Flyers Defend Home Ice With Statement Win Over Panthers

After a touching tribute for the late-great Bernie Parent, the puck dropped on the Philadelphia Flyers home campaign.

Just 1:23 into the contest, Florida's Aaron Ekblad was guilty of a slash, sending Philadelphia to the man-advantage.

A successful kill for the Panthers eventually turned into a power play of their own as Flyers forward Owen Tippett received a slashing call just minutes after their power play expired.

Just before Florida's power play came to an end, Flyers captain Sean Couturier found himself 1-on-1 with Daniil Tarasov. Couturier was stopped by the pad of Tarasov and tumbled over the Russian netminder.

With the Xfinity Mobile Arena and the Flyers both buzzing, something big was set to happen, and it did.

Tyson Foerster, whose line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink has been the Flyers' top-producing line this past year, sniped a shot from the slot past Tarasov. He stole the puck from two Florida defensemen, giving Philadelphia a 1-0 lead halfway through the first.

A great chance from the Flyers top line nearly doubled their lead. Matvei Michkov entered the Florida end and slid a pass to an open Travis Konecny on the right, who tried to feed a cutting Sean Couturier on the left, but the puck sailed wide.

The first period came to an end with a loud ovation from the Philly faithful as their Flyers escaped the frame with a lead over the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champs.

Flyers netminder Dan Vladar began the second period stopping several opportunities from the Panthers, using all 6-foot-5, 290 pounds to keep his team in front.

Vladar would have to stand even taller as a hook against Couturier sent Florida to its second power play of the game.

All of Vladar's heroics, the Flyers penalty-killing unit, and the consistent Philadelphia offense testing Tarasov led to another man-advantage for the orange and black. Florida's Sam Bennett tripped up Jett Luchanko in the neutral zone, leading to the call.

Despite not converting, the Flyers power play unit showed a lot of consistency, making solid passes and shots, with some extra help from the raucous crowd inside the building.

With just under nine minutes to play in the second, the speedy Tippett skated past several Florida skaters and maneuvered his way towards Tarasov. Ultimately, the former Panther was taken down without a call from the officials, sending Xfinity Mobile Arena into a plethora of boos.

Late in the second, a perfectly executed pass from Konecny to a wide-open Couturier led to a 1-on-1 with Tarasov. The Flyers captain fired a shot off all three posts before falling into the cage, doubling Philadelphia's lead to 2-0.

A late power play for the orange and black turned ugly as a bad turnover gave Florida the puck with under a minute remaining in the second. A plethora of saves from Vladar ended with him down on the ice and Sam Reinhart back-handed a wrap-around chance right into a wide-open cage, cutting the Flyers lead in half. Reinhart, two years removed from a 57-goal campaign in 2023-24, recorded his first goal of the year.

The second period came to a close with the Flyers still holding the lead, looking to secure win No. 1 on the year.

The third began with Philadelphia having to send out their penalty-killing unit as Michkov found himself guilty of a hook.

A lengthy delayed call against the Flyers led to extended zone-time for Florida, tiring out the Philadelphia skaters. A tripping penalty against Tippett sent Florida back on the man-advantage, looking to even the score with under 11 minutes to play in regulation.

Another rough play by the Flyers evened the score at 2-2. Vladar jumped out to the left side, but didn't have enough time to stride back as Reinhart delivered a pass to Bennett who cashed the equalizer into the net.

Approaching the final minutes of the third with the score evened at 2-2, Garnet Hathaway found himself guilty of a goaltender interference penalty that sent Xfinity Mobile Arena into a roar of unpleasantries. Luckily for the home faithful, Bennett received a slashing call that negated the Florida power play.

As the Philadelphia power play was expiring, Trevor Zegras found himself being pinned by a pair of Florida skaters. Just after the Panthers returned to full-strength, Zegras made a no-look pass to Couturier who sniped a one-timer shot past Tarasov, giving the Flyers a 3-2 lead with a little over four minutes to play.

Florida bench boss Paul Maurice chose to pull Tarasov with just over three minutes to go, setting up a 6-on-5 for the Panthers.

It took just under a minute to convert, but a key member of the Flyers' hottest line looked to have sealed it as Brink's empty-net goal doubled the lead.

In an attempt to get Couturier his hat trick, the Flyers played keep away with Tarasov on the bench. Christian Dvorak's first goal as a Flyer put the orange and black up three.

A five-goal affair put the Flyers in the win column for the first time in 2025-26 and gave Vladar his first win as a Flyer behind a raucous crowd.