{"id":308045,"date":"2025-11-25T16:23:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/308045\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T16:23:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:23:18","slug":"flyers-at-the-quarter-point-zegras-offense-unsustainable-resilience-michkovs-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/308045\/","title":{"rendered":"Flyers at the quarter point: Zegras\u2019 offense, unsustainable resilience, Michkov\u2019s journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

One game after their most impressive (and mildly historic<\/a>) offensive performance of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers suffered their first shutout loss, falling 3-0 to the Lightning in Tampa Bay in what was a sloppy team performance. They\u2019ve reached the quarter-point of the 2025-26 regular season with a respectable, if unremarkable, 11-7-3 record.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we\u2019ve learned so far.<\/p>\n

Offseason additions fit right in<\/p>\n

Where would the Flyers be without the guys they brought in over the summer?<\/p>\n

Goalie Dan Vladar and forward Trevor Zegras have been the Flyers\u2019 two most important players. Vladar continues to provide outstanding goaltending, sitting seventh in the NHL in save percentage (.912) and eighth in goals-against average (2.42) headed into Monday night\u2019s games. His 8.5 goals saved above expected mark, according to Moneypuck, is 12th. Remember when Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said he originally wanted to sign Vladar (or any free-agent goalie) to just a one-year deal? Instead, Vladar\u2019s two-year, $3.35 million AAV through next season could end up being an absolute steal.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll see how he holds up physically \u2014 Vladar has never started more than 29 games in a single season, and he\u2019s already at 13 \u2014 but he hasn\u2019t shown any signs of slowing down, including a sneaky good performance in Saturday\u2019s 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils.<\/p>\n

Zegras continues to plug along at a point-per-game pace, with seven goals, 14 assists in 21 games. He\u2019s given a huge jolt to the previously anemic power play, too, with a team-leading eight points there. While the Zegras at center experiment didn\u2019t last long, leaving the Flyers with the same long-term concerns about how the heck they\u2019ll unearth at least one high-end center, extending the pending restricted free agent at some point already feels like a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget Christian Dvorak, either. Coach Rick Tocchet has leaned more on Dvorak as the season has moved along \u2014 he\u2019s currently skating between Zegras and Owen Tippett \u2014 and with 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists), the center is outperforming expectations. You\u2019re likely going to hear Dvorak\u2019s name in trade speculation around the league as we get closer to the March trade deadline, but make no mistake: the Flyers aren\u2019t interested in moving him as long as they\u2019re in, or within striking distance of, a playoff spot. That was true when they signed him, and remains true today.<\/p>\n

\"Christian<\/p>\n

\n Christian Dvorak has earned more trust from Rick Tocchet as the season progresses. (Stacy Revere \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Michkov still working his way back<\/p>\n

Yes, there have been more promising signs lately. Michkov posted goals in three straight games from Nov. 6-12, and his breakaway conversion on Saturday against the Devils sparked the historic offensive outburst. He had the puck on his stick a fair amount Monday in Tampa, but his turnovers led to rushes the other way twice and he was also on the ice for both Lightning goals before an empty-netter.<\/p>\n

Michkov is still working his way back physically. That was reiterated to me by a team source last week. The Flyers are cognizant that while Michkov is getting his legs and lungs again, he\u2019s also been perpetually behind the eight ball, as players who arrived at their respective training camps in prime condition are also still ramping up (something we touched on here last week<\/a>). That, along with still figuring out the intricacies of Tocchet\u2019s offensive systems, could mean it\u2019s another couple of weeks at least before Michkov finds any consistency. We\u2019ll just have to stay tuned on this one.<\/p>\n

I do have one plea, though. Can we wait a little longer before jumping to broad, outlandish conclusions about a player that\u2019s not even 21 years old yet, and is still just in his second full year living and playing in North America?<\/p>\n

Resiliency is impressive, but not sustainable<\/p>\n

Make it eight straight games that the Flyers have surrendered the first goal, as Brandon Hagel made it 1-0 Lightning on Monday with his first-period redirection.<\/p>\n

