Dan Vladar has emerged as the Flyers’ go-to goalie — for now. Kyle Ross / Imagn Images
The Philadelphia Flyers’ emotional leader recorded his first goal of the season on Monday in a 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken, after he failed to convert on a handful of chances in previous games. It was only a matter of time before he broke through.
But then Konecny reminded everyone else at Xfinity Mobile Arena of the other part of his game and personality that is so valued in Philadelphia. After taking exception to Ryan Lindgren plowing into Owen Tippett in the third period of a game that was essentially decided by that point, he made a beeline toward the Kraken defenseman, who then initiated a fight. Konecny, of course, was more than happy to oblige — and afterward, cameras caught him demonstrably jawing at Lindgren with the two in the penalty box.
“I saw him keep going at (Tippett) and he’s our hottest guy,” said Konecny, referring to Tippett’s team-leading five goals. “It was just one of those things where I was just like, ‘What are you doing?’ Then, he tried to jump me.”
The Flyers still seem to be willing to go to bat for one another when they believe it’s required, a sign that the culture they’ve been prioritizing since Daniel Briere took over is still intact after some roster turnover and with a new coaching staff. Earlier in the Kraken game, it was Nikita Grebenkin who jumped in after his linemate, Garnet Hathaway, was hit by Cale Fleury. Konecny also noted on Tuesday that Matvei Michkov came to his defense in the second game of the season, in Carolina, early in the third period, when Konecny was plowed over by William Carrier.
“I think this group of guys since I’ve been here have taught me this way,” Konecny said. “When there’s an opportunity for me to step up and show what the culture is all about … I go back to Carolina — (Michkov) didn’t fight, but he stepped in when I got hit there. I think that’s something that he’s just seeing through being here, and he understands what it is to be part of the locker room and to be a Flyer. I think that’s important.”
Here are five more observations about the Flyers’ 3-2-1 start so far.
Tippett wasn’t pleased with his 2024-25 season. He managed just 20 goals in 77 games, which was eight fewer than he posted the season prior.
“I’m coming in with a clear mind after maybe not the start I wanted last year,” Tippett said on Saturday. “Clean slate, and you can just go game by game.”
Coach Rick Tocchet has gotten the sense that Tippett is a driven guy this season, eager to move on from a step backward.
“In the short time I’ve been here on this coaching staff, he’s been a pleasure to coach. He’s been in the room, he’s asking questions, he’s taking the information and he’s really taken a hold as a leader type of role,” Tocchet said after Monday’s game. “He looks like a guy that’s dialed in.”
It was notable on Saturday in the Flyers’ 2-1 overtime win over Minnesota that when Nic Deslauriers went to the penalty box after an early fight, it was Tippett who took the extra shifts. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Tippett ended up getting the third-period equalizer that night, as he had the awareness after his initial shot missed the net to backhand the loose puck off the back of goalie Jesper Wallstedt’s skate.
Tippett has company, too. Tyson Foerster has managed two goals and three assists and a team-high plus-5 rating in his first six games, and has been a mainstay on the power play as well as getting some penalty killing time in, too. After there was a worry about how ready Foerster would be after offseason surgery to remove an infection in his elbow, he has been one of the Flyers’ better forwards on that steady line with Bobby Brink and Noah Cates.
Foerster has always had a powerful shot. It seems like this season he’s been able to utilize it more, including on the power play, where he scored on Monday against the Kraken to give the Flyers a 2-1 first-period lead they would not relinquish.
“He’s such a smart player,” Tocchet said. “He’s an all-situations guy. He’s got a hell of a shot.”
Captain Sean Couturier said, “He’s a big boy. He’s growing into his body. You can see he looks stronger, more confident in battles, hanging onto pucks and making little plays, and creating time and space to use his shot, as well.”
Any coach will tell you he’d rather have the defensive structure in place while waiting for the offense to come around rather than vice versa. That’s an apt description of the Flyers.
“I think you’d rather have it that way than be in seven to six games,” Travis Sanheim said.
The defense has been solid thanks in large part to Sanheim, who, as of Tuesday morning, is still the NHL leader in time on ice per game (26:44). The Flyers have lately been boosted by Cam York’s return, too, after the defenseman missed the first three games of the season. In their three games together, the Sanheim-York pair has a 63.6 percent expected-goals share, according to MoneyPuck, while the Nick Seeler-Jamie Drysdale pair is even better (67.9 percent). The third pair is still a work in progress, but on Monday against the Kraken, Egor Zamula and Noah Juulsen had their most effective game, too.
