of young players under a new head coach, and I don’t think we’re far off from a fitting lineup. Our defensive pairings have struggled to find their footing among each other after new additions and injuries sidelining both Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York. Our defense is a young group, such as newcomers Adam Ginning and Noah Juulsen. There are clearly loose ends amongst the defensemen, who were paired together for last night’s game. Once our defense starts to understand each other’s game, it should be mostly smooth-sailing. 

We’re also waiting to see Matvei Michkov expand his adaptability on the ice. As a prominent right wing, it has been tricky to see him fit in on the roster. He has struggled playing alongside Couturier, as his straight-forward playing style does not suit Michkov’s unique plays. Both have their benefits, yet together they simply don’t work. This poses the issue of where to place Michkov, as he is basically stuck as a right wing as his skill seems to diminish on the left wing. I’ll be curious to see if or who he sacrifices for Michkov’s spot on the roster. 

On the positive side, the Foerster-Cates-Brink line is performing exceptionally for a group of young guys. After Cates’ goal in the season opener on Thursday night, he tallied an assist to Brink’s goal in the second period on Saturday against Carolina. Brink also had an assist with Foerster on Travis Sanheim’s tying goal in the third period. This young line has shown great chemistry and is proving to be our most productive line thus far. I’m hopeful this line will continue to flourish and make bold, assertive plays. 

Brink also had what was supposed to be the game-winning goal in overtime, yet it was disallowed after a call on Sanheim for goalie interference. It appeared that Carolina’s goaltender initiated the contact with Sanheim, who was simply playing the puck. Nonetheless, this left the net wide open for Brink to score in a smart play on his end. While the goal was disallowed, it was nice to see a young player putting himself in the play, a skill that has been sorely lacking in years past. 

Sam Ersson got the start against Carolina after Vladar’s impressive performance on Thursday. Ersson allowed four goals on thirty-nine shots across three periods and almost a full overtime, ending with a .897 SV%. I was particularly impressed with quite a few of his saves, as Carolina played a great game offensively and challenged Ersson with quite a few intense moments in front of the net. While Ersson’s performance was strong, I’d like to see Vladar get more time on ice to determine our true starting goalie. 

Overall the Flyers played a good game against a consistently strong team. Noah Cates is exciting to watch and continues to prove so, and I’m excited to see him continue to shine alongside Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink. Another great example of a young team hungry for success.

Flyers Fall Short to Florida in an Optimistic Season Opener

The Flyers kicked off the 2025-2026 season on Thursday night on the road against the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. The Flyers fell short in their first game under head coach Rick Tocchet in a 2-1 Florida victory. While on the scoreboard the Panthers may have dominated, having 34 shots compared to Philadelphia’s 20, I’d say it was an overall successful opener against the top team in the league. 

The most notable player of the evening for Philadelphia was newcomer Dan Vladar in the net. Tocchet made the bold move giving him the start over the Flyers typical starter, Sam Ersson. Although shocking, Vladar’s successful preseason performance carried over into last night’s game, making 32 saves on 34 shots and ending the evening with a .941 SV%. His outstanding performance against a team of skilled shooters proved Tocchet’s choice to be a strong one. I hope to see Vladar in net on Saturday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes and potentially begin to overturn the Flyers’ goaltending drought. 

Giving Vladar the start in net wasn’t the only notable roster decision made by Tocchet last night. Dennis Gilbert and Nikita Grebenkin were healthy scratches, alongside Jett Luchanko after initially making the opening night roster for the second year in a row. I have to admire Tocchet’s initiative of making roster changes where he sees fit, especially so early in the season. He’s given the team a reminder that nothing is guaranteed and those that prove themselves to be the best player will be the ones who find themselves on the ice. This initiative is one that will look to fuel the young talent on the team as they work to prove themselves and earn their spot on the ice. 

