Thursday served as a dress rehearsal for the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season for both clubs. The Philadelphia Flyers (2-4-0) dressed a variant of what could be the lineup on opening night. Same with the New York Islanders (2-2-2) in their preseason finale.
There’s much less to say about the ‘on-the-bubble’ players at this point in the 2025 NHL Preseason for the Flyers. The first three forward lines are mostly figured out. There could be more experimenting with the third pair on defense, but that’ll depend on the roster format Rick Tocchet prefers. For the sake of practice, Tocchet leans into the 8D/13F/2G format. Then, the goaltending duo is set in stone, though there’s room for debate as to who the starter should be.
Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen did not appear in the lineup. Juulsen is the only RD available to properly replace Rasmus Ristolainen (tricep) on opening night. Jett Luchanko and Rodrigo Ābols were not in the lineup, either. Presumably, their last stand to break into the opening night lineup will take place on Saturday versus the New Jersey Devils.
Could Philadelphia complete a 2025 NHL Preseason sweep of the Islanders? Here’s what happened at the Xfinity Mobile Arena:
First Period
Shots: 9-6, Islanders
Score: 1-0, Flyers
Sam Ersson would start and play the entire game. Tocchet sent Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, and Bobby Brink, along with Cam York and Travis Sanheim, to feature as his starting lineup.
Sean Couturier served a minor penalty for tripping. Christian Dvorak intercepted a pass from Matthew Schaefer in the defensive zone, then broke free toward Ilya Sorokin. Emil Heineman was on his heels, and Dvorak wisely executed a drop pass. Sanheim snapped the shorthanded shot past Sorokin, 1-0, with 18:14 remaining in the first period.
It might not reflect in the box score, but Jamie Drysdale was noticeably physical. He braced himself in the defensive zone for contact and protected the puck. His pair, including Nick Seeler, showed they could possess the puck in the way Tocchet hoped. Seeler protected the blue line in the offensive zone relatively well, too. It was refreshing to see these signs of progression in areas of their game you wouldn’t necessarily consider a strength.
“He [Jamie Drysdale] came into camp [in] great shape, and he’s tried stuff out there which I want him to try. Now, it’s making that next-level play, and we’re going to work with him. His attitude and his buying [in] is great. He’s been a pleasure so far.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/2/2025
Scoring aside, Sanheim was very assertive. He displayed a very active stick in the neutral zone, swatting a flip pass down to the ice and stopping the Islanders’ offensive transition. When the defense played well in front of Ersson, he tracked pucks. Kyle MacLean deflected a puck on goal, but Ersson saw it all the way to make the save. Philadelphia looked fundamentally sound on defense throughout the first period.
“I thought he [Sam Ersson] was solid. There were some point shots that there was a couple [of] screens in front; he made some good saves. It was a couple [of] glove saves; I don’t know how he saw that. There’s some moments there that I thought he had a good game tonight. He definitely wasn’t the reason why we lost that game.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/2/2025
The Flyers’ top line consisted of Couturier, Nikita Grebenkin, and Travis Konecny. To the surprise of no one, Grebenkin played with a high motor. He cruised and flashed through defenders, providing more jump on a line that includes a former Frank J. Selke Award winner and a two-time NHL All-Star.
“If he [Nikita Grebenkin] can play in front of the net like that, he made that goal [Travis Konecny; Second Period]. He’s a sticky guy; he comes up with loose pucks in the corner. You always need those corner guys that can come up with pucks. If we can continue to teach him and play that way, I think he can be a force out there; grab pucks [and] hold onto pucks. In the first, he had that burst of speed. He almost split [defenders]; that’s good stuff. We want that from him. I hope he continues to do that.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/2/2025
Second Period
Shots: 21-15, Islanders
Score: 3-3
Garnet Hathaway served a minor penalty for tripping. After Seeler successfully cleared the defensive zone on the penalty kill, the Islanders re-entered on the power play. Maxim Tsyplakov centered a pass to Max Shabanov for a tip-in power play goal, 1-1, with 16:15 remaining in the second period. Philadelphia finished 2/3 (66.6%) on the penalty kill. If the Flyers begin to mitigate penalties, they’ll become a tougher team to play against, which is an ongoing theme from Tocchet, shared by the previous head coach, John Tortorella.
Nicolas Deslauriers stapled Anthony Duclair to the corner boards. He probably won’t be in the lineup each game during the regular season, but objectively, Deslauriers is still a passable fourth-line enforcer. Say Tocchet did deploy a 14F/7D/2G roster format, then he could carry Luchanko and Ābols into his lineup.
Konecny drove a one-timer past Sorokin, 2-1, with 8:50 remaining in the second period. In the offensive zone, Couturier dished to Seeler, who walked the blue line to the right wing. Seeler set Konecny up on the one-timer while Grebenkin set the screen in front of Sorokin. Solid puck movement and getting into the dirty areas paid off, putting Philadelphia back ahead.
Soon after, Anders Lee tied the game, 2-2, with 8:35 remaining in the second period. After doing great work on the attack, Grebenkin was stripped in the defensive zone by Ryan Pulock. Tsyplakov recovered the puck and dished to Lee, scoring on a wrist shot from the faceoff circle.
MacLean served a minor penalty for slashing. Trevor Zegras passed to Drysdale in the neutral zone, but the puck was mishandled. Jean-Gabriel Pageau broke free, crossing to Adam Pelech to score on a two-on-zero shorthanded rush, 3-2, with 2:48 remaining in the second period.
On the same power play, Cates tied the game, 3-3, with 1:55 remaining in the second period. York made a beautiful stretch pass to enter the attack. Foerster notched the primary assist with a terrific seam pass to Cates, who had a wide-open look at the net. The Flyers finished 1/1 (100%) on the power play.
Third Period
Shots: 27-21, Islanders
Score: 4-3, Islanders
Dvorak needs a better look with more capable playmakers. Maybe Tocchet moves him into the top six on the left wing, because there’s a ton of flexibility throughout the lineup for Grebenkin. A line that can check and score could include Ābols, Luchanko, and Grebenkin if Tocchet gives more ice time to Dvorak with Zegras and Matvei Michkov. Grebenkin looked alive with Couturier and Konecny, so there’s a lot to digest. Dvorak almost received a scoring chance from Hathaway after Deslauriers checked well in the neutral zone, and with better playmakers, Philadelphia might’ve retaken the lead.
One line that should never be shaken up is Foerster, Cates, and Brink. They remain stellar from the 2024-2025 season.
Heineman scored the eventual game-winner, 4-3, with 2:54 remaining in the third period. Duclair entered the attack, chipping a perfectly aimed pass through Michkov and Adam Ginning, right on the tape. Michkov tried to lift the stick, but Heineman beat Ersson backhand.
“There’s a couple [of] mistakes they throw. First of all, Mich [Matvei Michkov] has to get out of there, and he just got beat up the ice. He was ahead of the guy [Emil Heineman]; he got outskated. Then, Ginning [Adam Ginning], he’s either got to go or he has to back off; he was caught in between. If you just buy time, just stay in the middle of the ice, let the guys back there. It was a couple of mistakes there.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/2/2025
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers host the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, October 4th at 12:30pm/ET.
