Couturier leads Flyers' charge in home-opening win over Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

With a good crowd behind them, the Flyers took down the Panthers, 5-2, in their home opener Monday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Sean Couturier, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink and Christian Dvorak scored goals for the Flyers, who improved to 1-1-1 with their first win.

Couturier’s second goal of the night was the game-winner with 4:10 minutes left in the third period. Trevor Zegras found him with a beautiful assist from behind the net.

The goals from Brink and Dvorak were empty-netters.

Rick Tocchet’s club handed the two-time defending champion Panthers (3-1-0) their first loss. Florida remained without injured forwards Aleksander Barkov (knee) and Matthew Tkachuk (groin).

The Flyers are 1-1-0 against the Panthers with one more matchup to go. The clubs meet Nov. 26 back in Sunrise, Florida, where the Flyers opened the season last Thursday.

Rick Tocchet’s introduction. pic.twitter.com/k2EQJlim3C

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 13, 2025

• What a difference in home openers for Couturier.

In last season’s home opener, the established center puzzlingly started the game on the fourth-line left wing.

In this season’s home opener, he had two goals and two assists.

The 32-year-old captain unleashed a huge pump of the fist after cushioning the Flyers’ lead to 2-0 with a breakaway goal in the middle stanza. Travis Konecny found him with an excellent pass.

Couturier was terrific all night.

Another home opener for Sean Couturier, the longest-tenured athlete in Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/PGkycp2MUc

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 13, 2025

• Dan Vladar converted 24 saves on 26 shots in his regular-season home debut with the Flyers.

He made some athletic and timely saves. In each of his two starts so far, he has given up only two goals.

Sam Reinhart cracked him late in the second period with a shorthanded goal, drawing the Panthers within 2-1 at second intermission.

Vladar fell on Sam Bennett’s game-tying power play goal about midway through the third period.

The Flyers’ penalty kill went 4 for 5.

Florida backup Daniil Tarasov stopped 17 of 20 shots.

• After being called up Sunday from AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley, Emil Andrae made his season debut in place of Egor Zamula.

The Flyers’ defensive depth is being challenged right now and Tocchet has been wanting more consistency from his bottom pair so he can better allocate minutes.

“We’re looking for somebody to make a statement on defense,” the head coach said after morning skate.

Andrae was real solid against the Panthers. The 23-year-old played with his confident puck-moving style. He was assigned to the Phantoms after playing in just two preseason games.

“Of course I was disappointed to get sent down, I didn’t play well enough to make the roster,” Andrae said after morning skate. “I just had the mindset to get back here. Go down to Lehigh, even if it takes one game or two months, I want to get back here. It’s my goal. Now I’ve got an opportunity and I’ve got to take it.”

The Flyers want to see Zamula improve his decision-making process with the puck. Former head coach John Tortorella always wanted Zamula to play with more pace.

“Yeah, I think there’s a little bit of validity to that,” Tocchet said after morning skate. “I think he gets the puck and he’s staring at his options. There’s 20 feet of space, I want him to get going. You don’t have to be the fastest player, but I think if you think faster, you look faster. That’s something he has to get better at.”

• Cam York missed a third straight game, but the top-pair defenseman took part in morning skate.

The 24-year-old has been considered day to day with a lower-body injury.

The Flyers have a couple of practices before their next game, giving York a good runway to potentially return this week.

“There is a possibility he could play Thursday,” Tocchet said after morning skate.

Cam York at morning skate, recovering from lower-body injury. pic.twitter.com/VceceUXa3b

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 13, 2025

• The Flyers debuted their No. 1 jersey patch, which will be worn all season to honor the late Bernie Parent.

His No. 1, which hangs in the rafters here, will also be displayed on the ice behind each net.

The organization’s beloved former goalie, a Hockey Fall of Famer who led the Flyers to their back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, died Sept. 21 at the age of 80.

