Anthony Richard: It was an uneven night for Richard against his former team, as he had a few early giveaways, couldn’t seem settle the puck down on other occasions, and was whistled for a goaltender interference infraction that was “dubious” at best. Those are things that usually spell doom for a guy competing for one of the team’s final roster spots. But Richard turned it all around with a very noticeable third period that included him hitting 20 miles per hour on a breakaway attempt and later forcing a turnover and setting up Sean Couturier for a golden chance to tie the game with a few minutes remaining. Richard’s speed continues to pop and impress Tortorella. We’ll see if it is enough for the 27-year-old to break camp with the big club.

“Yeah, Richie, good speed. We’re hoping he can bring some offense, said Tortorella afterward. “Not sure if he starts with us, but he’s a guy that we’re interested in. He’s had a good camp.”

Three down 👎

Sean Couturier: Couturier says he’s healthy but after two back surgeries in recent years and an abdominal procedure this summer, he continues to look like a shell of his former Selke Trophy-winning self. The most notable thing is the lack of foot speed as the captain just doesn’t look to have his legs back at this point. Maybe that can be partially attributed to a long and grueling training camp but the Flyers will hope Couturier progresses as the real games begin.

“I feel healthy. Body feels good. I just got to get my energy going and feel good for the opener,” Couturier said afterward. “Obviously, work on execution, making more plays. But I’m pretty confident it all come together as the next couple days, a week, come by.”

While Couturier’s effort or want-to can’t be questioned, the Flyers are going to need him to chip in offensively as well if they are to have success and to take a step forward this season. Couturier did manage one big chance late in the game when played in all alone by Richard but he was thwarted by a Brandon Bussi right-pad save. The Flyers value Couturier’s leadership but given his contract — six years remaining at $7.75 million — they need him to be productive as a top-two center given the team’s lack of depth down the middle.

Travis Sanheim and Cam York pairing: It was a rough night at the office for the Flyers top pair, with each blueliner finishing with a minus-2 rating. The tandem blew a coverage assignment on the first Bruins goal — both defensemen ended up on the same side of the ice leaving a wide-open Brazeau backdoor — and seemed to get hemmed in the defensive zone for much of the night. The Bruins dominated the shot attempts 16-8 in the 12 minutes, and 43 seconds that Sanheim and York were on the ice at five-on-five together, and out-chanced the Flyers, 10-6. While most of the Flyers graded poorly in terms of Corsi in a game where the Bruins outshot the Flyers, 34-14, the fact the Flyers top duo was dominated by Boston’s best is a bit worrying.

Jett Luchanko: Luchanko was fine in this game and even had a few bright moments — an early shot on goal and a nice setup in transition for Jamie Drysdale probably being the best of them. That said, when grading Luchanko on this outing based on the “did he do enough to earn a nine-game NHL trial” scale, the answer for me would be no. The Bruins out-chanced the Flyers 10-2 at five-on-five when Luchanko was on the ice and he also committed two giveaways and took the hooking penalty that led to the Bruins’ game-winning goal.

“Luchanko has impressed us right from day one with his skating, just his maturity, as far as his play away from the puck,” said Tortorella. “He made some really good plays tonight, struggled in some other areas. It’s a good test for some of these kids.”

That test involved the 18-year-old going against some rugged centermen in the Bruins’ top two of Elias Lindholm and Charlie Coyle. That’s a much different challenge than anything he saw last year in the OHL with Guelph.