The Flyers made some exciting plays but were on the wrong end of plays a few times too many. The costly turnovers put them on the wrong end of the scoreboard Thursday night as they lost 4-3 to the visiting New York Islanders.
The basics
First period: 1:46- Travis Sanheim (Christian Dvorak) (SHG)
Second period: 3:45- Max Shabanov (Maxim Tsyplakov, Simon Holmstrom) (PPG), 11:10- Travis Konecny (Nick Seeler, Sean Couturier), 11:25- Anders Lee (Maxim Tsyplakov, Ryan Pulock), 17:12- Adam Pelech (Jean-Gabriel Pageau) (SHG), 18:02- Noah Cates (Tyson Foerster, Cam York) (PPG)
Third period: 17:06- Emil Heineman (Anthony Duclair, Mathew Barzal)
SOG: 21 (PHI) – 27 (NYI)
Some takeaways
TMZ? Well, it could be something.
The trio of Owen Tippett, Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras could have been a goldmine for Tippett just looking at the potential on paper. However, the synergy or chemistry didn’t seem to gel right off the bat. Tippett looked a bit out of sorts while Zegras and Michkov might have looked more comfy with Nikita Grebenkin or even Christian Dvorak on the wing. However a shift halfway through period one showed some promise. Tippett won a puck battle along the boards, feeding it to Zegras who quickly fed Michkov. Michkov was foiled on the attempt but it was a nifty little play.
Zegras was also good on both ends of the puck, breaking up a potential Islanders rush following a giveaway by Adam Ginning. But the line made two mistakes that caught them up ice and chasing in transition. Jamie Drysdale made some miscues on both goals given up while the line was on the ice. The line has some promise, but they without question need some work when they don’t have the puck. Perhaps a little too loose for Rick Tocchet’s liking.
Nice little goal
The Flyers maintained control in the Islanders end midway into period two. While making some changes, they continued making safe, crisp passes while creating some traffic in front of Ilya Sorokin. Travis Konecny took a nice pass from Nikita Grebenkin before finding some time and a lane to beat Sorokin for Philadelphia’s second goal.
Speaking of Ginning
Ginning was fine in the opening frame, with Zegras quickly erasing a miscue in the neutral zone. Ginning did a good job boxing out at times when not simply overpowering the Islander, clearing the zone and making simple, high-percentage clears out of his own zone. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch yet may still have the upper hand when it comes to being the Flyers sixth defenseman, something not too many would’ve stated when training camp started two weeks ago.
The magic Christian
It didn’t take long but my goodness what a pretty short-handed goal. Christian Dvorak boogied up ice and looked to be in alone on Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin. However, Dvorak made a beautiful backhanded pass to Travis Sanheim who buried it for a gorgeous tally and an early 1-0 lead. The goal made fans quickly forget the Sean Couturier minor penalty he took early in the game. Unfortunately on shift soon afterwards Dvorak seemed to be favoring his leg after taking a shot around his knee.
SHG!
Dvo with the dish, Sanny with the finish. #NYIvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/O9Kf6czyas
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 2, 2025
On the Flyers fourth penalty of the game, Dvorak again had a great short-handed chance. He tried outwaiting Sorokin but wasn’t able to put the puck by him despite some nice moves heading towards him. And in the third he nearly cashed in on a pass from Garnet Hathaway close in but wasn’t able to get wood (or aluminum) on the puck.
Ersson seeing pucks, stopping pucks…sometimes
Sam Ersson was getting the nod for the entire game Thursday night. And the idea that he’s seeing the puck easier was evident in the opening frame. The Flyers did block some shots but primarily the defense did a strong job of clearing the lanes to let Ersson see and stop the puck. Ersson also stopped a breakaway rush by Emil Heineman in the first and fortunately avoided any injury to his leg after looking like contact was made. In the second Heineman had another good shot but Ersson got the shaft of his stick on the puck.
A penalty to Garnet Hathaway led to New York’s first goal, one Ersson didn’t have much of a chance on. A nice pass and nicer deflection by Max Shabanov led to the game being tied.