Flyers with the late Bernie Parent’s No. 1 at both ends of the ice. pic.twitter.com/QPJJkjH6ij

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 13, 2025

A look at the No. 1 Bernie Parent patch on Matvei Michkov’s jersey. pic.twitter.com/VAuAoZusbc

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 13, 2025

• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Tuesday and Wednesday before hosting the Jets on Thursday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

Winnipeg won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, so it’s another early test for the Flyers.

Oct 13, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Dylan Cozens (24) and Nashville Predators defenseman Nick Perbix (48) track the puck following a save by goalie Juuse Saros (74) in the first period at the Canadian Tire Centre. Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images

After getting three out of a possible four points in their two home games to open the season, the Nashville Predators took to the road to start a four-game road swing across Canada.

Their first stop was Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa Monday against the Senators in an early afternoon contest on Canadian Thanksgiving Day.

In the end, it was the Predators who gave thanks, coming away with a 4-1 victory to start the season 2-0-1 and notch their first road win. Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals including an empty-netter, while Ryan O'Reilly lit the lamp for the second time this season, and Cole Smith also got an empty-net tally.

The Preds started and finished strong, something that has been an issue for the team over the past year. Juuse Saros has looked unstoppable through three games, stopping 30 of 31 shots he faced on Monday.

After playing in the first two games, Brady Martin was a healthy scratch against the Senators. This is part of his development plan, according to head coach Andrew Brunette. He will most likely be back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.

Here are three takeaways from the Predators' victory.

The Predators Showed Intensity Early

Through much of last season and the first two games of this young campaign, the Predators have had a tendency to come out of the gate sluggish.

Against the Sens, they showed some intensity early in the first period and did a nice job forechecking, creating turnovers and passing the puck.

There were some lags, of course, including a 10-minutes span during the middle frame when the Predators failed to get off a shot.

Marchessault finally got the Predators on the board at 12:21 of the period for his first goal of the season. Michael Bunting and Erik Haula each picked up an assist.

Add a little bit of ✨Marchy Magic✨ pic.twitter.com/HsmPnhSQVB

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) October 13, 2025

It was difficult to get into a consistent flow in the first period, with 14 penalty minutes assessed between the two teams. But the Preds showed some signs of taking the game to their opponent right from the start, which is especially important on the road.

The real test will come when Nashville plays the second of a back-to-back Tuesday in Toronto.

Special Teams Are Once Again A Mixed Bag

The Preds’ penalty-kill unit came into Monday perfect in five chances through the first two games of the season. Aside from one blemish that netted the Sens' only goal late in the third period, the PK was solid once again.

The unit was put to the test early against Ottawa, and successfully converted on three chances in the first period alone.

During a Sens power play for delay of game, Fedor Svechkov went to the sin bin for interference with 37 seconds left on the man advantage.

Roman Josi then went off for cross-checking Brady Tkachuk to put Ottawa in a 5-on-3. Cole Smith almost got a shorthanded tally for the Predators on a nice setup from Erik Haula at 5-on-4, but Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark denied him. Nashville got through the entire sequence successfully.

For the day, Nashville went 4-for-5 on the PK. Ridly Greig's power-play tally at 17:57 broke the perfect streak of 9-for-9 on the season.

It's a great start for a unit that finished seventh in the NHL at 81.5%.

The power play, however, continued to struggle. The Preds did not score on all six of their chances with the man advantage.

It wasn't for lack of trying. Filip Forsberg was robbed twice by Ullmark on two great scoring opportunities after a breakaway on the first power play.

Steven Stamkos had another chance on a later man advantage when Shane Pinto went off for holding Forsberg. Once again, Ullmark was up to the task.

Including Monday's game, the Predators power-play unit is 1-for-15 through three games. Fortunately, it hasn't hurt them to a great deal to this point, but that will certainly change over the long haul if it doesn't improve.

Goaltending Made A Difference Once Again

Coming into the season, there were questions about whether Juuse Saros could regain his form of 2023-24, when he posted a 2.86 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.

Through the first three games, the Finnish netminder has answered that question with a resounding YES. He has 88 saves on 93 shots faced, sporting a .945 save percentage.