Offensively, Monday’s game was encouraging in that the Flyers scored a season-high five goals, but in fairness, Kraken goalie Joey Daccord had an awful game before he was pulled after two periods. Tocchet still seems to be experimenting with Trevor Zegras, in particular, as the offseason addition has lately been playing what the coach calls a “hybrid” center/wing role on a line with Christian Dvorak.
Zegras has a five-game point streak, with an assist in each of those five games, but is still looking for his first goal.
“I think I’ve got a lot (more), honestly,” Zegras said on Tuesday. “Something where you’re still trying to learn something every day. The coaches have been real good with me, trying to teach me little things about the system and how I can get better. It’s still so early.”
If you’re looking for an MVP through six games, it’s an easy choice. Vladar has been in net for all three of the Flyers’ wins, has allowed two or fewer goals in each and is fourth in the NHL in goals-against average (1.75) and eighth in save percentage (.929) ahead of Tuesday night’s NHL action.
Tocchet mentioned before the season that he was hoping one of Vladar or Sam Ersson would emerge as the go-to guy. That doesn’t mean Vladar is going to play 60 games, but he’s clearly gained an edge on his counterpart.
As far as Ersson goes, he hasn’t been bad, despite his numbers (3.88 GAA, .849 SP). According to MoneyPuck, he has just a -0.3 goals-saved above expected mark (Vladar is at +2.4). Ersson will surely get either Thursday’s game in Ottawa or Saturday’s matinee against the New York Islanders.
But Vladar is the hot hand. The goalie viewed Philadelphia as an attractive destination as a free agent because he saw a chance to establish himself as a No. 1, and he’s taking advantage of it in the early going. At the same time, the Flyers will probably not want to overwork him too much too soon, considering he’s never started more than 29 games in a season, even if Vladar believes he’s prepared to play more than he has in the past.
“That was the reason why I really wanted to come here, to be able to get more opportunity,” Vladar said on Tuesday. “Obviously, it’s a challenge for me. As a hockey player, you always want to have some sort of challenge to keep moving forward and climbing the ladder you have in your head. That’s what I’m focusing on right now, is taking care of my body, and when I get a shot, just play my best hockey.”
He was better on Monday against the Kraken. After five mostly forgettable games, Matvei Michkov was finally noticeable, particularly on Konecny’s second-period goal, in which Michkov made a nice play in the neutral zone in getting the puck to Zamula to start the rush.
“He’s chipping away at his game,” Tocchet said. “That’s all we can ask for. … He made some nice plays, he started to skate a bit more and more.”
Still, Michkov’s start was concerning. He simply didn’t arrive in camp in good enough shape, something that Tocchet has overtly suggested a few times. Perhaps that was partly because of the ankle injury that was conveniently revealed earlier this month after the season began, but Tocchet has also indicated that Michkov will have to do a better job of taking care of himself off the ice as he moves along in his career.
“He’s (20) years old. It’s about what am I eating? How is he recovering?” Tocchet said on Oct. 15. “When you have a young player, you almost have to tell them sometimes, you’ve got to recover here. What are you eating after games? Things like that. I think that will help him in the long run. … We have to teach him certain things like that.”
The surprising part of it is that Michkov admitted in several Russian-language interviews last season and over the summer that the grueling schedule wore him down. He should have known what to expect after going through his rookie season. It’s impossible to know how much the ankle injury set him back, but on Oct. 15, Michkov said through an interpreter that it had “absolutely nothing to do with (his offensive struggles).”
If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that if/when Michkov does get going, it will provide a huge boost to a team that desperately needs his elite-level skill.
It seems evident at this point that Tocchet hasn’t seen enough from Luchanko to put him on the ice on a regular basis. Even in the game against the Kraken on Monday, half of Luchanko’s 12 shifts came after it was already a 5-2 game. That was partly influenced by his linemate Grebenkin getting 17 minutes in penalties after he pounced on Fleury in the first period, but Luchanko certainly hasn’t worked his way up the lineup, as was general manager Briere’s hope before the season began.
We’ll see how much longer Luchanko sticks around, but the winds are strongly blowing toward him returning to OHL Guelph (or somewhere else, if a trade can somehow be facilitated to land him on a better junior club).
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