The Flyers couldn\u2019t come back this time, but what they\u2019ve done so far in terms of erasing deficits has been impressive. They are 8-5-2 when the opponent scores first, 4-3-2 when trailing after one period and 4-6-2 when trailing after two. It\u2019s a sign of a sturdy culture, something the Flyers have prioritized even more than most clubs since the time Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones took over. Teams that don\u2019t play for one another simply don\u2019t come from behind as routinely as the Flyers have shown an ability to do.<\/p>\n

But they\u2019ll need to start playing with more leads. The Flyers have led games for just 269:59, the second-lowest sum in the league. Conversely, after Monday night, they have now trailed for a league-leading 571:22. It\u2019s a wonder they\u2019ve banked as many points as they have, although going 4-0 in the shootout has helped.<\/p>\n

Still, this isn\u2019t a recipe for long-term success. To put the Flyers\u2019 come-from-behind success into context, they currently have a points percentage of .600 when allowing the first goal, and .417 when trailing after two. The league average for teams that don\u2019t score first is .416, while it\u2019s .217 for teams that trail after two. At some point, the Flyers will doubtlessly start to regress towards the mean.<\/p>\n

Depth still questionable<\/p>\n

Rodrigo Abols finally scored, helping the Flyers come from behind against the St. Louis Blues Thursday to win 3-2 in overtime. But it only came after he was moved up in the lineup. The Flyers\u2019 fourth-liners still don\u2019t have a single goal this season. Garnet Hathaway in particular looks like he\u2019s lost a step compared to years past when he was routinely a physical force that could also pop in a goal from time to time: 10 last season, and seven in 2023-24.<\/p>\n

On defense, Travis Sanheim, Cam York and Jamie Drysdale have all been generally strong. Emil Andrae has forced his way into a spot in the top four, lately skating with Drysdale. Monday aside, Andrae has given the Flyers a jolt in their ability to move the puck out of the defensive zone and through the neutral zone. It does, however, leave the club with an undersized group. That shows up when the Flyers are in their own zone in particular, as opponents have a little more space to freely roam around while looking to make plays \u2014 like Hagel outmuscling Andrae in front of the net on Tampa Bay\u2019s first goal.<\/p>\n

Another player, along with Hathaway, who\u2019s struggling to have the kind of impact as under John Tortorella is defenseman Nick Seeler. Andrae has, for now, pushed Seeler down to the third pair, resulting in Seeler\u2019s minutes dropping compared to the early part of the season. A player whose bread and butter under Tortorella was blocking shots suddenly isn\u2019t being asked to do that as much under Tocchet.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Samuel Ersson, who didn\u2019t really help or hurt his cause on Monday, making 15 saves on 17 Lightning shots and falling to 3-2-2. Ersson\u2019s numbers are again near the bottom of the league, but it\u2019s also evident he has some rope from management to get his game in order. He also hasn\u2019t been as bad as his numbers (.850 save percentage, 3.30 goals-against average) would suggest.<\/p>\n

\"Goalie<\/p>\n

\n Samuel Ersson\u2019s play this season has been better than his stats would suggest. (Kim Klement Neitzel \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

The captain cools off<\/p>\n

It started off so well. Flyers captain Sean Couturier recorded eight points (two goals, six assists) in his first seven games, including a two-goal, two-assist performance in the home-opening win over the Florida Panthers on Oct. 13. Couturier even declared that he felt healthier this season than he did before back issues temporarily derailed his career.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s hit a wall lately. Couturier hasn\u2019t scored a goal since that game against the Panthers, making it 17 straight without one. While he\u2019s still chipped in offensively from time to time, including on Saturday against the Devils when he had two primary helpers, Couturier has seen some of his earlier minutes taken by Dvorak and Noah Cates. If it keeps trending this way, the Flyers might have to figure out sooner rather than later what they\u2019re going to do with the four remaining years on Couturier\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

Foerster reaching another level<\/p>\n

Now the Flyers\u2019 co-leader with Zegras with seven goals, it\u2019s probably safe to say Foerster has reached untouchable status when it comes to any future trade discussions. The 23-year-old seems more willing to use his shot this season and he\u2019s playing key roles on both special-teams units, too. His chemistry with Cates, especially, has become a vital part of the Flyers\u2019 two-way game.<\/p>\n

The Mark Stone comparisons are only going to grow louder if Foerster keeps playing like this. He\u2019s only getting better.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One game after their most impressive (and mildly historic) offensive performance of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers suffered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,3065,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-308045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308045\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}