Tonight, the Philadelphia Flyers (1-2-1) host the Minnesota Wild (2-3-0) at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7pm/ET.
On Thursday, the Flyers lost on home ice for the first time in the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season. The Winnipeg Jets cashed in on their opportunities in Philadelphia, leaving Broad Street with a win, 5-2. For the most part, both teams kept their defensive structure. Some turnovers and a lack of execution on special teams didn’t help. The Jets converted 5/15 (33%) of their shots on goal into scoring plays.
“In the first period, we weren’t dictating anything. We were skating backwards, we were forechecking; all that good stuff I told you after the game [vs. Winnipeg Jets]. When a team sees that, they just buy their time. They have four guys in the neutral zone. That’s where we have to come back with speed, get behind their structure like we did against Florida [Panthers]. They smelt it, and Winnipeg said, ‘Why would they change their thought process?’ We were giving pucks away. Winnipeg didn’t press the envelope. They have a hell of a second period; he [Connor Hellebuyck] made some great saves. He didn’t have to do much in the third [period]. That’s a good road game. The home team’s got to dictate the way that the game goes, and we didn’t dictate it. Bottom line.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/18/2025
Rick Tocchet pointed out how he believed his lineup didn’t perform up to standard. Specifically, Tocchet compared how the Flyers competed versus Winnipeg to when the Florida Panthers visited the Xfinity Mobile Arena. Jett Luchanko and Nikita Grebenkin experienced growing pains, turning the puck over in the defensive zone. Those are educational moments early in the season for the rookies.
“It’s a work in progress. We’ve moved by the last game [vs. Winnipeg Jets], but it was a dud from a game perspective. It’s not like Winnipeg did anything, and we didn’t do anything. That part, more for me, is arriving on time with your identity, which we didn’t. That’s going to be a work in progress.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/18/2025
Yet, the Wild are another team from the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs who visit Philadelphia at the start of the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season. Minnesota was eliminated in the first round by the Vegas Golden Knights. If iron sharpens iron, the Flyers ought to be sharp after their first five games of this season.
“Everybody has to play somewhat in structure. There’s creativity you want, but everybody’s got a little more predictable. Everybody’s going to know where the puck goes; a little more speed. Two different games; Florida [Panthers]: maybe we’re scared of Florida a little bit more. I don’t know, but we got to get to our game right after the national anthem, not after twenty minutes.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/18/2025
Could Philadelphia bounce back against the Wild?
Injury Report: Philadelphia Flyers
Injury Report: Minnesota Wild
- Nico Sturm (back)
- Mats Zuccarello (lower body)
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena; Philadelphia, PA
When: 7pm/ET
Last Game PHI: 10/16/25; 5-2 L; vs. Winnipeg Jets
Last Game MIN: 10/17/25; 5-1 L; at Washington Capitals
Philadelphia Flyers
Dan Vladař will start for the Flyers. He’s the sole goaltender on the roster to secure a win, and when you compare his stats to Sam Ersson, Vladař is making the case to assume the lion’s share of the tandem’s goaltending workload.
Tyson Foerster continues to shine. Tocchet has given a lot of credit to his line, featuring Noah Cates and Bobby Brink. He’s often considered that particular line to be the most ‘connected’ of the forwards. However, Owen Tippett did receive his flowers from Tocchet in the postgame press conference following the loss to the Jets.
Foerster created the most scoring chances, including ones considered high-danger, by generating second chances from goaltender rebounds. Also, Foerster just missed scoring, nailing the crossbar on the power play in the second period. Tippett did score on a clean entry, and in the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season, he claimed Philadelphia’s only power play goal.
Defensively, if the Flyers can keep Minnesota outside on the perimeter, it’ll be their best chance at mitigating Kirill Kaprizov, who’s the driving force for the Wild in point production, leading the team in both goals and assists.
Team discipline remains a focal point. Trevor Zegras committed the only penalty on Thursday, and while that is a drastic improvement from the 7:30PIM on average, Philadelphia finished 0/1 on the penalty kill. Minnesota has the best power play unit in the NHL. The Flyers cannot afford to shoot themselves in the foot, and if they go on the man-advantage, they must convert. The Wild have an elite power play, but their penalty kill ranks 29th.
“Every team should work. You shouldn’t have to pat people on the back [for] working hard. I appreciate the fact that their is a foundation there, but there’s working hard in different [ways]; reloading, not diving in. You’re working hard, but you’re working hard in a different direction. If a defenseman goes down, somebody’s got to come back. Like, you can work hard going the wrong way. You have to have a calculation in your game to work hard. That’s what we’re working on.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/18/2025
Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
Konecny-Couturier-Michkov
Zegras-Dvorak-Tippett
Foerster-Cates-Brink
Deslauriers-Ābols-Hathaway
York-Sanheim
Seeler-Drysdale
Zamula-Juulsen
Vladař
(Ersson)
Lineup: Minnesota Wild
Kaprizov-Rossi-Boldy
Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Tarasenko
Foligno-Hartman-Trenin
Öhgren-Yurov-Hinostroza
Brodin-Faber
Middleton-Spurgeon
Buium-Hunt
Wallstedt
(Gustavsson)
