The Philadelphia Flyers get tested right out of the gate this season. They face the Florida Panthers on the road, followed by another road game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Then they return home to face the Panthers again. 

It’s one thing to face the defending two-time Stanley Cup champions. It’s another to face them twice in five days. The Panthers present a big picture resemblance to the team the Flyers are trying to build and become down the road. 

Related: NHL Game Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers with Line Combinations 10/9/2025

Building From The Forward Unit Out

The Panthers have three great forward lines that not only come at teams in waves, they check all the boxes. They score, defend, speed up games, forecheck, and play physical hockey when needed. Their general manager (GM), Bill Zito, not only added forwards to the roster but invested in them. 

It’s why the Panthers aren’t experiencing a big drop despite Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk out of the lineup. It’s also why, despite lacking a great defensive unit, with no elite two-way player on the blue line, they still dominate games. 

The Panthers are setting up a blueprint for the rest of the league to follow. Instead of building from the net out, they build from the forwards out. The Flyers are mirroring that with their team build. Their GM, Daniel Briere, drafted Matvei Michkov in 2023 and went big on forwards in the previous two drafts as well. The prospect pool is also filled with forwards, and if some of them become NHLers, they’ll have a forward unit that can come at teams in waves. 

It’s also worth adding that the Flyers aren’t just investing in forwards. They added forwards to the pipeline who have the size and can play a heavy game. Nikita Grebenkin will make the NHL roster as a North-South power forward. Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt are two bigger forwards. The Flyers were known back in the day as the Broad Street Bullies, and they are trying to build their version of bullies that can beat teams like the Panthers. 

Flyers Are Trying To Build a Shutdown Defense

The two teams don’t have an elite two-way defenseman. In the NHL, it’s ideal to have one to lean on to win games. From Cale Makar to Quinn Hughes, having a defenseman who does it all goes a long way. The Flyers and the Panthers don’t have one. 

In the Panthers case, they don’t need one either. What matters is putting together a shutdown defense, one that can eliminate the best offenses in the NHL. It’s led by Gustav Forsling, while Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad also eliminate teams in their end. 

The Flyers have one defenseman they can rely on in Travis Sanheim, who had 3.9 defensive point shares last season and is in his prime. Otherwise, they don’t have the shutdown defensemen. That said, they are adding those skaters and asking the younger players to take over those roles, notably with Cam York and Jamie Drysdale getting more ice time. The Flyers don’t have a great defense, but over time, they should have one. 

Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny skating for the Philadelphia FlyersTravis Konecny and Travis Sanheim are two big pieces in the Flyers rebuild. Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim – Getty Images

Where The Flyers Come Up Short

The obvious difference is in the net. The Panthers have one of the game’s best goaltenders and a future Hall of Famer. In a big game, Sergei Bobrovsky can be counted on. The Flyers have no answer in the net. After a season where they had the worst goaltending in the NHL, they are hoping Samuel Ersson and offseason addition Dan Vladar step up. 

The Flyers also lack multiple difference-makers in their lineup. Michkov is the one. The Panthers, meanwhile, have multiple players who can take over a game on any night. It’s gone a long way as they always have at least one player who can will them to a victory, whether it’s Barkov, Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, or Sam Reinhart. 

The reality is that the Flyers are still a young team. They are rebuilding and unproven, making them hard to compare against teams like the Panthers. Give them time, and they might be built to go head-to-head with the juggernauts.

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