The Flyers closed out the first month of the season in a positive way, with their third straight victory, this time over the Nashville Predators. A lousy opening period that saw the Flyers outshot 10-3 would turn out not to be a sign to things to come, with Trevor Zegras stepping up in a big way, scoring twice and assisting on another tally.
The Basics
First period: No scoring
Second period: 12:45 – Trevor Zegras (Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett), 15:41 – Jamie Drysdale (Michkov, Zegras), 18:03 – Matthew Wood (Michael Bunting, Erik Haula)
Third period: 7:00 – Trevor Zegras (Cam York, Noah Cates) (PPG), 15:54 – Travis Konecny (Christian Dvorak) (EN)
SOG: 33 (NSH) – 18 (PHI)
Takeaways
Zegras with a statement game
After getting outshot 10-3 in the first period, the Flyers desperately needed somebody to step up in the second period, and Trevor Zegras answered the call. After pushing into the offensive zone, Matvei Michkov did some great work along the boards, winning battles and coming away with the puck. He found Zegras entering the zone and hit him with a pass. Zegras made a cut towards the middle of the ice and beat Saros clean.
ZEGRAS WHAT A SNIPE. 1-0 PHI. pic.twitter.com/6lK2nnj6XZ
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 31, 2025
Zegras has recorded a point in eight of his first ten games as a member of the Flyers, and is averaging over a point-per-game, with four goals and eight assists. It’s fair to say that Zegras has lived up to, even exceeded, expectations so far through the start of the season, and has been the Flyers’ most dangerous offensive weapon. We’ve been waiting to see more of the Michkov–Zegras chemistry, and tonight’s game could be the start of something great. But Zegras didn’t stop there. He’d beat Saros again, this time with a one-time blast at the start of a power play.
ANOTHER ZEGRAS SNIPE. MY GOD. 3-1 PHI. pic.twitter.com/W1q2rtwzzx
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 31, 2025
Zegras is hot right now, with four goals and three assists in his last three games. Zegras was brought to Philadelphia to be a difference-maker, and the Flyers need him to embrace that role. With his creativity, vision, he can change the momentum of a game in an instant, as he did tonight. For a team still shaping its offensive identity, with other top offensive forwards slumping, Zegras stepping up as “the guy” is just what the Flyers need from him.
Andrae’s return
Emil Andrae made his return to the lineup tonight, replacing Egor Zamula on the third pair alongside Noah Juulsen. In just his second appearance of the early season, he once again showed that he belonged on the ice. There was a shift early in the game where he was at least partially (if not directly) responsible for three scoring chances, which were hard to come by for the Flyers in the opening frame. At five-on-five the Flyers out-attempted the Predators 15-8 with Andrae on the ice, and were out-attempted 48-24 with him on the bench, per Natural Stat Trick. While the Flyers’ top-four has been excellent this season, more often than not the third pair hasn’t been winning their shifts. In the two games that Andrae has played, they have.
It’s clear that Andrae is one of the six best defensemen on this roster, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay in the lineup, or even stay on the NHL roster. Ahead of the game, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchett said he’s looking for one of the third-pair defensemen to become a lineup regular, and that Andrae does have a shot. Games like this should help his case.
Drysdale gets his first
Zegras wasn’t the only former Duck that Michkov set up in this one, as a slick behind-the-net pass created Drysdale’s first of the season.
MICHKOV TO DRYSDALE. HE'S BACK. HE'S DOING MICHKOV THINGS. 2-0 PHI. pic.twitter.com/2Af4FsC1Ah
— Broad Street Hockey (@BroadStHockey) October 31, 2025
It’s great to see Drysdale rewarded for his strong start to the season. While the points aren’t there, there’s an argument to be made that Drysdale has been the Flyers’ best defenseman through the first ten games of the season. His play without the puck has been extremely impressive and it’s been reflected in his defensive shot impacts. It’s a bit of a surprising, but very welcome development from Drysdale, who has always been billed as more of an offense-first defenseman. If this is real, and Drysdale can be a modern day shutdown defenseman who can skate, move the puck, and factor in offensively? Well, that’s exactly what the Flyers need.
Drysdale, and really the entire defense, was noticeably active offensively tonight, joining the cycle and sneaking down low just as Drysdale does on the goal.
Vladar keeps impressing
This game could’ve been out of reach after 20 minutes if not for Dan Vladar. The Predators were all over the Flyers in the opening frame, and Vladar kept the game scoreless. Goaltending was a concern heading into the season, but Vladar has been a pleasant surprise to this point. Despite finishing a season with a save percentage north of ninety percent just once, he’s stopped just under 94 percent of the shots he’s faced to start the season. Only time will tell if that will continue, but for now he’s been nothing short of remarkable. With Samuel Ersson placed on IR, the Flyers will likely be leaning heavily on Vladar during a very busy first week of November.
Friendly fire takes Couturier out
One concerning thing from this game is that the Flyers lost their captain, Sean Couturier. In the middle of the first, Couturier got caught by a Noah Juulsen shot in the arm, around the elbow, and eventually left the game. While this was seemingly the cause, Couturier did take a few more shifts after this happened, so it could theoretically be another issue. In his absence, Zegras got in a few more reps at center, and was even out there to help kill a penalty while Cates was in the box.
It’s unfortunate enough without context, but it is extra disappointing to see Couturier go down in the midst of what has been a bit of a resurgence, with nine points in nine games. Tocchett did not have an update on Couturier after the game.
… Are the Flyers good?
Look, it’s still so early. But they’re 6-3-1, positive in expected goals, and defense has been shutting team’s down nightly. The big x-factor here might be that they’re doing this without Michkov looking his best. Get him going, and maybe they’re ahead of expectations. Now, they’ve yet to win a road game, and it’s still hard to fully trust the goaltending, but this start is definitely turning heads.
