The odds-makers didn’t have the Philadelphia Flyers (3-2-1) as the underdogs. However, the Seattle Kraken (3-1-2) had the advantage in almost every hockey stat during the early stages of the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season.
Tonight, the Flyers continued to topple stiff competition, stringing consecutive victories. They gifted the Kraken their first regulation loss of the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season. After six games, Philadelphia has broken into the top half of the NHL Standings.
Before the opening faceoff, the Flyers had the advantage over Seattle in two facets of hockey: the penalty kill and faceoffs. Typically, Philadelphia will sit in the penalty box too often. On average, they spend 8:20PIM per game. However, the penalty kill is killing opposing power plays at an 83.3% rate. Part of that is rooted in defensive structure, and the other part can be attributed to an overall 51.9% faceoff win rate.
To provide insight into how dominant the Flyers were in their win over the Kraken, it’s worth a deeper dive into the facets that presented an uphill battle. Philadelphia defeated Seattle, 5-2. Contributing to that was a more efficient performance on offense and defense at even-strength. Then, the power play prevailed, and shot totals were mitigated because of the previously mentioned defensive structure.
Here’s how it all went down from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena:
First Period
Shots: 10-8, Flyers
Score: 2-1, Flyers
In attendance at the Xfinity Mobile Arena were representatives from the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Vegas Golden Knights, New York Rangers, Montréal Canadiens, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets, and Team Sweden. These teams were scouting the talent on the ice. Jared McCann, whom the Kraken were ‘open to’ trading since July, per David Pagnotta (The Fourth Period), wasn’t in the lineup. Tippett has been circulating in trade rumors if the right opportunity strikes, which these franchises had a front-row seat to observe. Adam Ginning and Sam Ersson were not in Philadelphia’s lineup, leaving Adam Larsson with the undivided attention from Team Sweden.
Rick Tocchet rolled out a starting lineup that included Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Owen Tippett, Nick Seeler, and Jamie Drysdale. Dan Vladař made consecutive starts for the first time in the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season.
“He [Dan Vladař] was really good. [He’s] seeing the puck; looks really good. He’s given us a chance to win every night he’s been in the net. He’s dialed in right now.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/20/2025
Almost immediately, the defensive structure was fully on display from the Flyers. Cam York and Travis Sanheim tempered early puck movement in the defensive zone. Noah Juulsen effectively communicated with Bobby Brink to shut down an early possession from Seattle. On a delayed penalty, Philadelphia extended its possession on the attack, featuring shots on goal from Konecny, Tippett, Egor Zamula, and Jett Luchanko.
“[It] starts your offense; you get more shot attempts. You’ll start to push forwards to the net. We want to play some interior game. It was good.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/20/2025
Larsson served a minor penalty for hooking. However, York served a minor penalty for tripping soon after. At four-on-four, neither team registered a shot on goal.
Jordan Eberle scored the first goal of this game, 1-0, with 12:44 remaining in the first period. Cale Fleury took the shot from the point with traffic in front of Vladař, and the puck deflected off Eberle for the misdirection goal.
Tippett scored the equalizer, 1-1, with 10:04 remaining in the first period. Couturier took the puck away from Joey Daccord, then initially looked for Seeler. Seeler didn’t get all of his shot, which Daccord committed to. Tippett was on location to recover the puck and pot a wrist shot. Placing him on the top line immediately paid dividends.
Joshua Mahura served a minor penalty for high-sticking. Vladař stopped a couple of shorthanded chances from John Hayden and Chandler Stephenson. Then, Tyson Foerster flipped the script, scoring a power play goal, 2-1, with 6:41 remaining in the first period. Brink dug the puck out of the corner on the forecheck with pressure on him, then Foerster sniped a snap shot past Daccord. The most connected line on the roster, per Tocchet, keeps producing.
Fleury popped Garnet Hathaway along the boards near the penalty box, which drew ire from Nikita Grebenkin. Grebenkin tied up with Fleury, earning a major penalty for fighting, a minor penalty for instigating, and a ten-minute misconduct.
