Owen Tippett put the Flyers on his back Saturday night, scoring the game-tying goal before Noah Cates scored the game-winner in overtime for a 2-1 victory over the visiting Wild.
The basics
First period: No scoring.
Second period: 1:55- Vladimir Tarasenko (Marco Rossi, Jonas Brodin)
Third period: 7:10- Owen Tippett (Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak)
Overtime: 2:37- Noah Cates (Tyson Foerster, Jamie Drysdale)
SOG: 21 (PHI) – 16 (MIN)
Some takeaways
No line juggling to start
Aside from Jett Luchanko, Nikita Grebenkin and Adam Ginning out of the lineup and Nic Deslauriers, Rodrigo Abols and Egor Zamula put in, nothing really changed in terms of the line combinations. A few believed the lines were being juggled earlier Saturday during a few practice drills. But the game started with the line of Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier and Matvei Michkov. The line had a good opportunity to open the scoring, but Konecny couldn’t convert. Meanwhile Joel Eriksson Ek looked like he lost some teeth on the same play, but it was friendly fire from defenseman Zeev Buium’s stick.
The Wild looked like they could be down two centers early when Marco Rossi took a shot off his leg and was hobbling to the bench. He didn’t head down to the locker. It looked like he took another shot off the same leg late in the first and was hobbling again.
Michkov MIA most of third
Matvei Michkov wasn’t taking many shifts in the third period, particular in the last half of the frame. Tocchet previously said he likes to see guys who are going. But Michkov was glued to the bench for basically the last 14 minutes of the game. He ended regulation with 12:07 ice time which isn’t great. Michkov sat while Garnet Hathaway saw himself on a line with Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak in what might be the oddest line combination of the season. And the Cates line was humming on all cylinders trying to break the 1-1 tie late.
It’s not ideal, especially when you’re trying to get Michkov going or gain some confidence. Three shifts in period three (one of them just 10 seconds) for a measly 2:31 isn’t going to cut it.
A tale of two power plays
The Flyers entered the game with the league’s worst power play (7.7 per cent). On the other side, Minnesota came in atop the league with a ridiculous 43.5 per cent. In layman’s terms, the combined Flyers power play percentages the last three seasons (2022-23 through 2024-25) added up to 43.6 per cent. Of course, the safest way to diminish a power play is to not take penalties. And outside of the five-minute fighting major to Deslauriers, they played a penalty-free first. A Flyers challenge on Minnesota’s opening goal backfired, leading to the lethal Wild power play. Minnesota was dangerous early on and Vladar was stellar as the Flyers killed it, only to take another minor seconds later.
The opening power play went to Philadelphia late in the first. The first unit featured Couturier, Konecny, Michkov, Jamie Drysdale, and Tippett. The first unit had some offensive zone time but no high danger chances. The second unit featuring the Cates line, Trevor Zegras and Travis Sanheim had a little more pop but, again, nothing doing.
Possibly the most frustrating part of the game was in the third period when the Flyers set up on the power play but did almost nothing in terms of chances. What looked to be a possible chance by Tippett on his forehand was instead a pass. Meanwhile Couturier had a chance in close but nothing materialized. The Cates line created more five-on-five in the ensuing shift than the previous power play did..
Vladar becoming a good storyline
The Flyers have allowed only one goal in the opening period each of the first four games. They carried that trend on Saturday night. Vladar wasn’t tested much but looked to have given up an early second period goal to Vladimir Tarasenko.
we have a GOAL pic.twitter.com/KVEtNiP6S5
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) October 19, 2025
The Flyers challenged the goal for offsides and unfortunately didn’t get the ruling in their favor. The challenge also gave Minnesota their first power play. He was great in the opening minor and made a great save just as the second minor penalty ended. And he kept Philadelphia from being in a two-goal or three-goal hole in the middle frame with some timely and very key saves. Vladar didn’t have a lot of work, but he was solid when he needed to be.
It makes you wonder if and when the Flyers can start generating some offense just what a steady goaltender behind them will do for their confidence. That was proven in the third when Vladar stood tall on Minnesota’s third power play and then moments later stoning Marco Rossi in close. And Vladar was the hero in overtime, stopping a shot but keeping the play alive for the game-winning goal by Noah Cates seconds later, a great wrist shot for a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
NOAH CATES WINS IT IN OVERTIME FOR THE #FLYERS!!! pic.twitter.com/c0cvXGJaMU
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) October 19, 2025
Zegras and Michkov briefly together again
It wasn’t a long time, but Zegras and Michkov found themselves together on the same line in the second following two consecutive Flyer penalty kills. It didn’t result in much excitement with a few passes intercepted.
The Zegras, Dvorak, and Tippett line looked charged up late in the second, delivering some strong shifts and a few quality chances. And they were essentially the only line showing life most of the night. Tippett also took the place of Michkov late in the second (and again in the third) on a line with Konecny and Couturier. He also drew a penalty on the shift which gave Philadelphia a chance to start the third with the man advantage. Tippett had a sizeable share of the shot attempts five-on-five after two periods (77.27) compared to Michkov (26.67). Tippett was rewarded for his effort and work roughly eight minutes into the third when he had a chance to score, didn’t, but got the rebound and bounced it in off Wallstedt to tie things up.
OWEN TIPPETT TIES IT UP ON THE BANK PLAY!!!! GREAT SHIFT FOR TREVOR ZEGRAS ALSO, WHO PICKS UP ANOTHER ASSIST. 1-1!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/QkG8Fuux52
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) October 19, 2025
Deslauriers and his fighting spirit
Nic Deslauriers didn’t take long to get the crowd involved, dropping the gloves against Marcus Foligno. Both got some shots in, with Deslauriers sporting a welt and some blood on his cheek.
Nic Deslauriers vs Marcus Foligno 🥊#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/hq6RuA81gm
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) October 18, 2025
Same start as Winnipeg?
The previous game was rather low-key and low-octane. The opening to Saturday’s game mirrored that quite a bit. Philadelphia had two shots in the opening seven minutes while the Wild was still looking for their first. The first real sustained pressure was naturally from the Noah Cates line. Travis Sanheim took a Tyson Foerster pass but Jesper Wallstedt was steady in the nets for Minnesota.
The Flyers looked slow and tired most of the second period, which was puzzling considering Minnesota was playing the second game of a back-to-back. It was becoming so tilted that the Flyers were still looking for their first shot of the second period with seven minutes left to go in the frame. An Owen Tippett rush had some excitement but his shot went wide. Tippett finally got the first shot on Minnesota, a high wrister Wallstedt awkwardly got a piece of.
Zamula attempts defense
Egor Zamula broke up a possible two-on-one with a nice stick on Marcus Foligno midway through the second period but didn’t do much else to shine. Paired with Noah Juulsen, the pair bent but didn’t break despite Philadelphia being hemmed in their own end. The duo aren’t the best at breakout passes, as the Couturier line found out in the second when a few attempts failed miserably, leaving the line spinning their tires most of the shift.
Zamula after 40 minutes was bad having only a 20 per cent share of the shot attempts. As far Juulsen, he wasn’t much better at 30 per cent (6-14) in just under eight minutes five-on-five. The dearth of dependability that is this third pairing is concerning. Especially when a stud like Travis Sanheim is being used as much as he needs to be. Sanheim finished the night just two seconds shy of 30 minutes. That’s fine when the Flyers have zero back-to-back games in October, but is going to wear him down when the schedule gets far more hectic.
