Sean Couturier’s back injury may be a thing of the past

There was a time where some wondered if Sean Couturier would ever get back to the player he used to be.

He lost nearly two years to a back injury that needed multiple surgeries to correct. But it goes back longer to when the issues arose. It made the most mundane things hard to complete. Getting out of bed became a task. Bending over to put on his socks was a pain.

“Even the last couple years before the surgery, it was tight back, and trying on a daily basis sometimes to push through it.” Couturier said on Monday night.

Three games into the 2025-26 season and Couturier is coming off his best outing in quite some time. He was all over the scoresheet, collecting a point on all but one of the Flyers’ five goals in their victory over the Florida Panthers. It was the first win in the Rick Tocchet era and it’s fitting that the longest tenured athlete in Philadelphia had his fingerprints all over it.

And while he joked that he was so far behind the defense on his first goal because he didn’t expect to be on the ice, his second goal was more of an example of a player who feels his healthiest. The pass from Trevor Zegras deserves its own moment, but it doesn’t end in a goal without Couturier’s effort.

Sam Bennett makes a career out of laying devastating blows to his opponents. Just as Couturier sends the puck behind the net, he’s blown up by Bennett. Likely not expecting Couturier to be a part of the play right away, everyone turns their attention to Zegras.

The forward of a few years ago may not have been able to get up so quickly. But a re-energized Couturier popped back onto his skates and was left wide open for the goal.

It wasn’t just his two goals that were the story, though. It was the unselfish nature of a player who could’ve ended the night with a hat trick after the Panthers emptied the net for the second time, down 4-2 in the moment. Couturier had a shot at the empty cage as he skated in along the left boards. He could’ve taken the easy goal to end his night.

Instead, he passed up the shot and elected to let his teammates have the glory. The sequence later ended with Travis Sanheim taking a shot from the point and Christian Dvorak tipping in the goal in a rather amusing effort. So instead of three goals and one assist, Couturier’s night ended with two goals and two assists. Maybe it was not wanting to get the hat trick in an easy way. Maybe it was wanting to spread the wealth.

It may not change much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s the kind of leadership Couturier has shown during his tenure. And it has rubbed off on some of the younger players.

“As a younger guy, still learning, he’s an awesome guy to look to. He’s helped me a ton of faceoffs, how to play the game the right way. Obviously his two goals tonight were huge for us and he’s a great leader.” Zegras said on Couturier.

It’s only one game in a season that is just beginning. Couturier came out of the gate hot last season as well. But it’s the way the veteran is holding himself with more confidence. Does he feel freer under his new head coach? Maybe, but he won’t admit that.

”Whether he wants to prove anybody wrong, the guy’s a good hockey player, right? Plays a 200-foot game, and he cares. And he’s a good human being so you root for guys like that. And he had a great game for us.” Rick Tocchet said of his captain.

Whatever it is, the Flyers can only benefit from a confident and healthy Sean Couturier.