A new season is dawning for the Orange and Black. The Philadelphia Flyers take the ice for the first time in the 2025-26 regular season on Thursday night.
They get started on a new season against a challenging slate of opponents. There is no bigger challenge than the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. The Florida Panthers are the opponent for Thursday’s season opener, and will then make the trip to Philadelphia on Monday for the Flyers home opener.
But first things first, it’s time for the puck to drop on Game 1 of 82. Game time is 7 p.m.
Matvei Michkov begins his second season in the NHL. Michkov finished his rookie season strong, reaching 26 goals and 63 points. What does the 20-year-old have in store to start his sophomore campaign?
Sam Reinhart was already one of Florida’s team leaders, but that becomes more elevated with the loss of Tkachuk and Barkov. The former 50-goal scorer reached 39 goals a season ago and is looking for more.
In a surprise, Dan Vladar gets the start for the Flyers in the season opener. The newcomer signed in the offseason had a 12-11-6 record last season in Calgary with a 2.80 GAA and .898 save percentage.
Sergei Bobrovsky picked up where he left off last season with his debut on Tuesday night. Bobrovsky made 17 saves on 19 shots in a win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
Projected Lineups
Lineup Notes
Flyers: Nikita Grebenkin is expected to sit out the opener. Jett Luchanko also looks likely to be a healthy scratch. Rick Tocchet said both will play in upcoming games.
Panthers: The Panthers are certainly banged up with some leading names to start the season. Matthew Tkachuk continues to recover from offseason surgery after another Stanley Cup run, and Aleksander Barkov was lost for the duration of the regular season with knee injuries.
