(Photo: Sam Navarro, Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/571476cb-fae0-4d7c-a366-fb29023c6232.jpeg] (Photo: Sam Navarro, Imagn Images) The Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] suffered a rather uneventful 2-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in their season opener Thursday night, and it was a performance fans aren't going to want to see often. Indeed, the Flyers did well to keep the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers within their reach the entire night, but the Panthers were still without captain Sasha Barkov and superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk. As for the Flyers, the difference, quite frankly, was the lack of discipline and execution. This was not a banner start to the Rick Tocchet era in Philadelphia. Here's the simple math: the Flyers were 0-for-2 on the power play, while the Panthers were 1-for-5. In other words, the Flyers forked out momentum in the form of five penalties (two came from Christian Dvorak), and the Panthers opened the scoring at the top of the second period and gave themselves some life. Despite the loss, the hero for the Flyers was undoubtedly goalie Dan Vladar, who made his Flyers debut and dropped a masterful performance, stopping 32 of 34 shots (.941) and staking his claim to the starter's role. NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive Upgrades [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/243c6422-b9d8-4885-875f-19942737427e.jpeg] NHL Trade Rumors: Flyers Badly Need Defensive Upgrades The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> are reportedly scouring the NHL trade market for much-needed defensive reinforcements, but which players are actually going to be worth their while? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/nhl-trade-rumors-flyers-badly-need-defensive-upgrades] Many, included myself, expected Sam Ersson to start the Flyers off in goal this season. That could still happen when they play their home opener in a rematch against Florida on Monday, but if Vladar can play with any kind of consistency, it might just be his job to lose. As for the defense, it could be a long year, especially given that we're starting off with an injury to Cam York [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/flyers-to-begin-new-season-without-key-defender]. Neither Noah Juulsen nor Nick Seeler picked up Anton Lundell on his 1-0 power play goal, and Juulsen screened, and allowed A.J. Greer to screen, Vladar on Brad Marchand's game-winning goal early in the third period. The Flyers, of course, only scored one goal, courtesy of Noah Cates, while Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/flyers-expectations-for-matvei-michkov-should-be-tempered-in-year-2] each played fewer than 16 minutes. The only forwards who played less than them were Owen Tippett, Rodrigo Abols, Garnet Hathaway, and Nick Deslauriers. So, the fourth line barely played, and the Flyers' two most talented forwards still didn't see a lot of ice despite trailing for most of the game. Speaking of the fourth line, Abols and Deslauriers combined to play 15 minutes, while Nikita Grebenkin [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/exciting-flyers-prospect-unlikely-to-feature-in-season-opener] and Jett Luchanko [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers/latest-news/jett-luchanko-makes-the-flyers-roster-is-it-the-right-call] were healthy scratches. It remains to be seen if Tocchet is willing to learn and adjust early in the season, but Flyers fans won't be thrilled with that development. Fortunately, the goaltending, which has bedeviled the Flyers for years, got off to a hot start thanks to a monster performance from Vladar on Thursday night. The Flyers will be back in action on Saturday night, when they face the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., at 7 p.m.