On Monday, he stopped 30 of 31 shots and made numerous key saves, including one following O'Reilly's goal.

Along with that, the Preds defense has backed him up well, blocking shots and making the difference in the two victories.

ELMONT, N.Y. (AP) — Jonathan Toews recorded his first point in nearly two-and-a-half years on an assist, and the Winnipeg Jets had five different players score goals in a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders on Monday.

Logan Stanley, Mark Scheifele, Nino Niederreiter, Morgan Barron and Tanner Pearson scored for the Jets.

Gustav Nyquist and Toews, who missed the past two seasons because of the effects of chronic immune response syndrome and long COVID, assisted Niederreiter’s power-play goal about halfway through the first period.

Emil Heineman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored for the Islanders.

Eric Comrie stopped 33 shots for the Jets. Ilya Sorokin had 21 saves for the Islanders, who went scoreless on five power plays.

The Islanders remain winless at 0-3-0, having allowed 13 goals to start the season. The Jets are 2-1-0.

Up next

Jets: Visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.

Islanders: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

ST. PAUL, Minn - The Minnesota Wild (1-1-0) is set to host the Los Angeles Kings (1-2-0) for a 7:00 tilt. Both teams have reveled the starting goaltenders for tonights matchup. 

Jesper Wallstedt will start for the Wild tonight. He will be making his sixth career start and first of the season. The Wild play the Dallas Stars in Dallas on Tuesday so Filip Gustavsson will get the second of the back-to-back.

"I think Wally's had a good summer physically and I think mentally prepared for the season," Wild head coach John Hynes said on Wallstedt. "I think he's had a good camp. I've seen the maturity in his game and the way that he practices, the intensity level, the details that he practices with, and then I think he's played well in the game. So he's ready. He's put the hard work in. He's always the guy that we expect to play well. So I'm excited to see him play tonight and he's certainly prepared to have a good outing."

It wasn't the best season for Wallstedt last year. He played in two NHL games and went 0-2-0 with a 4.09 goals-against average and a .843 save percentage. He went 9-14-5 in the AHL with the Iowa Wild last year and had a 3.59 goals-against average and a .879 save percentage.

He has never faced the Kings in his career.

Jesper Wallstedt starts tonight vs #gokingsgo. Danila Yurov will make his NHL debut at center. Hunter Haight is out.

— Dylan Loucks (@DylanLoucks4) October 13, 2025

Darcy Kuemper will start tonight for the Kings. He started two of the three games against the Wild last year for the Kings and went 1-1-0 with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.

In 14 career starts against the Wild, Kuemper has gone 5-7-1 with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. He is 0-2-0 on the year with a 3.63 goals-against average and a .860 save percentage.

Kuemper is looking to bounce back tonight against his former team. He played 102 games with Minnesota across five seasons and was the Wild's 161st pick from the 2009 NHL Draft.

Recent Minnesota Wild Stories

Wild's Danila Yurov Set To Make NHL Debut TonightST. PAUL, Minn - A smiley Danila Yurov sat in his stall after Monday's morning skate next to Kirill Kaprizov as the media swarmed Yurov. It came 20 minutes after Wild head coach confirmed Yurov was making his NHL debut tonight.

- Wild Place Nico Sturm On Injured Reserve.

- Wild Sign Kirill Kaprizov To An Eight-Year Contract Extension.

- Wild Claim Defenseman Daemon Hunt Off Waivers.

- Wild Sign Filip Gustavsson To A Five-Year Contract Extension.

- Wild's Mats Zuccarello Out For Two Months With Lower-Body Injury.

While Philadelphia Flyers phenom Matvei Michkov hasn't looked quite like himself to start his second season in the NHL, there is, at least, a reason for that, according to head coach Rick Tocchet.

Tocchet dubiously did not play Michkov, 20, for the Flyers' 3-on-3 overtime session against the Carolina Hurricanes, which ended in a loss after Bobby Brink's game-winning goal was wiped out by a controversial goaltender interference call against Travis Sanheim.

