The Flyers kicked off this week with a bang, continuing their home stand and going up against a hot Kraken team, and managing to come up with a breakout effort — matching their highest single-game scoring output, the Flyers managed to cruise to their third win of the season, and dish out the Kraken’s first regulation loss of the year.
The Basics
First period: 7:16- Jordan Eberle (Fleury, Catton), 9:56- Owen Tippett (Seeler, Couturier), 13:19- Tyson Foerster (Brink, York)PPG
Second period: 4:59- Travis Konecny (Zamula, Michkov), 5:32- Tyson Foerster (York, Zegras)PPG, 8:33- Jani Nyman (Beniers, Stephenson)PPG, 15:40- Owen Tippett (Couturier, York)
Third period: No scoring
SOG: 27 (PHI) – 22 (SEA)
Some Takeaways
Vladar gets the nod
This game felt particularly meaningful before it even really got rolling, just for the meaningful non-change to the lineup. That is, with Dan Vladar tapped to get the start tonight, he became the first Flyers goaltender to emerge at the front of the pack and get called upon for two consecutive starts. It’s a big vote of confidence, and Vladar did well on the whole to prove he deserved it.
Things began in a little shaky of a way for him, as the Kraken got themselves on the board early on a play which began with Vladar misplaying the puck behind the net, but credit to him, he didn’t seem to get rattled by that mistake and settled in nicely after that. It wasn’t the busiest evening for him from a raw shot volume standpoint, as the Kraken only put 22 shots up on him, but there were a few really dangerous chances in there, and he had to bail out his skaters in a big way a couple of times for them to hold on to their lead, and he came up with those big saves when they needed them most. If there was any question of how he would handle this first run of back to back starts of the season, he stepped up with an assurance that he can handle the workload.
The offense pops off
As the Flyers were settling deeper into this season and seeing their offense struggling to reach what seems to be their full potential on paper, the question of when the goals would start to come for them was looming in a big way. Surely, they would be coming eventually, there was no need to panic. But, still, when?
The answer, it would seem, was tonight. The start was a little dicey, as they allowed to Kraken to open up the scoring first, but they did well to avoid letting any panic creep into their game, and responded nicely before even hitting the midpoint of the period.
The Flyers were able to cash in on a similar type of mistake from the Seattle goaltender, which was a nice way to get things rolling, but the Flyers brought a multifaceted approach to their generation of chances in this one.
The Red Lettuce is Red Hot. 🥵#SEAvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/DUayIrt30x
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 21, 2025
The Flyers brought a good level of pace over the whole of the game, and were able to cash in on some positive plays made in transition.
The Power Play is COOKING. 🔥#SEAvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/nVZ055Z90O
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 21, 2025
They found a way to get their cycle game working for them.
No. 1️⃣ for No. 1️⃣1️⃣! #SEAvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Ya0d2cVaG1
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) October 21, 2025
And their emphasis on getting to the net for chances paid off for them in a big way.
Overall, this is just the type of effort that the Flyers needed. Between finally seeing their process waking up, their power play finally cashing in, and big showings by their top players (pairs of goals from the red-hot Tippett and Foerster, while Konecny finally broke through for his first of the season), this was an energizing performance, and one that, we hope, will signal the dam finally breaking open for them.
Nikita Grebenkin pops… Cale Fleury
That first period was exciting for the goals that were scored and the chances that were created, but also for the bits of physicality that was brought along with that. These flashes of physicality were punctuated when Grebenkin stepped up in defense of Garnet Hathaway after he took a big shot, showing that he can certainly bring some jam in his game, a willingness to answer the bell, when called upon.
NIKITA GREBENKIN FIGHT!!! #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/JrzwtAYdbr
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) October 20, 2025
This was the buzziest moment of the game for Grebenkin, but it punctuated well what was a solid showing for him overall. Even in limited usage — and made even more limited by the amount of time he had to sit in the penalty box — Grebenkin played an impactful game, as he continued to flex his checking ability, along with his playmaking prowess, as he set up a couple of grade-A chances in the later goings. His linemates weren’t able to finish on them, but he was doing a lot to drive play in the right direction, but it was certainly a strong impression made overall in his first game back in action after a night off on Saturday.
Discipline check
The Flyers have faced something of an ongoing struggle to keep themselves out of the box, and after two quite disciplined showings against the Jets (just one minor penalty taken) and the Wild (one minor taken, another tacked on after an unsuccessful challenge, and a fight mixed in), the Flyers found themselves shorthanded again six times in this one.
Now, there’s credit to be given to their penalty killers, as they managed to step up and create a bit of disruption and negate many of the Kraken’s would-be chances, and further credit is due to their goaltender in Vladar who bailed them out on a couple of looks. Still, they ended the night 5-for-6 on the penalty kill, which is some good work done, all in all. But all the same, while the instigating penalty assessed to Grebenkin is one that the Flyers would gladly kill, as it signaled a meaningful standing up for his teammate, the five other more ticky-tacky penalties feel less excusable. Because in a game that the Flyers were pretty well commanding, there really wasn’t any reason for them to be caught reaching as often as they were in this one, and it was a worthwhile reminder that attention to detail and commitment can’t slip like it did for the Flyers tonight. They could have let this one get away on them, and it’s great that it didn’t this time, but this is something they’ll clearly have to stay on top of in their next time out.
Luchanko gets his first…
…shot on goal. At long last.
Jokes aside, despite still not being given the nod for a markedly high volume of minutes in this one (just 8:43 in total), this was one of the better showings Luchanko was able to put together tonight. To see him finally tap into even a bit of a shooting mentality was certainly a big positive, but away from that, he seemed to be playing with a bit more jump, a bit more confidence, using his speed to play a more active attacking role along with his linemates in Grebenkin and Hathaway. He was more noticeable on the whole in this one, which was nice to see, but this all still begs the question — if he’s going to continue to see himself limited to under 10 minutes of ice time a game, is he going to stick around much longer, or will the front office decide it’s best to shuffle him back down to Guelph? His game seemed to take a step in the right direction in this one, to be sure, but where he goes from here, we’ll see.