Luchanko served the minor penalty for Grebenkin. It was the first full penalty kill for the Flyers, which was also successful.
Second Period
Shots: 21-17, Flyers
Score: 5-2, Flyers
Defense remained a constant for Philadelphia. They’ve defended relatively well in the 2025-2026 NHL Regular Season. Tocchet made it a point to provide more minutes to Zamula (14:17ATOI) and Juulsen (12:30ATOI), who deserve their flowers for stepping up when called upon. Zamula (16:03TOI) and Juulsen (17:03) were noticeable, along with the rest of the defensive unit.
“We just played with confidence from the top [to the] bottom. It wasn’t pretty at times. Vladdy [Dan Vladař] played great and gave the bench confidence, even when they got some odd-man rushes. It starts with him, and then I thought we did a better job of putting the puck in the net.” – Cam York; 10/20/2025
Konecny scored the eventual game-winner, 3-1, with 15:01 remaining in the second period. Matvei Michkov crossed his pass to Zamula, who deked Jani Nyman en route to dishing the primary assist to Konecny. A wrist shot served like a slam dunk with zero opportunity for Daccord to make the save.
Hayden served a minor penalty for roughing. Noah Cates added a second power play goal for the Flyers, 4-1, with 14:28 remaining in the second period. York took his shot from the point, and with traffic in front of Daccord, Cates tipped the puck into the net. Philadelphia finished 2/4 (50%) on the power play.
Drysdale served a minor penalty for hooking. Nyman cut the deficit in half, 4-2, with 11:27 remaining in the second period. In a rare moment during this game, the Flyers broke defensive structure for a moment on the penalty kill. Eberle got in close on Vladař, who made the initial stop. Matty Beniers collected the puck, located Nyman quickly, who had a great look on the power play to score. Philadelphia finished 5/6 (83.3%) on the penalty kill.
Finally, Grebenkin served his time after his fighting major and misconduct, though it felt like the time he spent in the penalty box was longer than the penalty suggests. Drysdale blocked a shot, then limped off the ice. He would return, reclaiming his place with Seeler.
“That was big. TK [Travis Konecny], the same. A few games ago, it was Mich [Matvei Michkov]. D-Lo [Nicolas Deslauriers] the other night. We’re not preaching fighting, but we’re trying to create a culture in sticking together.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/20/2025
Adding another to his totals, officially on hat-trick alert, Tippett snuck a wrist shot past Daccord, 5-2, with 4:20 remaining in the second period. He took his wrist shot from a tight angle, and Daccord couldn’t locate the puck. Had the puck not leaked through Daccord, into the net, Konecny was at the crease, prepared to poke the puck past the goal line.
Third Period
Shots: 27-23, Flyers
Score: 5-2, Flyers
Swapping the top-six forwards brought life to the forward group. These lines closely resembled the Flyers just before the end of the 2025 NHL Preseason, when Tocchet admitted he didn’t want to experiment with the forward lines before changing them by opening night when visiting the Florida Panthers. Tippett and Konecny generated a lot of looks on offense, and in most cases, they didn’t complicate their game. There was a contagious energy throughout the forward unit, all the way to Grebenkin, Luchanko, and Hathaway.
“[He’s] a power-forward type of guy [Owen Tippett]. In the short time I’ve been here in this coaching staff, he’s been a pleasure to coach. He’s been in the room, he’s asking questions, he’s in the video room, he’s taken the information, and he’s really taken a role; a leader-type of role. That’s what I see. I don’t know what happened in the past, but he looks like a guy that’s dialed in.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/20/2025
Finishing an assist short of the Gordie Howe hat-trick, Konecny went toe-to-toe with Ryan Lindgren. Tippett lit up Tye Kartye along the benches. Lindgren stepped to Tippett, and Konecny wasn’t having it. This time, Lindgren, in addition to the major penalty for fighting, received a minor penalty for instigating and a ten-minute misconduct.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, October 23rd. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7pm/ET.
