At a very late time on the East Coast, the Flyers got their most anticipated season in a long time off to a great start with a shootout win in Vancouver. In a comeback victory, the Flyers rode a 24-save Sam Ersson performance and a third-period tally by Cam York into the first two points of the season, marking the 10th consecutive year the Flyers earned at least a point on opening night. 

The Basics

First period: 12:55 – Nils Hoglander (Garland), 17:24 (PPG) – Tyson Foerster (Farabee, Brink) 

Second period: 11:25 – Teddy Blueger (Forbort, Suter) 

Third period: 2:48 – Cam York (Poehling, Hathaway) 

SOG: 32 (PHI) – 26 (VAN) 

Some Takeaways

Michkov slow to start, dynamite in the third 

It’s only fitting that we start with the Michkov report, and boy did we get a show in the third period. About halfway through the game, I thought to myself “You know, Michkov has not really been noticeable at all so far”, and figured that Michkov was settling into the NHL pace. Then, Michkov fully got settled in the final 20 minutes of play – and flashed his offensive creativity that made him a point machine at every level. Two plays that stick out? For one, a rush with Jett Luchanko where Michkov made a guy look silly, and a power play move where Michkov nearly pulled off a between-the-legs move in tight for his first career goal. Some impressive stuff, and it’ll be really cool once he starts to pull it off successfully in the coming games. 

Ersson strong in regulation, lights out in shootout

It’s early, but Sam Ersson looks legit. We’ve talked a lot about how if one of the Flyers’ goaltenders can be league-average to slightly-above-league-average, it might be the difference between playoffs and no playoffs. But, with the version of Sam Ersson that showed up against Vancouver – the Flyers could have something more than that, and that’s an exciting thing to think about. 

In this one, Ersson kept the Flyers in it early, with massive save after massive save in the first ten minutes of the season (and two penalty kills). Keeping the Flyers afloat in the early goings of a game will likely be of utmost importance, as we all know the Flyers historically love to ease their way into games. 

Then, when the game shifted to overtime and the shootout, Ersson continued his excellent career numbers in the skills competition. Only beaten by Jake Debrusk on a quick shot, Ersson was up to the task on almost whatever Vancouver’s forwards tried. It’s really a blossoming advantage for the Flyers in the shootout to have Ersson in there. 

Foerster picks up where he left off 

From his first shift of the season, Foerster was maybe the best Flyer on the ice all night outside of Sam Ersson. There’s a ton to like about Foerster as a player, and it was all on display tonight. He cashed in on a power play goal for the Flyers’ first goal of the year, receiving a great pass from Joel Farabee and tipping it in. 

But, further than that, Foerster is just all over the place at all times. Off the top of my head, he nearly cashed in on a 2-on-1 in the first, helped to anchor a surprisingly dynamic PP2, and even muscled out a nearly two minute overtime shift with Travis Sanheim. Overall, a strong start to the season for the second year forward. 

Luchanko solid, but long way to go 

In the first game of his nine-game tryout, Jett Luchanko was passable at best, I’d say. He’s certainly physically ready for the NHL, and there were moments where Luchanko flashed his speed and strength in possession battles, but the consistency is just not there yet. It’s possible he rapidly improves over the course of this tryout and makes the Flyers think about the decision, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Regardless, seeing Luchanko out there was really cool to start this season off. 

York scores, continually noticeable 

Another big positive for the Flyers in this one? Cam York looks really good, similar to how he looked in the second half of last season. It’s always shocking to me how much better at the actual defensive side of the game Cam York is than I’d ever expected, and that was on display again tonight. But, on top of that, York added the game-tying goal in the third on a snipe. If York can start to make the offensive impact that we originally thought he could when the Flyers drafted him, there’s a real good player in there. Important one to keep tabs on here.