The second goal was leaky sadly. Just 15 seconds after Travis Konecny gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead, the Islanders Anders Lee took a shot the goalie should’ve had even through a bit of traffic. It’s an exhibition game and they don’t count. You still want to see those saves made. Ersson atoned for the goal with a stellar stop against Mathew Barzal who was in alone for a one-time in the slot that Ersson stoned him on.
Ersson looked a bit pissed giving up a short-handed goal, unable to stop a two-man Islanders breakaway, which is saying a lot with a five-on-four advantage. Jamie Drysdale couldn’t make a play to get the puck up ice and tried to be way too cute. Michkov was left watching Jean-Gabriel Pageau passing to Adam Pelech for a rather easy goal. The slight “are you f–king kidding me” shrug afterwards was probably something he’d like to have back. Not a good look. Had the Flyers shrugged at every bad goal Ersson gave up last year some players would’ve had torn rotator cuffs. Fortunately the Flyers tied it up thanks to Noah Cates less than a minute later.
ZZZZamula
You have to feel for Egor Zamula. From being a key component as Michkov’s translator early last season to somehow finding his way into territory he doesn’t want to be in. Zamula was paired with Ginning at times but didn’t have a solid game. Zamula led all Flyers with three giveaways, something a forward might be able to get away with but not a defenseman. His play at times looked hesitant and just looked. A perfect example was halfway through the third when Adam Ginning had his man pinned up. Zamula decided to join Ginning, leaving an Islander wide open had the pass gotten into that area.
Zamula looks as if he knows he’s the fifth defenseman and has things sewed up for the final roster cuts. If he keeps playing like this, he’ll be fighting for his life as a Flyer before the season’s quarter pole. Zamula finished with 16:17 in ice time, the least of all Flyers defensemen.
It’s early, but one almost guarantee
Rick Tocchet is six games into his tenure with the Flyers. He has developed a small but interesting trait to start each period the last two games. In six consecutive periods over the last two games, Tocchet opened the period with the line of Noah Cates, Bobby Brink and Tyson Foerster. Knowing they are very steady in both ends of the ice, and have a tremendous work ethic, they seem to set the tone early which is never a bad thing.
Two-thirds of the trio connected on a power play late in the second to tie things up. Foerster found a seam in the Islanders’ penalty kill that left Noah Cates with a gimme.
The @PECOconnect Power Play keeps lighting it up.️#NYIvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/ZUQiQoOYg5
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 3, 2025
Glitch in the Xbox?
The Xfinity Mobile Arena had a slight glitch as the fans in attendance were being informed the time remaining in the first period. The scoreboard was stuck on the time (9:33) but play kept going on. The scoreboard clock was fixed shortly afterwards, leaving public address announcer Lou Nolan with a little less work on his hands.
Source
In the final tune-up game before the season opener in Florida next Thursday, the Flyers played what was essentially the AHL’s Utica Comets at the Xfinity-Mobile Center. In front of a relatively small crowd just hours before the Phillies-Dodgers NLDS gets underway, the Flyers eked out a 4-3 shootout win over the Devils.
The basics
First period: 16:09 – Kevin Rooney (Ethan Edwards, Austin Strand), 18:16 – Travis Sanheim (Jett Luchanko, Nikita Grebenkin)
Second period: 0:40 – Lenni Hameenho (Shane Lachance, Calen Addison) (PPG), 7:47 – Travis Konecny (Matvei Michkov, Jamie Drysdale) (PPG)
Third period: 1:31 – Paul Cotter (Arseni Gritsyuk), 18:07 – Travis Konecny (Drysdale, Sanheim)
Overtime: No scoring.
Shootout: Bobby Brink – No goal, Arseni Gritsyuk – No goal, Trevor Zegras – Goal, Paul Cotter – No goal, Travis Konecny – Goal
SOG: 36 (PHI) – 25 (NJD)
Some takeaways
Flyers A-Team shaking off rust
After the Devils played the majority of their A-team in their last preseason game, the Devils brought a ton of their AHLers to South Philly to square off with a full NHL lineup for the Orange and Black. The result? Not the blowout you’d be hoping for, but also nothing that needs to raise too big of a concern moving into the season.
