Bean tied it 1-1 at 8:24 on the rebound of a shot by Adam Fantilli, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, who had the primary assist in his NHL debut on his 19th birthday.
“It was really cool,” Fantilli said. “I had dreams of stepping out there on that ice, so I was so grateful to be able to do that. Not the result we wanted. A couple things we’ve got to clean up.”
Konecny made it 2-1 at 12:43 with a snap shot from the left face-off circle off a pass from Laughton.
“[Laughton] made great play there when he pulled up and bought some time … and I ended up with an opportunity,” Konecny said.
Atkinson pushed the lead to 3-1 at 18:31 of the third period by scoring into an empty net after Hart rimmed the puck up the boards to him. Atkinson missed all of last season and had neck surgery Dec. 21, 2022.
“We did a good job of in front of our net,” Hart said. “We did a good job in front of theirs, as well -- tied up some sticks and blocked some shots and battled hard.”
Laine cut it to 3-2 at 19:16 with Merzlikins pulled for the extra attacker before Konecny scored into an empty net with one second left for the 4-2 final.
NOTES: Laine got a point in his eighth consecutive season opener, the longest streak to begin an NHL career. Mats Sundin (1990-91 to 1996-97), Joe Sakic (1988-89 to 1994-95) and Wayne Gretzky (1979-80 to 1985-86) are tied with seven. … Columbus defenseman Ivan Provorov was minus-2 with three shots on goal in 25:11 of ice time against his former team. The Flyers traded him to the Blue Jackets on June 6 in a three-way deal that involved the Los Angeles Kings. He played seven seasons for Philadelphia. … Defenseman Damon Severson was even and played 21:30 in his Columbus debut after being traded from the New Jersey Devils on June 9. … Philadelphia is 7-0-2 in season openers since 2015-16.