Postgame 5: Flyers Claim 3-2 Shootout Victory in Opener

The Philadelphia Flyers opened the 2024-25 regular season with a 3-2 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena. Philly battled back from a pair of one-goal deficits to secure a point and grabbed the win in a five-round shootout.

The Flyers got off to a slow start but settled in as the game went along. Razor sharp goaltending and strong penalty killing (5-for-5) kept Philly in the hunt even as they trailed 1-0 in the first period and 2-1 heading into the third.

Tyson Foerster (power play, 1st goal of the season) and Cam York (1st) scored in regulation for Philadelphia. Nils Hoglander (1st) and Teddy Blueger (1st) tallied for Vancouver.

In the shootout, the Flyers were down to their last shot after Jake DeBrusk scored for Vancouver. Travis Konecny replied to keep it going. Finally, Morgan Frost won the shootout for the Flyers in the bottom of the fifth round.

A defensive zone turnover by the Flyers proved costly at 12:55 of the first period. Rasmus Ristolainen attempted to make a lead pass to Ryan Poehling but the puck went off Poehling's stick to Conor Garland. A moment later, Hogander gave the Canucks the 1-0 lead.

Philly tied the game at 17:24 of the first period. On their first power play of the game, Egor Zamula started a quick puck-movement sequence. After taking a pass from Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster (PPG, 1st) scored to tie the game at 1-1. The assists went to Farabee and Bobby Brink.

Vancouver was held without a shot on goal on their third power play of the game. However, shortly thereafter, the Canucks' fourth line restored a 2-1 lead at 11:25 of the second period. Teddy Blueger (1st) made a deflection on the backhand, assisted by Derek Forbort and Pius Suter.

Cam York (1st) fired a heavy shot off a defender into the net from the top of the left circle for a 2-2 tie at 3:03 of the third period, assisted by Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway. The initial ruling on the ice was no goal but a goal was signaled as play continued.

Overtime saw the Flyers survive a latter-frame scare in which two of the three Flyers on the ice were unable to get off for line change for the final two minutes. That sent the game to the shootout.

In the fifth round, Frost moved in deliberately and finally snapped home a low glove-side shot to lift the Flyers to a win.

Samuel Ersson was outstanding in goal for the Flyers, especially when he was tested early and often in the first period. Overall, the Swedish netminder stopped 24 of 26 shots in regulation and overtime. He also shined in the shootout by going 4-for-5 against a dangerous array of shooters.

Kevin Lankinen started in net for Vancouver. He made some strong saves of his own and finished with 30 stops on 32 shots. In the shootout, he was 3-for-5.

Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko made their respective NHL debuts on Friday. Michkov skated his first NHL shift on the opening shift of the game. Luchanko came out two shifts later.

Overall, Michkov finished with five shots on goal in 18:32 of ice time. Michkov attempted a between-the-legs shot in the third period that took a strong save to deny. The 19-year-old was stopped on a shootout attempt.

Luchanko skated 14:36 of ice tine. He was robbed by Lankinen on his lone shot on goal and nearly set up a tally on a power play.

The Flyers went 1-for-4 on the power play in the opener. The real story on special teams, however, was the penalty kill. Ersson carried the Flyers through their first two kills before the players in front of him stepped up thereafter.

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

39 Matvei Michkov - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
74 Owen Tippett - 48 Morgan Frost - 71 Tyson Foerster
86 Joel Farabee - 17 Jett Luchanko - 10 Bobby Brink
21 Scott Laughton - 25 Ryan Poehling - 19 Garnet Hathaway

8 Cam York - 6 Travis Sanheim
77 Erik Johnson - 9 Jamie Drysdale
5 Egor Zamula - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen

33 Samuel Ersson
[82 Ivan Fedotov]

PP1: Drysdale, Tippett, Frost, Konecny, Michkov
PP2: Zamula, Foerster, Luchanko, Farabee, Brink

TURNING POINT

The game could have gotten ugly in a hurry if Ersson had not been so sharp with the rest of the Flyers trying to find their legs and timing. As a team, it was far from a flawless performance but the Flyers battled through adversity whenever it arose.

POSTGAME 5

1) Nine saves by Ersson over the first seven minutes of the game kept the game scoreless early and enabled Philly to kill a pair of penalties. Later, he denied Teddy Blueger on a backhander from the doorstep. Later, Ersson made a 10-bell glove save on Brock Boeser.

2) At the other end of the ice, Frost took a feed from Michkov but was stopped in close on a backhand try on Lankinen's best save of the opening period. First period shots on goal were 12-10 Canucks.

3) Good passing by Michkov and Frost created a dangerous scoring chance for Cam York. The Flyers were unable to score but generated a power play. In the waning seconds of the man advantage, Farabee was unable to finish off a near slam-dunk chance off a pass from Foerster.

4) Luchanko made a slow read on the sequence in which Blueger gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead. However, he bounced back on his next shift. Later, Tortorella sent the debuting rookie out for an offensive zone shift with Michkov and Konecny. Second period shots were 6-5 Flyers (17-16 Canucks through two periods).

5) In the third period, Michkov surprised the Canucks with a sharp angle shot on goal to the short side from along the goal line. Later, Michkov dangled to open ice and Luchanko came within a whisker of his first NHL goal. Shots on goal in regulation were 30-25 Flyers (14-8 Flyers in the third period). In overtime,Sanheim and Foerster were unable to get off the ice over the final two minutes but the Flyers hung in.