The Flyers' first-year head coach revealed after the loss that he was going with the players he "thought were skating," which obviously did not include Michkov.

There is a little bit more to it than that, though, as Tocchet revealed Monday.

"If we don’t have penalties, [Michkov is] probably getting 17 [minutes]. I think everyone's making an issue," Tocchet was quoted as saying by Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. "Secondly, he dealt with something this summer, something with an ankle that I didn’t even know about. I don’t think he could implement some of his training. So, he’s a little bit behind the eight ball when it comes to that. It’s something we’re going to correct. But I think he got behind the eight ball a little bit this summer coming into camp.

Flyers Defenseman Benched After Struggles, Agent's Criticism of TeamJust two games into the season, Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Egor Zamula has already been benched for his continued struggles.

"He’s healthy. It wasn’t a major thing. Something that affected some of his training. We know we’ve got to work with him. That’s the best way to explain it.”

Michkov has played just over 28 total minutes for the Flyers this season through two losses, recording two shots on goal in Game 1 against Florida and zero in Game 2 against Carolina.

In both games, the Flyers' franchise player took a penalty, and in both games, Michkov didn't record a point.

All is not lost, though, as it's still early in the season, and it certainly sounds as though Michkov just doesn't have his conditioning and game legs yet.

The Flyers play four times in the next seven days, including Monday's home opener against Florida, so the uber-talented Russian should still have plenty of opportunities to figure things out and get going.

The Winnipeg Jets have strung together back-to-back wins for the first time in the 2025-26 NHL season. 

For the second-straight game, the Jets took to the ice in the afternoon, this time on the road in New York. Squaring off against the Islanders, Winnipeg pulled ahead early and really did not look back.

Jonathan Toews picked up his first point as a member of the Jets, while fellow newcomers Tanner Pearson, Gustav Nyquist and Cole Koepke also picked up their firsts with the Jets, as Winnipeg beat New York 5-2 on Thanksgiving Monday. 

Morgan Barron kept his hot streak alive, picking up his third point in as many games, as he scored his second of the season just 7:35 into the game. 

Nino Neiderreiter picked up another Jets power play goal a few minutes later, with Toews earning the secondary assist - his first point as a member of the Jets. 

The middle stanza saw four goals, with JG Pageau cutting Winnipeg's lead in half just two minutes into the game, as he became the first player to beat Eric Comrie in goal this season. 

But just one shift later, Winnipeg restored its two-goal lead, on none other than Logan Stanley's first goal of the season. Pearson joined the goal scoring party with his first as a Jet at the 13-minute mark. 

Emil Heineman answered back for the hosts before the period came to a close, but that was about all the Islanders could muster up on the night. The third period didn't result in much other than an empty net gaffe from New York.

Kyle Connor stripped the Islanders of the puck, fed Mark Scheifele, who found his third of the season into the empty net. 

Barron, Stanley, Niederreiter and Pearson each picked up two points in the affair, while five other players found the scoresheet. 

Comrie turned aside 33 of the 35 shots he faced, while Ilya Sorokin made 21 stops on the 25 pucks sent his way from Winnipeg. 

Next up for the Jets is the second stop of the road trip in Philadelphia on Thursday. That game is set to be played at 6:00 PM central time. It can be viewed live on TSN. 

It wasn’t the prettiest of games for the Colorado Avalanche, but it's still early in the season, and there was still a lot of good to take away from the game. They were outshot heading into the third period, but took advantage of many Sabres mistakes to come out with the 3-1 win and the two points.

The Sabres came out much quicker than the Avalanche to start the period, with better passing, more shots on goal, and played with a much quicker pace. It was Nathan MacKinnon with a spin-o-rama backhand shot to open the scoring on the Avalanche’s first registered shot of the game. Jack Drury takes the first penalty of the game as he is called for tripping, but the Avalanche kills it off. Another penalty comes the Avalanche's way when a failed line change happens, and they are called for too many men; Ross Colton serves the penalty. 

