It wasn’t in regulation, but the Flyers battled and beat the Penguins 4-3 in a shootout. The game was highlighted by Alex Bump’s debut NHL game and first NHL goal while Denver Barkey also was stellar.
The basics
First period: 3:00- Tommy Novak (Justin Brazeau, Ville Koivunen) (PPG), 3:54- Owen Tippett (Trevor Zegras, Cam York)
Second period: 3:38- Rickard Rakell (Egor Chinakhov, Bryan Rust), 4:46- Alex Bump (Nikita Grebenkin) 5:45- Erik Karlsson (Egor Chinakhov, Rickard Rakell), 10:03- Denver Barkey (Matvei Michkov, Noah Cates)
Third period: No scoring
Overtime: No scoring
Shootout: Anthony Mantha- no goal, Matvei Michkov- no goal, Rickard Rakell- no goal, Trevor Zegras- goal, Egor Chinakhov – no goal
SOG: 15 (PHI) – 23 (PIT)
Some takeaways
Bump-y ride? Not at all!
Winger Alex Bump made his National Hockey League debut today against the Penguins. And his inclusion caused some of the lines to be jumbled a bit. Obviously the departures of Bobby Brink and Nic Deslauriers was bound to cause some juggling. But Bump found himself on a line with center Christian Dvorak and Nikita Grebenkin, resulting in winger Trevor Zegras being the third-line center between Carl Grundstrom and Owen Tippett.
But back to Bump. He looked comfortable in his surroundings and not in awe he was playing with the big club. He got a shot attempt roughly halfway through the first and was on the right side of the puck more often than not. The youngster was on the second unit for the Flyers’ opening power play but wasn’t able to cash in. And with just under five minutes played in the second, Bump scored his first NHL goal. Grebenkin (who bumped into Bump quite hard minutes later) got the puck in the corner and fed a great pass to an oncoming Bump. Bump beat Skinner clean on a bit of a knuckler, and earned his first of what Flyer fans hopefully will be many, many more.
Welcome to the show, Alex Bump! #PHIvsPIT | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/ub5L3F0Ace
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 7, 2026
Sadly, the goal came shortly after the Penguins went ahead 2-1. But seconds after tying it (59 to be exact), the Penguins took their third lead of the game. It was a bad goal for Vladar to let in, beating him short side but from far out. Vladar was fighting it all night, but just got enough of a Bryan Rust breakaway chance to keep it a tied game late in the second.
As well, the chemistry between Grebenkin, Dvorak, and Bump was surprising. Through two periods the line five-on-five were up 7-1 in Corsi For (87.50 per cent) and almost 70 per cent of the expected goals (69.11). Yet Bump also found himself on a line with Zegras and Tippett for a little bit. Overall the winger had 16:07 of ice time and made his family and friends proud!
Michkov making more moves
Matvei Michkov was busy looking again in the first period. He was very engaged, using his body positioning and intercepting passes, the latter nearly resulting in the Flyers’ second goal of the period (and what would’ve been on their second shot on goal). However the shot didn’t make it to Skinner. Michkov got his first point of the game, assisting on Denver Barkey’s pretty goal. Barkey outwaited Skinner, finishing off a great passing play that started with Noah Cates feeding Michkov.
For the third time tonight, the Flyers have tied the game. This time it’s Matvei Michkov connecting with Denver Barkey, 3-3.
— Andrew Coté (@acote_88) March 8, 2026
Goal: Barkey (3)
pic.twitter.com/Hqa4GIZLDt
Michkov nearly had his second primary assist later during on a Flyers power play, feeding Barkey again who came close but didn’t finish.
Gettin’ Ziggy with it
Trevor Zegras was down the middle and was feeling it early. After a great keep by Cam York, Zegras found a wide open Owen Tippett in the slot. Tippett wasted no time tying the game at one and beating Stuart Skinner cleanly. It was Tippett’s twentieth goal of the season and a nice response to Pittsburgh who scored less than a minute earlier.
