After a tough and grueling training camp and seven-game preseason schedule, the Philadelphia Flyers will begin the 82-game regular season haul on Friday with a road game in British Columbia against the Vancouver Canucks.
The team held practice at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees on Monday. As the week progresses, the scene will shift to Vancouver for opening night prep after a flight across three zones.
At the start of training camp, the Flyers players underwent head coach John Tortorella's infamously demanding skating test with a rope through the middle of the ice to make sure that no one could take shortcuts. Days 2 and 3 featured two-a-day scrimmages (with one group scrimmaging twice each day and the third group turning around to play in the exhibition opener).
As typical in any NHL preseason, the Flyers lineups varied widely from game to game during the exhibition schedule. Likewise, the opposing lineups differed widely from match to match on how many NHL regulars or roster bubble players (as opposed to AHL veterans or longer-term young prospects) were featured.
Here's a quick recap of each of the seven preseason games.
Sept. 22, 2024: Flyers 6 @ Capitals 2
Joel Farabee (power play goal, three assists), Morgan Frost (even strength and power play goals, power play assist), Bobby Brink (two goals), the debuting Matvei Michkov (two assists) and Jett Luchanko (two assists) were the standouts.
Ivan Fedotov went the first two periods in goal, before 2023 second-round pick Carson Bjarnason played the rest of the game. The Capitals' lineup largely consisted of prospects, NHL role players and AHL players from the Hershey Bears.
Flyers starting lineup:
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Matvei Michkov
Joel Farabee - Jett Luchanko - Bobby Brink
Noah Cates - Rodrigo Abols - Olle Lycksell
Brendan Furry - Rhett Gardner - Sawyer Boulton
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae - Helge Grans
Adam Ginning - Spencer Gill
Ivan Fedotov
[Carson Bjarnason]
September 23, 2024: Flyers 0 @ Canadiens 5
Traveling on the day of the game from Philadelphia to Montreal, the Flyers struggled for energy. With the exceptions of Brink and Olle Lycksell (a goal against the Caps the previous day), the Flyers iced an entirely different lineup in Montreal.
A disallowed Flyers power play goal late in the first period appeared to be a missed call. Montreal scored in the second period to take a 1-0 lead into the final 20 minutes.
The Canadiens scored three quick early third period goals to blow the game open and went on to add another for a 5-0 final. Goalie Eetu Makiniemi (then on a tryout, later signed to a one-year, two-way contract) was solid in goal over the first half of regulation.
The blueline had some struggles and veteran netminder Cal Peterseon was unable to stop the bleeding once the Habs got rolling in the third period. Two Flyers defensemen who stood out positively all not were partners Rasmus Ristolainen and Egor Zamula.
Flyers starting lineup:
Tyson Foerster - Sean Couturier - Anthony Richard
Olle Lycksell - Ryan Poehling - Bobby Brink
Oscar Eklind - Scott Laughton - Massimo Rizzo
Elliot Desnoyers- Jacob Gaucher - Nicolas Deslauriers
Egor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen
Hunter McDonald - Olver Bonk
Louie Belpedio - Ronnie Attard
Eetu Makiniemi
[Cal Petersen]
September 26, 2024; Flyers 2 vs. Islanders 0
Buoyed by a 37-save shutout by Samuel Ersson, the Flyers scored two goals in the third period to down the Islanders at Wells Fargo Center. Michkov and Luchanko each made their respective home preseason debuts in this tilt.
Michkov knocked on the door offensively numerous times over the first two-plus periods both in terms of setting up chances (Frost, Tippett and Erik Johnson each had scoring opportunities) and in receiving no less than three high-end chances of his own.
Finally, Michkov and the Flyers broke through. First, he started a sequence in which Johnson potted a Cam York rebound. Later, he tallied an empty-net goal after a near miss (hitting the post) seconds earlier. Also notable: with the Flyers protecting a 1- lead, Luchanko was deployed on the late game shift that ended with the Michkov unassisted empty netter.
The Islanders' lineup was heavily peppered with Bridgeport Islanders (AHL) and role player hopefuls.
Flyers starting lineup:
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster - Jett Luchanko - Travis Konecny
Oscar Eklind - Rodrigo Abols - Anthony Richard
Nicolas Deslauriers - Jacob Gaucher - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae - Erik Johnson
Adam Ginning - Helge Grans
Samuel Ersson
[Cal Petersen]
September 28, 2024: Flyers 3 vs. Bruins 2 (OT)
Power play and 3-on-3 goals by Michkov paced the Flyers to victory. The 19-year-old Russian rookie has Rasmus Ristolainen also scored for the Flyers, while Olle Lycksell and Travis Konecny had two helpers. Konecny's lead pass to Michkov started the game-winning goal sequence in sudden death.
A pivotal moment in the game happened at 16:11 of the opening period. Boston gave Michkov rough treatment in the attack zone, and Flyers captain Couturier moved in immediately to put a stop to it. He dropped the gloves with Boston's Billy Sweezey. Ristolainen scored on the next shift.