WE SEE YOU, NATE 👀

Nathan MacKinnon opens the scoring with a beauty! #NHLFaceOffpic.twitter.com/QVpPLvP67c

— NHL (@NHL) October 13, 2025

The Avalanche gets its first power play of the game when Rasmus Dahlin is called for interference, but fails to capitalize on the opportunity. Tage Thompson ties the game when he sends a wrister from the blueline that beats a crowd in front of Scott Wedgwood and in, 1-1. Two minutes left in the period, Cale Makar is called for slashing, with the Sabres getting the remainder of the power play heading into the second period.

Nichushkin makes a great read intercepting Rasmus Dahlin’s pass and sets up Makar to take the lead 2-1 four minutes into the period. Makar draws a tripping penalty, but the Avalanche fail to score on the power play. Brent Burns powers through Alex Tuch but ends up tripping him, and is called for tripping. However, Tuch is also called for embellishment. Twenty seconds into the 4-on-4, Necas sets up a great drop pass to MacKinnon, who rifles one five-hole past Alex Lyon to make it 3-1, ending the second period.

Big Val with the interception 🤝 Cale Makar with the goal pic.twitter.com/kiQQGB996G

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 13, 2025

MacKinnon once again makes a nifty pass to Necas and shoots it five-hole past Lyon to make it 4-1, but the Sabres challenge the play for offside, and it stands, reverting the goal and keeping it 3-1. Dahlin is called for interference, but the Sabres kill the penalty. A scary moment occurs when Bowen Byram accidentally slashes Brock Nelson’s hand and rushes down the tunnel; thankfully, he rejoins the game later in the period.

Connor Timmins is called for a delay of game, which was initially called a tipped out-of-bounds play. However, after review, it was determined that the call was against Timmins, and the Avalanche was unsuccessful on the power play for the fifth time. Although it won't matter as the game ends 3-1, the Avalanche wins.

The Avalanche are back in action for their brief two-game road trip on Thursday, Oct. 16, against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Necas & Mackinnon’s 3-Point Effort Not Enough as Stars Beat the Avalanche 5-4Whenever the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars face off, it's going to be one hell of a game, and this one doesn't disappoint. After numerous lead changes and an eventful overtime, the Stars won 5-4 in the shootout. Insider Doubts Colorado Avalanche Will Hold Onto Martin NečasA big issue the Colorado Avalanche face this season is that Martin Necas and his expiring contract this summer set him up to be an unrestricted free agent. The Avalanche have been in this position before, last season, and their experience with trying to re-sign Mikko Rantanen ultimately led to trading him to the Carolina Hurricanes and acquiring Necas in a package deal. While Necas might not command the same extension price that Rantanen received from the Dallas Stars after being traded from the Hurricanes, an insider speculates that he would be “shocked” if the Avalanche agreed to extend Necas.

Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been named the NHL's third star of the week.

The 37-year-old posted a 3-0-0 record with a .925 save percentage and a 1.67 goals against average. In the Panthers' first three games, Bobrovsky led them to wins over the Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers and the Ottawa Senators. 

The Panthers are back in action today, beginning a five-game road trip, starting against the Flyers. Bobrovsky will get the night off, as off-season acquisition Daniil Tarasov will make his Panthers debut.

Per the NHL's press release:

"Bobrovsky went 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average and .925 save percentage to lift the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers (3-0-0, 6 points) to a perfect start to their season. He made 17 saves in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks Oct. 7, 19 stops in a 2-1 triumph versus the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 9 and 26 saves in a 6-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators Oct. 11. The 37-year-old Bobrovsky, who ascended to 10th place on the League’s all-time wins list last season, has a 432-243-57 record in 757 career NHL appearances (2.57 GAA, .914 SV%, 49 SO)."

Finishing as the first star of the week was Vegas Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev. The 24-year-old notched five goals in three games, including a hat trick in the season opener.

Coming in as the second star was Senators center Shane Pinto. The 24-year-old recorded four goals and five points in two games, including a two-goal game against the Panthers on Saturday.