The one thing worth pointing out though, is the reality that the Flyers might take some time to fully adjust to Rick Tocchet’s systems. There’s a lot to learn, and it might take a bit for the Flyers to really roll with the defensive zone systems in particular. There were various moments today, and in the other preseason games, where the Flyers just seem slightly out of sync in their defensive zone coverages as a team. Nothing out of the ordinary when a new coach comes to town.
Luchanko’s inconsistency
One of the big storylines of this final game was how big the stakes were for Jett Luchanko. With Nikita Grebenkin’s spot seemingly secure with his consistency in the preseason, Luchanko’s place on this roster was in doubt heading into this one.
Luchanko, frankly, had a really tough start in the first 15 minutes or so of this game. Especially in the defensive zone, Luchanko made some questionable decisions with the puck that led to multiple turnovers in dangerous areas. But, to his credit, Luchanko settled down and played well off his linemates today – Garnet Hathaway and Rodrigo Abols. In the offensive zone late in the first period, Luchanko showed the poise that will likely earn him a place on this roster. Holding off pressure along the boards, Luchanko fed Travis Sanheim for the Flyers’ first goal of the game.
Sanny's THIRD of the preseason.#NJDvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Qbin0F16fs
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 4, 2025
Check-in on final roster battles
In the middle of the game, the Flyers sent Dennis Gilbert to waivers, thus making the final cut to the roster. So, it appears the Flyers will likely roll with Noah Juulsen, Egor Zamula, and Adam Ginning for the depth defense, and carry all three of Luchanko, Grebenkin, and Abols. It’ll be really interesting to see who is the odd-man out in both the forward and the defense core on opening night, but for now the roster is set. If we were to guess right now, we’d be surprised if the Flyers kept Luchanko or Grebenkin just to not play them, so Abols will likely be the extra guy for the first game at least.
Michkov’s behind-the-net prowess…
If there’s one thing clear about Matvei Michkov, it’s his strength and poise with the puck behind the cage. That skill was on display again in the second period, when Michkov carefully constructed a power play goal from behind the net. After being originally denied on a chance, Michkov regrouped behind the net and eventually found a seam for a goal-line pass to Travis Konecny.
1⃣1⃣ and 3⃣9⃣ are at it again.#NJDvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/JTJVXFCH2e
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 4, 2025
…and larger takeaways from the Flyers’ power play
Culminating in the Konecny power play goal, there is so much more happening on the average Flyers power play now. It’s preseason, so take it with a grain of salt, but the Flyers just look so much better on the man-advantage than in years past. There’s actual off-puck movement happening, the quarterbacks at the top of the zone (Jamie Drysdale, Cam York) are distributing the puck well, and the Michkov-Zegras connection is alive and well. It’ll be interesting to see how much of a focus Michkov will have behind the net, and if the Flyers will try to leverage that strength of his moving forward. Lots to like, and the early signs of this power play are trending upwards for the first time in a while.
A swing and a miss from Vladar
The Flyers’ goaltending concerns veered its ugly head at the worst time in this one. A little more than halfway into the third period, Vladar played a puck at the side of the net, and completely whiffed on a pass attempt to a teammate. The Devils swarmed, and the puck eventually ended up on the stick of Paul Cotter and into the back of the net. That mistake was nearly the difference, before Travis Konecny’s goal with the net empty.
Otherwise, there was lots to like with Vladar’s play today and in the rest of the preseason. He’s pretty calm in the net, has controlled his rebounds, and has the look of a goaltender who can put up at least average results. The Flyers need those league-average results so badly, so let’s hope.
Konecny game-tying goal
The Flyers didn’t want to end preseason without a fight, and also, without yet another preseason overtime. With the goalie pulled with around two minutes remaining, Konecny found some space at the top of the circle to rip a puck past the Devils goaltender for the tie.
