The Flyers were not clicking on many cylinders Thursday night, losing 5-1 to Washington in a game played at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was a game that was notable for the debut of Dan Vladar but very little else.
The basics
First period: 8:11 – Andrew Cristall (Hendrix Lapierre, Declan Chisholm) (PPG)
Second period: 9:10 – Ivan Miroshnichenko (Dylan Strome, Rasmus Sandin), 11:13 – Sonny Milano (Vincent Iorio, Hendrix Lapierre), 15:51 – Jacob Gaucher (Rodrigo Abols, Adam Ginning)
Third period: 1:07 – Connor McMichael (Unassisted), 18:57 – Sonny Milano (Hendrix Lapierre, Ethen Frank)
SOG: 16 (PHI) – 29 (WAS)
Some takeaways
Kolosov getting long look
Although many suspect that the tandem when training camp ends will be Sam Ersson and Dan Vladar, it seems like the Flyers are giving Aleksei Kolosov a good, long look. Kolosov came in to finish the final 40 minutes against Montreal on Tuesday and was given the identical assignment against the Capitals.
Looking cool and confident in the opening shifts of the middle frame, Kolosov slowed play down a bit swallowing up anything that came near him. The first Washington goal he didn’t have much of a chance with as Ivan Miroshnichenko came down the side, went by Helge Grans way too easily and waited for Kolosov to make his move before burying it.
#ALLCAPS 2-0. MIRO!!! WHAT A GOAL pic.twitter.com/p80tkeavsm
— Capitals Replays 🍁 (@capsreplays) September 26, 2025
Seconds later, Kolosov looked bad when a slow pass near the crease area bounced off Milano and through Kolosov’s pads. He stopped 10 of 12 in the second period and finished the night stopping 16 of 20 for a .800 save percentage. A good start, but bad finish. Some things never change.
Juulsen strikes again
Noah Juulsen made his presence felt again in the early portion of the game with another big hit, this one on Capitals forward Ilya Protas. Juulsen stepped in and Protas’ stick went flying. Juulsen took a minor penalty for kneeing and the penalty wasn’t killed, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead. As for Protas, he seemed to be fine.
Minutes later, Adam Ginning delivered another hit to Washington’s Sonny Milano, but the check was from behind and on the numbers as Milano fell into the boards. Fortunately he wasn’t injured but the Flyers were forced to kill another minor penalty.
As for Juulsen, he didn’t look great most of the evening, colliding with a Flyers forward on the Capitals third goal. Paired with Dennis Gilbert throughout the contest, a shift midway through the third showed both Gilbert and Juulsen seemingly all out of sorts as a shot by Vincent Iorio looked like it was in. However, the referees deemed it hit the post, not the inside of the net.
Vlad the shotsaver?
Dan Vladar made his maiden appearance with the Flyers Thursday night and it didn’t take long for him to make his first save on a Connor McMichael shot. His third shot of the game against him went behind him. Granted, the traffic in front of Vladar was rather heavy, and he didn’t have much of a chance on it. Vladar stood his ground on the Capitals second power play, making a stop although not quite knowing where it was as Egor Zamula stood behind him to ensure it didn’t cross the line.
Perhaps his biggest save came with roughly two minutes left in the first where he stopped a quasi-breakaway attempt. Overall Vladar did a good job of keeping the puck in front of him and recognizing where the pucks were in front of him to cover up potential rebounds. He stopped eight of the nine shots he faced for a decent debut showing with his new team.
First line kind of fizzles
The Flyers started the night with an opening line Noah Cates centering Travis Konecny and Alex Bump. And from the opening the Flyers seemed to play with a lot of pace despite not getting many quality chances in the first period. In fact, they were with just two shots 15 minutes into the game. Prospect Jack Nesbitt had a good look late in the first but Washington goalie Clay Stevenson ate it up in his stomach. Whether it was the lines not quite gelling as some might have hoped or Washington doing a good job of keeping chances and shots to a minimum, it wasn’t an offensive first period. Just offensive to fans watching.
The line might have looked good on paper but didn’t seem to have much oomph throughout. They had a combined four shots over 40 minutes as Washington outshot the Flyers 21-16 after two periods. It was a game where Alex Bump may have showed he’s not quite ready for prime time.
Gaucher gives Flyers some life
Jacob Gaucher’s goal wasn’t a work of art, but it did put a spark under Philadelphia. Some offensive zone time by the likes of Nic Deslauriers and Dennis Gilbert later led to a shot by Adam Ginning which was stopped. An attempt by Rodrigo Abols to cash in on the rebound failed but Gaucher was able to put the rebound into an almost empty net.
Jacob Gaucher off the rebound! 3-1 Washington. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/MLXnPgOTiq
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) September 26, 2025
Luchanko still lurking around
Centering a line with Owen Tippett and Nikita Grebenkin seemed to have a bit of both worlds for Jett Luchanko. Although they didn’t generate a lot in the first period, the line looked like it could have some chemistry with Luchanko and Tippett having speed to burn while Grebenkin provides the muscle to win pucks in the corners and dirty areas.
Luchanko made a fantastic pass to Tippett late in the second that nearly cut the deficit to one, but Stevenson got enough of the puck to keep it from going through him into the net. It was the type of play that showcased what speed matched with speed can do for a line and a team. Whether Luchanko is able to stick around for the long run though is still in doubt.
Power play needs work
The Flyers’ first power play showed a subtle difference than previous years: urgency. After battling for a loose puck to gain control, Cam York was able to get a good shot off that Tippett was able to get a rebound chance from. Again, nothing revolutionary, just a shot that often didn’t get through the previous three years. Rarely was the puck on a Flyers stick for a few seconds before it was sent elsewhere, keeping the Capitals from settling in.
Philadelphia took some time mapping out what they wanted to do with a two-man advantage for 41 seconds. The Flyers won the faceoff and Alex Bump had a good opportunity but it was deflected out of play. The remaining 80 seconds of five-on-four play was problematic as Washington had some quality shots Kolosov turned aside.
In the third, the Flyers threw Jack Nesbitt out on the first unit. That backfired seconds later when the Capitals had an odd-man rush they scored on, making it 4-1 and putting a lid on the proceedings. The remaining seconds with the power play saw Konecny and Tippett do some passing but put no shots on goal.
Earlier this week Tocchet said they were going to spend a lot of this coming week on the power play. Looks like they could use it.
Interesting tidbit
According to the Capitals’ television broadcast, the game marked the first time since 2002 that two sets of brothers were playing in the same game. The Capitals dressed both Matt Strome and Dylan Strome as well as Aliaksei Protas and Ilya Protas.
