Wrapped between Game 4 of the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers, then later in the evening, a Thursday Night Football showdown between division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants, there’s the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season opener for the Philadelphia Flyers.
On the road, the Flyers visit the back-to-back NHL Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. Never mind the perception of home-ice advantage. Philadelphia is the underdog against the Panthers.
“It’s a great test for us to see where we’re at as a team. [We’re] definitely excited for the challenge. We’ll be ready.” – Sean Couturier; 10/9/2025
Each team will begin the new season without important players. The Flyers are without Rasmus Ristolainen (tricep) and Cam York (lower body). They start the season on injured reserve. However, Florida is arguably more bruised. The Panthers will be without Aleksander Barkov (knee), Tomáš Nosek (knee), and Matthew Tkachuk (groin), all on long-term injured reserve.
How is Philadelphia the underdog? Florida has favorable depth in their lineup, even after injuries.
Jett Luchanko, Nikita Grebenkin, and Dennis Gilbert will not be in the lineup. They’re healthy scratches tonight for the Flyers. Nicolas Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway, and Egor Zamula start the season. Last season, the Panthers led the NHL in hits, which might be why Rick Tocchet elected to begin the season with Deslauriers and Hathaway over Luchanko and Grebenkin.
Where: Amerant Bank Arena; Sunrise, FL
When: 7pm/ET
Panthers Record: 1-0-0
Flyers Record: 0-0-0
2024-2025 Series: 1-1-0
Philadelphia Flyers
Tocchet is making his debut as the head coach for Philadelphia in Florida. The last time Tocchet was the head coach of a team he played for during his NHL career was from 2017 to 2021 with the Arizona Coyotes. Tonight, he’s met with excitement as the bench boss of the Flyers.
“There’s a lot of excitement, and I think it’s important to use that enthusiasm as a coach, but even as players, have fun with it, and go enjoy the moment. It’s a big thing for them, too, opening night.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/9/2025
Dan Vladař is the opening night starter. While he’s the starter on opening night, it doesn’t mean he’s the clear starting goaltender on the depth chart. Based on the 2025 NHL Preseason, Sam Ersson finished with an 84.1%SV. Vladař bested Ersson, securing an 87.5%SV. The idea, in terms of goaltending, leans toward a split timeshare.
“I think both had good camps. I think Vladdy [Dan Vladař] did a nice job, and that’s what we decided to go with.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/9/2025
The forward group features a lot of movement. Tocchet didn’t want to experiment too much before the end of the 2025 NHL Preseason, but his forward group shows more signs of tinkering. Christian Dvorak will compete on the top line with Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov. That’s a different look from the preseason, where Michkov and Trevor Zegras created line chemistry. Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny will flank the second line, centered by Zegras.
Last season, Michkov and Couturier finished the season strong, and Dvorak surprised in the 2025 NHL Preseason. Zegras and Konecny found a scoring touch in the preseason finale versus the New Jersey Devils, hoping to rub off on Tippett.
“It was nice to get a couple [games] in the preseason, just for the comfortability; just to feel like I’ve been here for a little bit. Building off those games, and I’ve gotten to know all these guys through preseason, training camp, and then a little before that. It feels pretty normal.” – Trevor Zegras; 10/9/2025
Zamula, Adam Ginning, and Noah Juulsen will be under siege against the Panthers, and if they can provide a serviceable front for Vladař, it’ll be a vote of confidence until Ristolainen and York return to the defensive unit.
Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
Dvorak-Couturier-Michkov
Tippett-Zegras-Konecny
Foerster-Cates-Brink
Deslauriers-Ābols-Hathaway
Seeler-Sanheim
Ginning-Drysdale
Zamula-Juulsen
Vladař
(Ersson)
Lineup: Florida Panthers
Verhaeghe-Bennett-Marchand
Luostarinen-Lundell-Reinhart
Boqvist-Rodrigues-Samoskevich
Greer-Kunin-Gadjovich
Forsling-Ekblad
Mikkola-Jones
Kulikov-Petry
Bobrovsky
(Tarasov)