TK says play on. #NJDvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/jWkwxgWPX5
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 4, 2025
Zegras shootout excellence, Konecny shootout winner
After a relatively quiet and scoreless 3-on-3, the Flyers and Devils had to go to a shootout to finally end the preseason slate. In what may be an area of strength for the Flyers now, Tocchet sent out one of the best to ever do it, Trevor Zegras (62 percent success rate in shootouts all time). Zegras connected, and after multiple stops from Vladar on the other end, Konecny finished the game off with a goal in Round 3.
FLYERS WIN
TK saves the day. #NJDvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/0dT63arMfo
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 4, 2025
One final takeaway:
Go Phils.
Source
Ryan Ellis wasn’t expected to be traded by the Philadelphia Flyers. Who would want him? Well, Sunday we found out that the San Jose Sharks were interested, acquiring Ellis and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft in exchange for defenseman Artem Guryev and forward Carl Grundstrom. But let’s look a bit deeper in what that does for the Flyers’ salary cap moving forward, and what it could also mean, given the skaters Philadelphia received in return.
First off, Ryan Ellis played all of four games for the Flyers back in 2021-22. He had a goal and four assists for five points in those four games. That’s it. The devastating, career-ending injury he suffered in that season has been essentially tied to the Flyers’ Long Term Injured Relief ever since. Ellis was slated to make $6.25 million AAV this season and also for the 2026-27 season, now it appears that entire contract has been taken by the Sharks. In short, this is a huge win in terms of the salary cap. Philadelphia will not have to worry about whether Ellis is going to be placed on the roster or not. As was previously discussed during the Fedotov trade, the Flyers were worried that any bonuses on Matvei Michkov’s entry-level contract would carry into the following season with Ellis placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve; a possible bonus of $3.3 million should Michkov hit all the bonus targets would now be paid without seeing them roll over into next year’s salary cap.
Coming back from the Sharks is Arterm Guryev, a physically imposing blueliner who is on an entry-level deal. His cap hit is $860,000 for this year, the final year of his deal with Philadelphia retaining his rights on the next contract. Given his track record — the whole of his last season played in the ECHL with Wichita — it feels safe to assume that he will begin playing for Lehigh Valley in the American Hockey League, if not back in the ECHL with Reading. As for forward Carl Grundstrom, he’s on the final year of a two-year, $3.6 million deal which will see him be a $1.8 million cap hit this season before he becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent. So the $6.25 million goes off the books thanks to Ellis, and $2.66 million is put back on the books if by some strange happenstance Guryev and Grundstrom are both on the Flyers’ roster. That’s an immediate savings of $3.59 million with the removal of Ellis off the books.
Should both Grundstrom and Guryev both spend most of the season in the minors — and again this is the surer scenario — that is a much bigger savings for Philadelphia as it would be the full $6.25 million previously paid to Ellis off the books. Shortly after the trade, Grundstrom was placed on waivers by Philadelphia. Should he clear waivers, it gives the Flyers the option to send him down to Lehigh Valley. So, in layman’s terms, no matter how the return pieces fall, should Michkov hit all the bonus targets worth $3.3 million, nothing will be rolling into the following year in terms of overages. All of it would be accounted for in 2025-26.
Opens things up a lot more
The fact the Flyers now have this $6.25 million off the cap it should open the door a bit more to lure or entice Unrestricted Free Agents. It almost seemed a certainty that Ryan Ellis would continue being a member of the Flyers organization until the conclusion of his contract. Now that he’s gone, combined with the fact additional buyouts (Cam Atkinson) and retained salaries (Kevin Hayes, Scott Laughton) will be off the books, it should give Philadelphia a lot more cash to entertain some of the bigger fish in the National Hockey League pond. That is assuming those big fish (or some of them) even get to free agency without first agreeing to terms with their current respective clubs before July 1 (but that’s a can of worms to open another day). As it stands, according to capwages, the Flyers currently have roughly $39.5 million of cap space looking at the 2026-27 season.
Looking before July 1, the Flyers also have six restricted free agents they will need to resign at the end of this season. So those funds from the Ellis deal — as well as the rising salary cap — could also be allotted to sign Trevor Zegras, Nikita Grebenkin, Jamie Drysdale, Bobby Brink, Egor Zamula, and goaltender Sam Ersson, and of course there’s also the fact that Matvei Michkov could be looking at contract extension as early as next July 1 as well, when he will be in the final year of his three-year entry-level deal. That’s not to say that money from the Ellis trade will be used specifically for those signings, but it just makes things a little less hectic or cumbersome for Flyers general manager Danny Briere.
