All hell breaks loose when the Philadelphia Flyers (5-3-1) face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7-2-2). Tuesday wasn’t different. Rick Tocchet expected the play on the ice to become chippy, and it did.
Deploying a heavier lineup denotes Tocchet expected tempers to boil over between the intrastate and Metropolitan Division rivals. Nicolas Deslauriers entered the lineup in place of Nikita Grebenkin, who competed hard in a shootout win versus the New York Islanders, 4-3.
Instead, the Flyers weren’t completely reliant on playing the enforcer role. They dictated the overall pace of the game. However, the Penguins hung around. Sam Ersson and Arturs Šilovs earned their flowers, giving their teams a chance to win.
Here’s how it all went down from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena:
First Period
Shots: 10-8, Flyers
Score: 1-1
Tocchet sent Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, Bobby Brink, Cam York, and Travis Sanheim to take their place around the faceoff circle for the opening draw. This starting lineup is becoming the norm. A season ago, the line featuring Foerster, Cates, and Brink was legitimately one of the best lines in the NHL. They remain the most connected line in the Philadelphia lineup, supporting York and Sanheim on the top pair. Brink had a huge night against Pittsburgh, which makes it easy to understand why Tocchet continues to rely on that line, like John Tortorella used to.
“He’s [Noah Cates] been one guy that from day one has just been chugging along. I’m giving him heavy minutes against the top [lines]. You’re talking top players: Scheifele [Mark Scheifele], Crosby [Sidney Crosby], and all these guys, they’re top [players], and he’s holding his own. Then, he’s there scoring, too. That’s a big thing. [He’s] doing a really good job.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/28/2025
Noah Juulsen was off to a solid start. In back-to-back sequences, Juulsen took a shot on goal against Šilovs, producing a juicy rebound in the slot. Then, Juulsen blocked a shot from Thomas Novak. Novak, at one point, fell onto a loose puck in the crease, which was marked for the back of the net. His smothering of the puck allowed Ersson to pile on, freezing the puck. The Flyers were fortunate that the Penguins got in their own way.
Matvei Michkov got out to a hot start, including a two-on-one rush with Trevor Zegras. He elected to shoot, but Šilovs made the save. Michkov set up Nick Seeler with a scoring chance below the hash marks. Aside from the line featuring Foerster, Cates, and Brink, Michkov generated the most high-danger scoring chances. Moments after Michkov set Seeler up with a scoring chance, Seeler crunched Blake Lizotte into the boards.
Justin Brazeau snuck a wrist shot past Ersson from a sharp angle, 1-0, with 9:41 remaining in the first period. He got around Travis Konecny, sweeping into the near post along the left wing. Anthony Mantha separated Egor Zamula from the play to create the shooting space for Brazeau. Ersson needed to seal off the post, which is one he would likely want back.
Garnet Hathaway served a minor penalty for slashing. York, Sanheim, Foerster, and Christian Dvorak cleared the defensive zone as Ersson got back on track, denying Erik Karlsson and Bryan Rust. Philadelphia finished 4/4 (100%) on the penalty kill.
Rodrigo Ābols got in close often enough on Šilovs in the first period. Tocchet preached the concept of finding interior space for his forwards, and Ābols found himself around the slot and crease on three separate occasions in the first period. His only shot on goal was from along the crease, but he went for a bank shot from the same area and had a shot attempt blocked by Karlsson from inside the faceoff dot. Ābols proved, after Jett Luchanko returned to the Guelph Storm in the OHL, that he’s capable of getting into the higher percentage areas on the fourth line.
Mathew Dumba served a minor penalty for interference. Brink tied the game on the power play, 1-1, with 2:35 remaining in the first period. Zegras located Cates down low on the power play. Cates tried to quickly flip a shot on Šilovs, who made the initial save. Brink followed through on the rebound, lifting the puck into the back of the net. The Flyers finished 1/4 (25%) on the power play.
Second Period
Shots: 24-13, Flyers
Score: 2-1, Flyers
Konecny met a career milestone. He uncorked a snapshot past Šilovs, 2-1, with 17:14 remaining in the second period. For Konecny, it was his 200th career NHL goal. Sean Couturier pushed the transition out of the defensive zone onto the attack and was credited with the primary assist on the scoring play.
After scoring his 200th NHL goal, Brink nearly set up Konecny with another great look on Šilovs. Brink would’ve had a breakaway chance if he hadn’t looked over his shoulder for the defender. Then, Zegras and Michkov combined for a scoring chance, but Šilovs made a tremendous save in the splits. From here on out, Šilovs kept Pittsburgh tight with Philadelphia. Later in the second period, Šilovs denied another quality shot on goal from Foerster.
The chippiness in this game began to show up toward the end of the second period. Hathaway kept Connor Dewar on the ice for a few extra seconds after getting tangled up away from the play.
Third Period
Shots: 32-22, Flyers
Score: 2-2
For all of the analytics people, it’s worth noting how Ābols was third on the Flyers in expected goals for (xGF) midway through the third period. The only skaters who were ahead of him were Brink and Konecny, who did score. Ābols (8:52TOI) made a great impression on the fourth line.
Sidney Crosby scored the equalizer, 2-2, with 8:03 remaining in the third period. From behind Ersson, it looked like Crosby meant to flip the puck back to the point or blue line to reset. Instead, the puck deflected off Seeler and past Ersson. It was a fortunate bounce for the Penguins, to which Crosby had been well defended.
Overtime
Shots: 34-26, Flyers
Score: 2-2
Two words that perfectly sum up the overtime period would be ‘pure chaos.’
Evgeni Malkin scored the overtime game-winner, or so we thought. He ripped a shot past Ersson on a delayed penalty, but it was called off. Before Šilovs could get close enough to the bench for the extra attacker to get on the ice, the substitution already took place to put Pittsburgh on the man-advantage. The first wave of fans exited the Xfinity Mobile Arena once it seemed the Penguins won, and they would’ve missed a wild finish.
Foerster had the game on his stick and scored what appeared to be the game-winner on Šilovs. However, his goal was called off due to an offside call before the scoring play. Foerster self-sabotaged his own game-winner. Another wave of the crowd left, assuming Philadelphia won in overtime.
“I’ve never had that in a long time, two goals called back, but it was offside. I never had it where their goal didn’t count either, and then the shootout. So, it was a weird overtime, but we hung in there and, obviously, [in] the shootout, a couple [of] guys made some great, high-end goals.” – Rick Tocchet; 10/28/2025
Crosby, Ryan Shea, Parker Wotherspoon, and Noel Acciari were all ejected along with Zegras, Foerster, Owen Tippett, and Jamie Drysdale due to a scrum following the overtime period. Those players were unable to shoot in the shootout to decide the result.
Shootout
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Nashville Predators on Thursday, October 30th. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7pm/ET.
