Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers open their preseason schedule on Sunday evening. The Flyers are in Elmont, New York, to take on Patrick Roy’s New York Islanders.
Game time at UBS Arena is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be streamed on the Flyers’ website. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
Here are five storylines to watch in the first preseason game….
1. Zegras’ debut in orange and black. Acquired in the offseason from the Anaheim Ducks, Trevor Zegras has dazzling natural offensive talent. Tocchet aims to help Zegras further build his all-around game while finding his previously shown scoring ability.
2. Michkov starts second NHL season. Matvei Michkov led all NHL rookies with 26 goals scored last season. He tied for the overall points lead among first-year forwards (63). The sky’s the limit for the 20-year-old Russian winger’s offensive upside.
3. Nesbitt’s first NHL game. The Flyers made a two-for-one swap at the 2025 Entry Draft in order to move up 10 spots in the first round to take Jack Nesbitt with the 12th overall selection. The tall, lanky Windsor Spitfires center impressed at Rookie Camp and scored a goal in Saturday’s scrimmage in Voorhees. Saturday marks his NHL preseason debut.
4. Drysdale begins a crucial year. The Flyers need — and are counting on — a true breakout year from defenseman Jamie Drysdale in 2025-26. He’s shown flashes of brilliance and took steps forward in the latter half of the 2024-25 campaign. Now Philly needs the player to put it all together on a consistent basis. For the second straight offseason, Drysdale added muscle to his frame.
5. Young goalies in net. The prospective Lehigh Valley Phantoms goalie tandem of Aleksei Kolosov and rookie pro Carson Bjarnason will man the net for the Flyers in the preseason opener. At this early stage of the exhibition slate, teams typically divide the goaltending duties within any given game. Midway through the exhibition schedule, goalies start to go the distance.