The Philadelphia Flyers had a dramatic start to the 2024-25 season. They led the Vancouver Canucks into overtime and then into a shootout where goaltender Sam Ersson and center Morgan Frost had great chances to clinch the Flyers' victory.

But the cinematic season opener had more than just a nail-biting ending – the Flyers showed improvement in areas of their game that needed it last season and overall looked like a confident and cohesive group against a strong Canucks team. One game won't give us all the answers, but this game gave fans a lot to talk about.

Honey, they fixed the power play!

Okay, that's it Away It's too early to tell if the power play (which ranked last in the league last season) is actually fixed, but that the Flyers' first goal of the season was one scored on the power play – courtesy of Tyson Foerster – is a promising start.

The power play actually looked pretty dangerous against the Canucks, as the Flyers seemed more willing to take quick, sharp shots on goal than stroll around the zone looking for the perfect scoring opportunity. Jamie Drysdale using the first unit's man advantage at quarterback worked wonders, but even the second PP unit seemed serviceable.

(Also of note: The Flyers' penalty kill remains excellent, scoring 5/5 in Vancouver.)

Michkov's ghost

Even Matvei Michkov didn't score a point in his NHL debut, his impact hitting the Flyers like an earthquake.

The young Russian winger sees the game on a completely different level than the players around him, and that doesn't cause him to get out of sync with his teammates, but rather improves everyone's quality of play.

It's well known that Michkov doesn't lack confidence, but his vision and creativity were simply stunning against the Canucks. He effortlessly created and created chances seemingly out of nowhere, increasing his team's effectiveness.

The points will come, but seeing Michkov make such an impact on the team in his first NHL game is an exciting thing for fans.

Sam Ersson is amazed

It's only the first game and Sam Ersson has already achieved great success.

The Swedish goalkeeper showed his usual calm and speed in front of the net, but moved much more confidently in this game. It is undoubtedly a testament to the fact that he had an entire summer to get some well-deserved rest before he could train properly, despite knowing he was the starting goalkeeper this season.

It's a strong performance from one of the – if not The-He was the Flyers' most overloaded player last season and will give a lot of confidence to anyone still unsure about Ersson's ability to be the No. 1 guy in net.

The Flyers will continue their west coast road trip on October 12th against the Calgary Flames.

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