Worst case scenario?
Although there’s absolutely no report to suggest otherwise, it’s expected that defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is slated to be healthy and return to the team sometime in November, possibly early in the month or in the middle of the month. However, if the injury which has nagged Ristolainen the last few seasons carries on into this season, it’s possible he might have to be placed on Injured Reserve or, in a nightmare scenario, Long-Term Injured Reserve. If that was to happen (and that’s a big if), then this Ellis move would essentially be seeing the Flyers remove one financial headache replaced with a slightly cheaper but still expensive headache (the difference between the Ellis contract and Ristolainen’s in terms of AAV is a mere $1.15 million). It would be at least getting rid of a huge problem having both Ellis and Ristolainen on LTIR regarding the situation with Michkov’s performance bonuses as mentioned above. But it would still be a problem for this season and next, unless of course Briere was able to make a similar deal with another club and send Ristolainen (who has no clauses regarding trade destinations or movement) elsewhere. However, again, there is no indication that Ristolainen is going to be delayed in returning to the Flyers and be able to play in roughly four to six weeks.
But for now, it looks like the Flyers can breathe a little easier knowing that Ryan Ellis and his $6.25 million is off the books as of today and not sometime in the spring of 2027. That in itself is a huge win! And it gives the Flyers approximately $7 million to play with as they have that much space under the cap with this trade. Briere looks very good both in the short-term and the long-term with this trade.
Source
The Philadelphia Flyers were missing a member of their leadership group — well, at least officially. After trading Scott Laughton last season, the team didn’t officially replace him as an alternate captain.
Coming into this season, Sean Couturier maintained his role as the captain, with Travis Konecny hanging onto his as and alternate captain, and the Flyers revealed their other alternate captain on opening night, and it comes as no surprise.
Sanheim is one of the leaders on the team, and now it’s official.
Couturier is still the longest-tenured member of the Flyers and is the deserved captain of the club. Sanheim has also spent his entire career in Philadelphia since being drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut in the 2017-18 season and has been a stalwart on the blue line since.
Sanheim’s name was in trade rumors when Danny Briere took over as general manager in 2023, with a reported trade to the St. Louis Blues reportedly nixed due to Torey Krug invoking his no-trade clause.
That’s been a blessing in disguise for the Flyers as Sanheim has broken out in a big way over the last two seasons. He was named to Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, and he did not look out of place.
Sanheim hit career highs in goals (10), assists (34), and points (44) in the 2023-24 season, and although he took a step down offensively last season, he averaged a career-high 24:30 per game. It could be argued that Sanheim was the Flyers’ most valuable player for portions of last season.
The 29-year-old defenseman has now played 579 career games with the Flyers. He’s been able to stay healthy over the last four seasons, only missing four games in total and playing in all 82 contests last season.
Congratulations to Travis Sanheim on a very well-deserved honor.
Source
Philadelphia Flyers prospects Porter Martone and Shane Vansaghi’s season kicked off in an unexpected way; a loss. The no. 2 ranked Michigan Spartans were heavy favorites coming into this series against New Hampshire, but a buzzer-beater on Thursday night secured the upset victory for the Wildcats. However, the Spartans took the victory in game two, improving to 1-1-0. While the final score doesn’t show it, they had complete control on Friday night, out-shooting the Wildcats 38-13.
Statistically, Martone had a strong series overall with three assists, including an absolute beauty of an assist from behind the net in the second of the two contests. Vansaghi was held off the scoresheet, but made his presence felt on the forecheck and was, as expected, involved in what was a very physical two-game series. From the start of the series, Martone made his presence felt and was seemingly everywhere on the ice. He threw his body around, created scoring chances, and added an assist, showing flashes of why there’s so much around him.
