The Flyers finally got on the board, and it came from a name that wasn’t exactly circled as the season’s first goal scorer.
After being held without a goal against the Penguins, Philadelphia broke through against the Devils with a delayed penalty creating a 6-on-5 setup in the offensive zone. That extra-man look opened the door for Rasmus Ristolainen, who moved toward the net while the Flyers worked the puck around.
Travis Konecny set things up by finding Travis Sanheim, whose one-timer from the line created the chance. Ristolainen used his frame at the front of the net and got a redirect to go in, giving the Flyers their first goal of the season.
The goal also kept a notable streak alive in a different way. Philadelphia has not had the same player score its first goal in consecutive seasons over the last 14 years.
The last Flyer to do that was Claude Giroux in 2011-12 and 2012-13. For a defenseman to get the job done, you have to go back to 2001, when Eric Weinrich scored the tying goal against the Florida Panthers.
Ristolainen isn’t usually the guy you’d peg for that moment. He has 57 career goals in 821 games, including 11 with the Flyers across six seasons in Philadelphia.
Last season, he didn’t score his only goal until his 18th game after missing the first few months of the year. He also scored his first career playoff goal in Game 3 against the Penguins.
His name has also lived in trade rumors for what feels like every season he has been in Philadelphia. He is entering the final year of his five-year contract, and it seems hard to believe he will finish it with the Flyers. With younger defensemen trying to push their way into the picture, a move could eventually make sense, depending on whether someone like Oliver Bonk or David Jiricek forces his way into the conversation.
For now, though, Ristolainen gave the Flyers something they badly needed: their first goal of the season. It wasn’t the expected source, but at that point, Philadelphia was going to take it from anyone.
In Other News...
Flyers Let Season Opener Slip Away In Brutal Late Collapse
The Flyers season opener had all the ingredients of a statement win for a team trying to set a tone early, and for most of the night they looked ready to leave New Jersey with exactly that. Philadelphia built a lead and leaned on Joseph Woll, who handled a heavy workload as the Devils kept coming. Jake Allen was steady enough at the other end, but the Flyers still had the game in their control until the final push.
New Jersey found answers from Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes to drag things into overtime, turning a game Philadelphia had spent so much of the night managing into a sudden-death scramble. Jack Hughes then finished it off for the Devils, sending the Flyers home with a loss that will linger because of how close they were to opening the season with a road win. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Just Got Pulled Into A Wild Auston Matthews Debate
A speculative Auston Matthews discussion has somehow pulled the Flyers into the spotlight, and it is the kind of thought experiment that tends to follow a team with real offensive upside. Matt Larkin floated a scenario that would send the Maple Leafs center to Philadelphia during 2027 NHL Draft week, a piece of chatter built more on long-range possibility than any confirmed movement. Matthews is under contract through the 2027-28 season, so any real path to a deal would require a major shift in Torontos plans.
For Flyers fans, the hook is obvious because Matthews would be the sort of star who changes the conversation immediately, while the idea of a deal also touches on the young talent Philly would presumably have to put in play. The article treats it as a hot take, not a rumor, and makes clear that plenty would have to break right before Toronto even considered moving him. Still, once a name like Matthews gets dragged into the discussion, the league starts wondering who would be bold enough to join the bidding. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Earned A Point But This Bigger Problem Should Worry Fans
The Flyers left Newark with a point after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Devils at the Prudential Center, and there was at least one encouraging sign early on. Philadelphia opened the scoring and got goals from Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Sanheim, but New Jersey controlled much of the game and kept pushing until it could turn the night around.
For a club trying to find some footing, the concern is less the standings point than how the game unfolded once the lead was in hand. The Flyers could not hold off a Devils team that kept coming from behind, and the margin for error was small enough that an extra shift, a cleaner exit or a better finish might have changed the result. [Read more 🡒]