The Flyers’ preseason opener started with a little promise and ended with a lot of frustration.
Philadelphia jumped in front early against the Washington Capitals, but that opening burst didn’t last long. The Flyers were beaten 5-2 in a game that turned quickly, and they also lost forward Denver Barkey along the way.
Jack Studnicka gave the Flyers the kind of start they wanted, finishing from close range on the power play at 2:35 of the first period. Jett Luchanko and Cole Knuble picked up the assists on the goal.
Washington answered after Philadelphia got into penalty trouble. Aliaksei Protas scored on a 5-on-3 power play, then Ryan Leonard put the Capitals ahead 2-1 before the period ended with a shot through traffic.
The Flyers had a chance to swing things back their way when Capitals forward Andrew Cristall was handed a five-minute major for cross checking and a game misconduct after he bopped Hunter McDonald in the mouth following a hard hit on Leonard. Philadelphia couldn’t cash in on that opening.
Barkey, who started the game as the Flyers’ top center, left early in the second period and did not return. Head coach Rick Tocchet had no update on him after the game.
Offensively, Knuble, Luchanko, Jiricek, Bonk, and Studnicka were the only Flyers who consistently created anything. Luchanko and Studnicka stood out in particular for how assertive they were at both ends of the ice.
Alex Bump and Porter Martone were quiet, and both Bonk and Jiricek had some rough patches defensively. Still, the article noted that they are 21- and 22-year-old defensemen who need time and trust as they keep developing.
The Flyers are back at it Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden at 7 p.m. The expected roster for that game will mostly be made up of players who did not dress Monday night against Washington.
In Other News...
Flyers Already Have An Early Depth Concern To Watch
One of the Flyers early preseason storylines took an unwelcome turn when Denver Barkey went down with a lower-body injury against the Capitals on Friday night and did not return. Philadelphia announced the injury during the game, leaving an already young camp roster a little thinner in the kind of spot where depth is supposed to be getting sorted out, not tested.
The sequence came after a hit along the boards from Washington defenseman Martin Fehervary, and now the focus shifts to what Rick Tocchet has to say once the game is over. For a Flyers team trying to evaluate its bottom-six options and keep its prospects moving in the right direction, any injury this early is the sort of development it will want to monitor closely. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Prospect Denver Barkey Suddenly Faces A Worrying Setback
Denver Barkeys preseason night against the Capitals ended early after the young Flyers forward left with a lower-body injury and did not return. For a player trying to keep building momentum while splitting time between Philadelphia and the AHL affiliate, any health issue in September can be the kind of setback that gets attention fast, especially when hes looking to stay in the mix as the season approaches.
The Flyers had to wait until the third period to make clear Barkey would not be back in the game, leaving his status as the main concern from an otherwise routine preseason tune-up. Philadelphia has been counting on Barkey to keep developing with the organization if health allows, so the focus now shifts to how serious this latest issue turns out to be and whether it interrupts his push to stick around. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Blue Line Battle Is Suddenly Worth Watching
The Flyers preseason opener in Hershey was less about the final score than about the look behind it. Philadelphia fell 5-2 to the Capitals at the Giant Center, with Jack Studnicka and Cole Knuble providing the goals and Joseph Woll and Carson Bjarnason splitting the goaltending work, but the more revealing part of the night came on the back end. With the regulars staying out of the lineup, the team used the game to get a longer look at its depth and the players trying to break through.
That made the blue line one of the more interesting parts of the night for the Flyers staff, even in a game they ultimately lost. The opportunity was there for several defensemen to make a case in a setting where roster decisions are starting to take shape, and the next few games should only sharpen that competition. For a team that knows its established group, the real question is who can do enough to force their way into the conversation before camp gets much deeper. [Read more 🡒]