The wait is finally over. The Philadelphia Flyers will open up the campaign against the Pittsburgh Penguins, five months after eliminating them in the first round of the playoffs.
A lot has changed for the Penguins since then. They've acquired fresh faces in Nick Robertson, Kaedan Korczak, and Hendrix Lapierre via the trade market. They signed free agents like Trevor van Riemsdyk, Declan Carlile, and Andrei Kuzmenko. Their veteran core remains the same, though it feels like this could be their last chance together.
The Flyers are largely returning the same team that took them to the second round of the playoffs, ultimately losing to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Carolina Hurricanes. One notable addition is Noel Acciari signing a multi-year deal with Philadelphia after spending the last three seasons with the Penguins.
As for the first game of the season, there are a three things worth watching.
Dan Vladar's health
Flyers fans were given a scare when Dan Vladar was forced to leave his first preseason game a few minutes in after suffering an apparent arm injury. The good news came quickly: Vladar was listed as day-to-day and slowly improved with each passing day. The official news came early in the morning ahead of the home opener, confirming Vladar as the starting goaltender.
The Flyers won't need to turn to Joseph Woll just yet, but there is confidence in what he could bring. In his one preseason start, he posted a 28-save shutout against the Bruins. The Flyers upgraded their backup goaltending situation and should hopefully see better results. That can help Vladar be even better.
Vladar is undeniably the Flyers' most important player. He delivered career highs in nearly all categories, earning himself recognition with a sixth-place finish in Vezina voting. He is arguably the reason the Flyers went as far as they did. Having Vladar available on opening night is huge.
Matvei Michkov's start
Fair or not, the talk this season will continue to surround Matvei Michkov. But if his preseason play is any indication of what's to come, the Flyers should be seeing the same type of player that he was in his rookie year. As a player who the team counts on for offensive consistency, having him back at that level would be ideal.
Last season, Michkov scored a goal in his fourth game, then went almost 10 games without scoring another. Getting off to a fast start could help quiet any remaining criticism from last year. He doesn't need to score a hat trick to be effective. If he is involved in creating offense and looks more like the player the Flyers expected to build around, they will be better because of it.
Michkov is one of the most important pieces of the team's offense. He still posted solid numbers, but the overall feeling about his season was met with some disappointment. It's up to him to change the narrative once again.
The new-look power play
The power-play hasn't been good enough; that's plain and simple. Consistently ranked at the bottom of the league, the Flyers' special teams have routinely cost them games. There comes a point where it's up to the players to figure things out.
Rick Tocchet made some key changes to the unit recently by putting some of the Flyers' youngest and most offensively gifted players on the top unit. That five-man unit has the potential to make something special happen and will get an early run together to start the season.
The key to that unit could run through the duo of Michkov and Porter Martone, who have the authority to run their own play as much as the other team allows. Will it work? At this point, it better.
It's only the first game of the season, but it's the first chance to see whether some of the biggest questions around the Flyers have changed. Can Vladar stay healthy and lead the Flyers to the playoffs again? Will Matvei Michkov come out firing after a strong offseason? And can the power play make the impact needed to succeed?
The answers won't tell us everything about what's to come this season, but they'll give us plenty to watch as the puck drops on the 2026-27 season.
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