In game one, discipline was an issue for Michigan State. They gave the Wildcats plenty of time with the man advantage, resulting in two power play goals against. Despite the loss, the Spartans were arguably the better team, as was expected, but the Wildcats were more opportunistic and made use of those man advantage situations. They seemingly resolved their discipline issues in game two, taking just two minor penalties; a far cry from the 21 minutes in penalties from game one.
Martone’s assist helped tie the game at two, when he won a puck battle along the boards and sent it to the point for a shot that would be re-directed by Charlie Stramel. Retrievals are an area of the game we’re expecting Martone to excel at (one of many) and it’s nice to see this lead to a goal early in the season.
After a lot of back and forth play, it looked as if this game was going to require extra time. However, a scramble in front of Michigan State’s net led to Marty Lavins scoring the game-winning goal for New Hampshire with just over five seconds remaining in regulation.
3.8 SECONDS LEFT FOR THE WIN FOR @UNHMHOCKEY#NCAAHockey x
B1G+ pic.twitter.com/qzfkcs5sLV
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) October 10, 2025
Game two carried on the physical tone of game one, if not enhanced it. The first period especially was very physical, with Martone getting involved, even getting rocked at one point. Fans in attendance were calling for a penalty on the play, but it was deemed a clean hit. It seemed as if Martone was a bit of a target for the Wildcats in the first, and this isn’t our Flyers bias showing — the commentators made note of this as well. New Hampshire surely won’t be the only team to focus in on Martone this season, so we’ll be expecting more of that. He can certainly hold his own, though.
This was a standout defensive performance from Michigan State, allowing just 4 shots through the first twenty minutes and change. Martone’s first real standout chance came about midway through the game, when he took a pass from the point around the right faceoff dot and took a shot from just in front of the goal line. Wildcats goaltender Kyle Chauvette, who was the standout in this game with 36 stops, got just enough of the shot while sliding to his left to keep Martone off the board.
The Spartans first power play opportunity of the game would come shortly after, with Martone setting up on the left board to start. They moved the puck around well enough, though a lot was on the perimeter, minus one dangerous chance from Stramel in the slot. Martone did drive to the net at one point looking for a pass, and eventually settled into a net-front role midway after a minute along the wall. Vansaghi was on the second power play unit, though they never got set up in the zone.
The Spartans were finally able to solve Kyle Chauvette, opening the scoring at the 14:12 mark of the second period. After a quick touch-up to avoid an offside call, Martone received a pass moving down the middle of the ice and directed the puck into the corner. He retrieves his own chip, and finds Stramel in the left faceoff circle. Stramel then found captain Matt Basgall sneaking in from the point for the snipe.
Later, Vansaghi popped offensively when he set up 2024 first rounder Cayden Lindstrom up for a great cross-ice chance off the rush, but the two couldn’t connect as Lindstrom couldn’t get the shot off.
The third period opened with a bang, with Martone setting up Patrick Geary from behind the net to give the Spartans a two goal lead — a lead that would eventually hold as the final score.
Now that’s a sight we would love to get used to; behind the net passes. Martone pulls Chauvette towards him before dishing it to Geary on the opposite side for the one-timer. With how locked in Chauvette was in this game, it was going to take a play like this for them to beat him for a second time.
The Spartans were given a huge opportunity to increase their lead when Reid Conn was given a five-minute major for crosschecking. However, Stramel was called for tripping just ten seconds into the power play, killing the first two minutes of the major, with the remaining 2:49 not resulting in many chances. Towards the end of the man advantage, Martone did come close to his fourth assist in two games, setting up Ryker Lee for a high-danger scoring chance right in the middle of the slot that he rang off the bar. Martone has created a ton of offense for the Spartans through the first two regular season games.
An early goalie pull gave New Hampshire a chance, but they were ultimately unable to get on the board. Trey Augustine finished with a 13-save shutout, as Michigan State improved to 1-1-0 on the season. It would be a bit dramatic to say that the second game of a season was a “must win,” but given expectations, starting 0-2 would have been a concerning start. Instead, they’re walking away with an even record and an impressive bounce back performance in the back half of the back-to-back.
Up next for the Spartans is a series with Boston University, the no. 3 ranked team in the country.
Source
NNY