Trevor Zegras needed to show something in his first week of the season as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. Thankfully, he did exactly that on Monday night with a sensational assist to help captain Sean Couturier score the game-winning goal as the Flyers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 5-2.
With the score tied at two goals each in the final few minutes of the third period, Zegras took control of the puck behind the net and just for a second, every single Flyers fan was thinking that was the moment we could see him pull off a Michigan goal. But honestly, something more impressive happened. The 24-year-old center had two powerful Panthers defenders charging right at him and instead of getting absolutely killed and losing possession, he used his body to protect the puck, free from the ensuing board battle, and magically backhanded the puck to make a perfect pass to Couturier, who hit the one-timer and scored his second goal of the game.
It was honestly, maybe the coolest play we’ve seen a Flyer make since Claude Giroux scored a backhand goal while falling down almost 12 years ago.
Trevor Zegras, that's a ridiculous dish! 🤩
— NHL (@NHL) October 14, 2025
He makes an unreal move to set up Sean Couturier! #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/XhOoYPx0ti
Even Zegras himself while trying to explain how he managed to pull off something that will be shown at the end-of-season highlight reel just three games into the season, was kind of a loss for words. It’s just his natural ability to do something so cool and difficult.
“I feel like I settled it for a second and tried to read the play, and two guys came pretty hard,” Zegras told the media after Monday’s win. “Just tried to get it off my stick as quick as possible. … You kind of look up for like a split second, see where your guys are. Obviously if two people are coming at you … somebody’s probably open. Little bit of [an] area [pass], a little bit of feel for where the guys are, for sure.”
The ability it takes to not only make that play in the first place, but to do it under the most pressure possible, is extremely impressive. We’re not talking about a couple pipsqueak players trying to go back behind their own goal line and crush a player — this is the Florida Panthers, a team that did that all the way to a couple Stanley Cups and drilled through teams in the exact same way. They’re masters at doing it.
Add in the fact that it’s Zegras — the posterchild for what your old uncle that lives upstate thinks about skilled hockey players and how they’re not big and mean and tough, and how Matthew Tkachuk is the most perfect hockey player to ever exist — and it just becomes so much better. For Zegras specifically, to take that contact and make a play out of it, is maybe the best thing to see early in this season.
And Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet, of course loved that he took on some contact to create that scoring chance.
“It’s a big moment, right? You get crushed, he got hit too — that’s what I like,” Tocchet said. “You know you’re going to get hit and you’re willing to take it to make a play. It’s a high-level play and obviously [Couturier] burying it. It’s actually hanging in there, knowing he’s going to get hit and making that play. That’s a big moment play.”
Zegras can now come out of that big moment play feeling so much better. Coming into this season, on a new team, there was an opportunity for a miniature wake-up call and for him to grow from being just that “guy who does crazy plays” to someone who makes a large impact on the ice and contributes to winning hockey games.
There might be no better mentor for him than the teammate he made that pass to. Zegras himself loves the idea of learning more and more from Sean Couturier; for him to develop that side of his game.
“He’s amazing. He does so many little things right,” Zegras said. “I think our first game of the season, he led with 34 shifts or something like that. As a younger guy, still learning, he’s an awesome guy to look to. He’s helped me a ton on faceoffs and how to play the game the right way. Obviously, his two goals were huge for us tonight. He’s a great leader for the group, for sure.”
After Couturier’s four-point night on Monday, he now leads the Flyers in scoring with, well, four points. Zegras was able to notch his second assist of the season on his highlight-reel play and Philadelphia is now 1-1-1 on its season.
With the home opener behind them, they can now focus on the rest of the season. At least Zegras is for sure happy to play in front of a home crowd who truly cares about the team and the sport, compared to those in Southern California. Forty more home games from here and forty more opportunities to feel what it likes to win a game in Philadelphia.
“It’s pretty special. The fans and the atmosphere was awesome,” he said. “They had us going going in the first period — it’s a great team that Florida has and we’re happy to get the two points.”
