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Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Jets Overpower Flyers to Win Third Straight

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Andrew McGuinness | Last updated Oct 16, 2025 10:07 PM ET

Beating the Florida Panthers on Monday night had to be a confidence booster for the Philadelphia Flyers. Earning the first victory of the Rick Tocchet era didn’t come easy, following consecutive one-goal losses to that same Panthers team and the Carolina Hurricanes to begin the season and a blown 2-0 lead on Monday night. But the Flyers got it done, proving this season’s group is capable of defeating one of the league’s top teams.

Doing that in consecutive games, however, is a much harder feat, and one that eluded Philadelphia on Monday night, despite the return of defenseman Cam York, who missed the first three games due to a lower-body injury. The Winnipeg Jets concluded their first road trip of the year, a brief two-game Eastern swing, with a perfect mark, following Monday’s win on Long Island with a 5-2 victory in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Game Recap

It took a while for the game to actually get underway, with puck drop not until 7:15 p.m. despite the 7 o’clock stated start time (which usually means closer to 7:07). Perhaps that contributed to the choppy start, maybe not, but both teams felt a bit sluggish out of the gate. Regardless, it didn’t stop the Jets from taking an early lead, capitalizing on a turnover by Jett Luchanko at his own blue line. Nino Niederriter snuck behind the Flyers’ second defense pair of Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale. Though Sam Ersson denied him in tight, Vladislav Namestnikov potted the rebound for his first point of the season.

Other than that, the first period didn’t feature much, with the teams combining for just eight total shots. The Flyers appeared to be generating momentum with a dangerous power play that included a post hit for Tyson Foerster, who was Philadelphia’s most consistently swarming player through the game’s first half. But the post, plus the latest in a long line of tremendous Connor Hellebuyck saves (this one on Travis Konecny), kept the Flyers off the board.

They truly felt the sting of that only a moment later when Mark Scheifele capitalized on a turnover when Travis Sanheim and Nikita Grebenkin couldn’t connect on an outlet pass. The Jets’ second-leading scorer a season ago unleashed a snipe from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal in as many games to begin the 2025-26 campaign, doubling Winnipeg’s advantage.

The Flyers continued to battle, and after another strong man-advantage chance didn’t quite produce a goal, they found a breakthrough at 5-on-5. Trevor Zegras, the playmaking hero of Monday’s home opener, made another gorgeous dish, springing the speedy Owen Tippett for his second goal of the season. It brought a real energy back into Xfinity Mobile Arena…which lasted for all of 81 seconds. Rather than fire a perfect shot from the left circle, Morgan Barron let a wrister go that went well wide of the net, yet bounced off an already engaged Noah Juulsen and past a helpless Ersson.

That offensive burst from both sides was short-lived. The Jets played a textbook shutdown style to start the third period, as neither team collected a shot on goal for over nine minutes, which was just fine for the leading visitors. A penalty on Zegras allowed Winnipeg to pounce, which they did, with Scheifele hammering home his second goal of the game on a cross-ice dish.

Philadelphia added a late strike, getting Matvei Michkov off the schneid in the closing minutes, but never seriously threatened a comeback, as a giveaway by Michkov allowed Tanner Pearson to answer with an empty-netter. The teams combined for just 30 shots on goal, which would put them outside the league’s top 10 if they were a single team.

The Flyers will play a fifth consecutive 2025 playoff team to begin their season next up, although Saturday’s foe, the Minnesota Wild, isn’t quite on the level of the true Cup contenders they’ve drawn so far. The Jets return home on Saturday to face the Nashville Predators, who are off to a surprisingly solid start this season.