Tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers kick off their 2026-2027 NHL Regular Season. They’ll host their intrastate rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Just about five months ago, the Flyers eliminated the Penguins from the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. It had been five seasons since Philadelphia last reached the postseason. In Game 6 of the 2026 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Dan Vladař and Cam York sealed Pittsburgh’s fate. Vladař earned the shutout win, 1-0. York scored the game-winner in overtime.
Next, the Flyers were swept by the Carolina Hurricanes, the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup champions.
That postseason appearance was a requirement. The roster took a step forward, breaking through to the other side of what a winning culture can be. Tanking or fearing a short postseason run because of the NHL Entry Draft order has been, and always will be, a losing mindset. Last season, Philadelphia went for it. The city didn’t let the effort go unnoticed.
“The last six weeks or two months there, a lot of things came together. There’s still things we got to work on. There’s no surprise. We all know it’s going to be harder. We got a lot of young guys, and we got to make sure that we’re ready; battle-tested right from the start. There’s a lot of other teams that have really improved this year.” – Rick Tocchet; 9/29/2026
The tone is set for the 2026-2027 NHL Regular Season. Simply returning to the postseason isn’t enough. A path to consecutive postseason berths is open, starting with the Penguins.
When: 9/30/2026; 7:30pm/ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
Watch: TNT/TruTV/HBO Max
Pittsburgh Penguins
Artūrs Šilovs is the expected starter for Pittsburgh. In the 2026 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Šilovs tried to salvage hope for the Penguins, replacing Stuart Skinner after being down in the series, 3-0. Ultimately, Šilovs fell just short of forcing a Game 7. He matched up a lot better than Skinner, who signed with the Winnipeg Jets.
Erik Karlsson is the veteran on a relatively revamped defense. One thing you can guarantee about Karlsson is that he’ll pepper the goaltender with shots on goal. Karlsson finished second on the Penguins in shots on goal last season, only trailing Bryan Rust.
Sidney Crosby led Pittsburgh in points last season. By proxy, he’s going to be the one with a target on his back at Xfinity Mobile Arena. That’s the standard for Crosby in his career. He’s always been a marked man to the Flyers. In a career that currently spans 21 years, Crosby has never once been welcomed in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Flyers
Vladař is set for the season opener. His status was up in the air after Tanner Jeannot made contact with him during the 2026 NHL Preseason, but the Flyers dodged the proverbial bullet. In the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vladař battled the Penguins each step of the way. He’s a bit familiar with Pittsburgh due to that success.
“He’s [Dan Vladař] one of those guys that, when there’s a bit of a lull, even if he’s the goalie, gets the guys thinking positively. I told you guys last year, we’d be down three-nothing. He’s in net, but he’s still pushing guys coming by. He’s not yelling. It’s more positive. ‘Hey, we’re still in this.’ ‘If we get a power play goal, we get this, we get that, we get back in the game.’ He’s the positive reinforcement, with a little bite to it, too, which I like.” – Rick Tocchet; 9/29/2026
Nick Seeler was one of the more underrated defensemen in the NHL last season. On a playoff team, such as Philadelphia, he finished second in shots blocked and led in hits among defensemen. Hosting a rival is a recipe for a physical night at the office, and that’s a brand that suits Seeler.
Travis Konecny led the Flyers in points last season. There’s a likelihood that his deployment with Matvei Michkov could be fluid. Either of them could finish with top-six minutes, which is a good problem to have. Philadelphia is deep enough at right wing in their lineup. Konecny is on the second power play unit, which must improve this season.
Projected Lineup: Pittsburgh Penguins
Nicholas Robertson – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Filip Hållander – Hendrix Lapierre – Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Elmer Söderblom
Declan Carlile – Erik Karlsson
Trevor van Riemsdyk – Kris Letang
Samuel Girard – Kaedan Korczak
Artūrs Šilovs
(Sergei Murashov)
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
Owen Tippett – Trevor Zegras – Porter Martone
Tyson Foerster – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Alex Bump – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Carl Grundström – Sean Couturier – Noel Acciari
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Simon Benoit
Dan Vladař
(Joseph Woll)
