Thursday, October 1, 2026
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77 ° Clear
The regular season is fast-approaching for the Philadelphia Flyers and the roster is taking shape. But how do things look ahead of the preseason finale?
The main topic of conversation around this Flyers team has been the power play. The team spent much of Wednesday's practice working on this and it was evident during their preseason clash with Boston.
The new top power-play line was Drysdale, Zegras, Michkov, Foerster, and Martone. Tocchet shared what he’s seen from the power play in practice.
“To me, the last two days they've looked actually really good,” Tocchet said. “I mean, I don't want to go too crazy here, but we got to give them some positive feedback, and I think they've been really good.”
It’s no secret that the Flyers have struggled on their power play for the past few seasons. Jaime Drysdale spoke about the past looming over the players as they head into a new season.
“I don't know how else to say it other than we were at the bottom,” Drysdale said. “It has to be better. We'll win more games, and I think we have the talent. So it's just execution, being in sync and just doing it at the end of the day.”
Veteran NHL players (those with more than 100 games in the league) are limited to two NHL preseason games. For the Flyers, with two preseason games down and two to go, 11 players still hadn't played. That changed on Thursday, when most of their vets took to the ice.
Zegras was joined by the likes of Michkov, Foerster, Konecny, and Couturier in getting some preseason action, with Michkov getting a goal and very nearly a second. It was good opportunity for the team to put what they've worked on throughout the offseason into practice, and although it's preseason, a 2-0 win is a good way to kick things off as a group.
At Thursday's morning skate, head coach Rick Tocchet announced that Joseph Woll would start the first home preseason game. Tocchet also said Woll is expected to play the entire game. That was indeed the case, with Woll recording a shutout and stopping all shots that came his way.
Woll may need to step into the starter role if Vladar is not ready by the time the season kicks off.
The Flyers announced that both Denver Barkey and Dan Vladar are day-to-day.
Barkey left the first preseason game with a lower-body injury. The 21-year-old was seen skating ahead of Wednesday’s practice.
Dan Vladar, meanwhile, left the second preseason game after suffering an upper-body injury. Vladar is now day-to-day and has not participated in practice.
The new collective bargaining agreement for the 2026-27 season states that each team must now have a full-time, traveling emergency backup goalie (EBUG). For the Flyers, Daniel Spencer will serve in this role. Spencer has been the team's EBUG for the past three years, but will now travel and practice with the team full-time.
MORE: Michkov, Woll & Knuble lead Flyers to first preseason win