Fedotov went the distance in goal for Philly. He settled after a rough start to make 25 saves on 27 shots.
Similar to the Islanders game two nights early, this game had a Bruins "B" lineup against a well-mixed group on the Philly side.
Flyers starting lineup:
Matvei Michkov - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee - Jett Luchanko - Bobby Brink
Scott Laughton - Rodrigo Abols - Noah Cates
Olle Lycksell - Ryan Poehling -Anthony Richard
Hunter McDonald - Rasmus Ristolainen
Adam Ginning - Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula - Oliver Bonk
Ivan Fedotov
[Eetu Makiniemi]
September 30, 2024: Flyers 3 @ Islanders 4
In terms of on-paper lineups, this tilt in Elmont was the reverse of the previous game against the Islanders in Philly. New York iced a lineup that was close to their anticipated opening night group. The Flyers did not have many established regulars
Nevertheless, Philly put up a valiant fight. It was not until Kyle Palmieri broke a 3-3 deadlock in the final minute of regulation that the Islanders were able to emerge as the victor.
Anthony Richard (PPG, 1st) got the Flyers on the board early in the second period on a lucky play that Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov accidentally re-directed into the New York net.
Later trailing 3-1, the Flyers pushed back for goals courtesy of a deflection by Brendan Furry (1st) and an open Rasmus Ristolainen power play shot from the left circle. Eric Johnson was credited with two assists, while Scott Laughton, Emil Andrae, Farabee (fourth assist and fifth point of the preseason) and Zamula chipped in one helper apiece.
Fedotov got the start in net for the Flyers, playing the first 31:04. He stopped 13 of 16 shots, exiting right after the third New York goal. Making his NHL debut, Alexei Kolosov (six saves on seven shots) entered the game and went the rest of the way in net.
Flyers starting lineup:
Noah Cates - Ryan Poehling - Joel Farabee
Olle Lycksell -Scott Laughton - Anthony Richard
Nicolas Deslauriers - Rodrigo Abols - Oscar Eklind
Brendan Furry - Rhett Gardner - Sawyer Boulton
Egor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen
Emil Andrae- Erik Johnson
Adam Ginning - Helge Grans
Ivan Fedotov
[Alexei Kolosov]
October 1, 2024: Flyers 1 @ Bruins 4
If there was one true blemish on the Flyers' camp and preseason, it was this game at TD Garden. With Tortorella behind the bench and both teams treating the match as a dress rehearsal with a slew of anticipated regulars, the hope was for a highly competitive game.
As it turned out, the Flyers struggled in the first and third periods. The middle stanza, after extensive line combination juggling, was even in game flow and tighter checking.
The bright spots for Philly: Ersson (30 saves on 32 shots) gave the Flyers a chance to win. It was not until the Bruins scored two empty netters with Ersson pulled for extra attacker that Boston iced the come. Additionally, Michkov showed off his hockey smarts and skill as Philly temporarily tied the score at 1-1 in the second period.
After getting the puck from Frost, Michkov skated downhill and patiently released a shot intended to create a rebound for the oncoming Konecny. The play worked as hoped with Konency arriving on the spot to quickly stash home the rebound.
Flyers starting lineup (first period combinations)
Tyson Foerster - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Matvei Michkov
Anthony Richard - Jett Luchanko - Bobby Brink
Elliot Desnoyers - Jacob Gaucher - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Hunter McDonald - Oliver Bonk
Samuel Ersson
[Cal Petersen]
October 3, 2024: Flyers 5 vs. Devils 4
Tortorella was under the weather, so assistant coach Darryl Williams ran the bench (for the second time during exhibition schedule). With the Devils' NHL squad in Prague for the next night's Global Series regular season opener, the Flyers hosted a squad from New Jersey's AHL affiliate roster, the Utica Comets.
The Flyers used this match largely as a chance to take a final preseason look at players involved in late-camp roster decisions. There were a few NHL regulars plus numerous players who'd been loaned to the Phantoms.
While an exhibition game, players on both sides were eager to impress. As a result, it was a feisty game at times (three fights) and one in which both sides tried to play with some pace.
Richard (one goal, two assists, Emil Andrae (one goal, two assists), J.R. Avon (1G), Olle Lycksell (one goal) and Noah Cates (late power play goal) scored for the Flyers.
Fedotov (seven saves on eight shots) and Kolosov (11 saves on 14 shots) split the goaltending duties roughly in half. Kevin Labanc notched a hat trick for the New Jersey side. He was subsequently signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets to an NHL contract for the season.
Olle Lycksell - Noah Cates - Anthony Richard
Oscar Eklind- Rodrigo Abols - Garnet Hathaway
Brendan Furry - Jacob Gaucher - Garrett Wilson
Elliot Desnoyers - J.R. Avon - Sawyer Boulton
Emi Andrae - Helge Grans
Adam Ginning - Erik Johnson
Hunter McDonald - Oliver Bonk
Ivan Fedotov
[Alexei Kolosov]