Trevor Zegras wired a pass over to Owen Tippett far side and the Flyers tied it at 1-1.
— Andrew Coté (@acote_88) March 7, 2026
Goal: Tippett (20) pic.twitter.com/UC4gWgPLQf
The goal also marked York hitting 100 career points as a Flyer. Later in the first Zegras broke up a pass and headed in on Skinner but the wrister was easily handled by the keeper. And he got hit hard by Connor Clifton on Philadelphia’s initial power play.
Shots few and far between
The Flyers had two shots in period one. They managed three in the first four minutes of period two. It didn’t matter much as Pittsburgh scored to make it 2-1 in the second. A bad giveaway just outside the blueline resulted in a pretty passing goal that Rickard Rakell finished. Flyers goalie Dan Vladar was pissed a bit, perhaps because he never saw the puck clearly through some traffic. The Penguins only had nine shots by that time.
With nearly 55 minutes played, the Flyers had a baker’s dozen shots. Unless they had a bevy of shots in the final few minutes, it would mark another game where shots were at a premium. Even more problematic, when you can only amass that shot total, you certainly don’t need to be short-handed five times.
Jamie Drysdale the new Nic Deslauriers
Late in the first, Cam York was in a vulnerable spot behind the net and got levelled by Pittsburgh winger Avery Hayes. He got belted and thankfully wasn’t injured, but was probably feeling it. Jamie Drysdale took exception to the hit and dropped his gloves, giving more than he got towards Hayes. The fight was well-received on the Flyers bench as Drysdale headed for the locker room, getting an instigator minor for the fight. Philadelphia did a good job killing off the first two-thirds of the penalty before the first period ended. And killing the remainder in period two with Couturier saving a sure goal with a good stick. As for the fisticuffs. it was Drysdale’s first fight in the National Hockey League.
Hopefully it’s not something the defenseman does a lot of, particularly given his injury history with arms and shoulders. But standing up for a teammate is rarely considered a bad thing. Not a season-altering play by any stretch, yet proves the room is still quite tight. Drysdale was instrumental on Philadelphia’s third goal, aggressively delivering a hit and keeping the puck just inside before Barkey made it a 3-3 affair.
Glendening debut
Luke Glendening was slated to be the fourth-line center. However, the lineup saw Zegras playing down the middle and, thus, Glendening on the wing alongside Sean Couturier and Garnet Hathaway. The winger was on the ice for the opening faceoff but didn’t do a heck of a lot. Glendening got his first minor with the Flyers on a high-sticking call. Travis Sanheim bailed out Glendening early by blocking a Bryan Rust shot. Philadelphia kept Pittsburgh to the outside and did a better job killing the penalty.
Glendening didn’t stand out like a sore thumb but didn’t dazzle much either. Such is the life of a veteran fourth-liner. He did make a nice block on the penalty kill in the third, sticking out his leg and getting just a piece of it.
Tedious start
With roughly a half-dozen whistles in the first 90 seconds, it appeared the Flyers might end the game before Easter, giving them about 15 games in hand. It was taking that long. Painful. After more than enough stoppages, Pittsburgh got its first power play of the evening. Playing without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh obviously didn’t have the offensive firepower they usually do. But it didn’t matter as Tommy Novak put the Penguins up 1-0. It marked the forty-second time the Flyers gave up the first goal. And the third consecutive game they gave up a power play goal, falling back to earth hard after a strong pre-Olympic and post-Olympic streak.
Battle for the third point
The Flyers nearly won it when Owen Tippett was on the doorstep with Skinner. Unfortunately, Vladar, who had a strong third period, was called for interference as the Flyers could not get the puck out of their own zone. Pittsburgh called a time out before the four-on-three advantage for the Penguins (and Philadelphia’s sixth minor of the night) and Erik Karlsson had a shot ring off the post. The Flyers killed it off, sending things to the shootout. In the extra extra session, Trevor Zegras was lethal and Vladar battled to stop all three shots, giving Philadelphia the win.
All stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and NHL.com
