The Philadelphia Flyers kick off the new season with a road swing through western Canada that begins on Friday in Vancouver, where they will face a Canucks team hoping to prove its dramatic 26-point improvement last season was no fluke.
The rebuilding Flyers are trying to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season. They are one of the youngest teams in the league. Fourteen of the 23 players on the opening-night roster are below age 26, including 19-year-old Russian Matvei Michkov.
"The dressing room is starting to hold each other accountable more and more," Flyers general manager Daniel Briere told reporters on Wednesday.
"We are still a very young team. But we are seeing more of the younger guys take on a bigger leadership role. That for me is the most exciting part going into year three and we will see where it goes."
Vancouver was one of the biggest surprises of the NHL last season, making the playoffs for the first time in four seasons after finishing with 109 points and winning the Pacific Division title.
The Canucks are hoping that improved fitness, a more mobile defense and smarter play without the puck will get them off to a flying start.
"We are not a team that can play river hockey and trade chance for chance," Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said earlier in training camp. "That hockey doesn't win."
Tocchet's fears came true in Wednesday night's season opener against the visiting Calgary Flames. The Canucks took a 4-1 lead before allowing four unanswered goals in regulation.
After Calgary went ahead 5-4 in the third, Vancouver pulled goalie Arturs Silovs for the extra attacker. Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes then blocked an empty-net try before passing down ice to J.T. Miller, who blasted a high slapshot in to tie it 5-5 with 1:37 left in regulation.
However, Connor Zary scored less than two minutes into overtime to give the Flames a 6-5 win.
Vancouver's Brock Boeser scored two goals, Miller had a goal and an assist, Hughes had two assists and Silovs made 20 saves in just his 10th NHL start for the Canucks.
The Flyers didn't have a lot of expectations last year, but they did raise some eyebrows by beating every team in the league at least once, except for Nashville.
Briere's biggest concern heading into the game against Vancouver is how some of the veterans performed in the preseason games. Briere had a meeting with the vets earlier this week where he let them know what is expected.
"I didn't like the game part of our training camp from most of our veterans," said Briere. "I get it. It is games that don't matter, or you don't want to get hurt, or you are trying to get ready for a game one.
"But I told the players there are too many of you that are too casual in the games.
"In game one we are facing a really good team. I told the guys you got to get in the right mindset in terms of competing."
Right wing Travis Konecny, 27, led Philadelphia with 33 goals and 35 assists in 76 games last season, his eighth with the Flyers.
