The Philadelphia Flyers†preseason “dress rehearsal†game at Xfinity Mobile Arena looked, at times, like a team ready for Opening Night. At others, it looked every bit like a group still wrestling with new systems and the occasional self-inflicted wound.
In the end, the Islanders capitalized on late mistakes and handed Philadelphia a 4–3 loss—a result that matters less than the patterns behind it.
For Rick Tocchet and his staff, this was less about the score and more about the sharp contrasts on display: moments of speed and promise counterbalanced by costly breakdowns that NHL teams will never forgive.
The decisive sequence that led to the Islanders’ game-winning goal encapsulated the problem. What should have been a manageable defensive read spiraled into a freebie for New York.
“Thereâ€s a couple of mistakes,†Tocchet explained postgame. “First of all, [Matvei Michkov] has to get out there and he got beat up the ice. He was ahead of the guys. I think [Adam Ginning]—heâ€s either got to go or he has to back off. He was caught in between. Heâ€s just buying time, just stay in the middle of the ice, let the guys back there.â€
This, for Tocchet, wasnâ€t about punishing individuals but stressing principles. The Flyers†new system will take time to master, but these lapses—players caught in between, failing to sort assignments—are the kind of breakdowns that giftwrap goals.
“Itâ€s a new system,†Tocchet said. “Weâ€ve gotta go through these things. But if you communicate that stuff…yeah, that has to be better…Thereâ€s just freebies. You might get about three freebies a month; you canâ€t give them two or three in a game. It just canâ€t happen. You canâ€t give free goals in this league.â€
Egor Zamula, too, earned a pointed critique after a night in which he failed to distinguish himself. “Yeah,†Tocchet admitted bluntly. “Heâ€s got to pick it up. Definitely.â€
Thatâ€s preseason in a nutshell: mistakes become teaching tools, but theyâ€re also data points when roster spots hang in the balance.
On the brighter side, Nikita Grebenkin continued to make himself impossible to ignore. The 21-year-old winger didnâ€t just look fast—he looked fearless, attacking gaps and creating chances through sheer tenacity.
“Heâ€s a sticky guy,†Tocchet said postgame. “He comes up with loose pucks. You always need those corner guys that come up with pucks, and we can continue to teach them to play that way—grab pucks, a whole lot of pucks. In the first [period], he had that burst of speed and split the D—thatâ€s good stuff. We want that from them.â€
In a camp that has seen several young players fade in and out of relevance, Grebenkin has been consistently noticeable, consistently disruptive, and consistently effective. His game screams “NHL-ready,†even if the Flyers werenâ€t expecting it.
For Owen Tippett, last seasonâ€s frustration wasnâ€t about production—it was about never finding a true home on a line. He was shuffled often, always the useful part but rarely the centerpiece, and it showed in his inconsistency. If tonight was any indication, that narrative may be shifting.
The line of Tippett, Trevor Zegras, and Michkov flashed serious potential. Their skillsets donâ€t just complement each other—they stretch defenses in ways that few Flyers trios have in recent years. Tippettâ€s straight-line explosiveness, Zegras†flair and playmaking, and Michkovâ€s uncanny ability to create offense out of slivers of space give the unit a balance of speed, creativity, and finishing touch.
Itâ€s early, and chemistry canâ€t be declared off of one night. But if this line clicks, it solves two problems at once: it gives Tippett the stability heâ€s been craving and provides Michkov with linemates who can keep up with his vision.
Between the pipes, Sam Ersson played the full 60 minutes in his final tune-up before the regular season. The 25-year-old wasnâ€t flawless, but he was steady, tracking pucks through traffic and making a handful of highlight stops to keep the Flyers alive.
“There were some point shots, there were a couple of double screens in front, and he made some good saves, a couple of gloves there. I donâ€t know how he saw that,†Tocchet said. “I thought he was solid. He definitely wasnâ€t the reason why we lost the game.â€
Ersson himself echoed the confidence. “[I feel] pretty good,†he said. “I think we can get better and better. Thereâ€s obviously always going to be small situations in a game, but overall…everything is in a good spot. I liked my game today.â€
The Flyers†goaltending picture remains a work in progress, but Erssonâ€s performance reassured both staff and fans that the crease is in capable hands.
Christian Dvorak isnâ€t the flashiest forward in orange and black, but nights like this underline his value. His backhand setup for Travis Sanheimâ€s opening goal was a thing of vision and touch, threading the needle in traffic.
Beyond the highlight, he was engaged, reliable, and quietly effective in both ends.
“I feel pretty good,†Dvorak said. “I think Iâ€ve had a good start so far. I had some good chances that Iâ€d like to bury. Just gotta keep working on that in practice and get better at it.â€
For a team in flux, players like Dvorak are invaluable—not just for the points they produce, but for the stability they bring to a lineup that leans young.
The Flyers†4–3 loss to the Islanders was the kind of preseason game coaches circle in red ink.
It revealed flaws that need cleaning up—poor reads, gaps in execution, lapses in focus. But it also revealed a few pieces of genuine promise: Grebenkinâ€s spark, Erssonâ€s calm, and a line combination that could unlock Tippett in ways we havenâ€t seen before.
Tocchet is right—mistakes are inevitable when implementing a new system. The key is whether they shrink in frequency as the real season begins. The Flyers donâ€t need perfection yet. What they need is direction, and for all the bumps, there were enough signs tonight to suggest theyâ€re moving the right way.
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