Another hopeful performance last night was that of Noah Cates. The left wing began his fifth season in Philadelphia with a bang, scoring the only goal of the evening. Following through with the rebound on Foerster’s shot, Cates again showed his awareness on the ice. Tocchet summed it up best in the post game interview, sharing, “Cates is invested in what we’re doing”. Cates has proved himself to be a knowledgeable hockey player, making the right plays when needed and creating the right opportunities for himself and his linemates. Last night was no different, as evidenced by his second period goal and multiple shots in the third.

Other high-potential shots last night came from Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster, and Owen Tippett. These players made multiple shots on goal that challenged Bobrovsky, most notably Tippett with some quick, tactical plays. Although they hit the crossbar multiple times, the Flyers held their own against a top goalie. Regardless of skilled attempts from the Philadelphia forward, Bobrovsky is simply an elite goalie whose understanding of the game around him goes unmatched. 

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Flyers. The faults in the new systems and pairings, specifically that of Noah Juulsen and Egor Zamula, were bluntly exposed compared to the chemistry oozing out of Florida. This specific pairing’s lack of effective decision-making allowed Florida’s thriving offensive-zone possession to exhaust Philadelphia’s defense. Cam York’s absence ricochetted through the defensive pairings. This was most seen on the power play, as the Flyers struggled to hold their own without York’s leadership in the man advantage as had been established in the preseason. 

The Flyers overall played a hard-fought game against an undeniably physically, and even mentally, challenging competitor. The pressure of playing against the Stanley Cup Champions is no joke, especially as they are still learning the structure and chemistry under a new coach. While there is definitely space to tighten up the lines and fine-tune the decision-making and quick, effective plays, it was a hopeful start to the season. The Flyers look up to clean up the edges of their game on Saturday’s game on the road against Carolina.

Ryan Ellis’ Long Awaited Departure

This weekend, the Philadelphia Flyers finally traded defenseman Ryan Ellis’ contract to the San Jose Sharks. Following his anticipated arrival in Philadelphia, the now 34-year-old played four games over four seasons on an eight-year, $50 million contract. The contract now has two seasons left after his career-ending pelvis injury in November 2021. 

Alongside Ellis, the Flyers parted ways with a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. The Flyers had also acquired a sixth-round pick from Columbus, and the conditions of the Ellis deal will provide San Jose with the higher of the two sixth-round picks. The Flyers now have five picks in the 2026 Draft, one pick in each of the first three rounds, one in the sixth and one in the seventh round.

The Flyers welcomed forward Carl Grundstrom and defenseman Artem Guryev as a result of the trade. 27-year-old Grundstrom scored nine points in 56 games last season with the Sharks after playing 236 games with the Los Angeles Kings over six seasons. Although he is not a consistent points guy, he is a physical two-way player who will help the Flyers strengthen their bottom six. 22-year-old Guryev has yet to make his NHL debut after spending last season in the ECHL with the Wichita Thunder. Neither additions have made the opening night roster. 

Flyers Publish Opening Night Roster

The Flyers published their opening night roster yesterday with notable additions and moves. 

Many familiar forwards kept their spot on this year’s roster, such as Brink, Cates, Foerster, Hathaway, Deslauriers, Michkov, and Tippet. Captain Sean Couturier returns for his fourteenth season in Philadelphia, assisted by alternate captain Travis Konecny. Newcomers Christian Dvorak, Rodrido Ābols, Nikita Grebenkin, and Trevor Zegras will also be dressing Thursday night. Additionally, Jett Luchanko looks to prove himself after making the opening roster for the second year in a row. The 19-year-old is on thin ice after only playing in the first four games last season before being sent back down. 

On the blueline, Drysdale, Sanheim, Seeler, and Zamula are returning to Philadelphia. Cam York has been labeled day-to-day on injured reserve after a lower-body injury earlier this week. This is a substantial loss for the Flyers, as York has been a consistent defenseman in recent years. On the topic of injuries, Rasmus Ristolainen remains on injured non-roster following his tricep surgery in March. Some new kids to Philadelphia’s defense this year are Dennis Gilbert, Adam Ginning and Noah Juulsen.

In the net will be Sam Ersson returning as Philadelphia’s starter. His backup will be Dan Vladar after a successful preseason.