The Philadelphia Flyers started the 2024-25 NHL regular season in Western Canada last weekend earning a 1 win and 1 loss split over their first two games. With attention turned towards electric rookie Matvei Michkov, 19 other skaters on the ice also contributed to the final result on the NHL scoreboard. Looking at these statistics at regular intervals will help to formulate the picture of which players head coach John Tortorella trusts on a nightly basis.
Let’s take an extended look at some of the game leaders in a very small sample size for Philadelphia through its first two games of the season.
Available NHL Statistical Models
Before we can dive into the statistics, we first need to decide upon a hockey model to use for number-crunching purposes. As with almost any mathematics analysis, it is critical to use the same models as often as possible to ensure consistent results. Nothing can throw a data set out the window quicker than using inconsistent data!
On the hockey front, The Athletic’s Dom Luszczysyn and Natural Stat Trick produce excellent game stat cards for every NHL game that is played. Through a graph model, these game cards attempt to showcase which players were productive in any particular game. For example, Flyers defenseman Cam York was considered the best skater for Philadelphia in the season-opening win against Vancouver last Friday night.
Since we like options in America, there are plenty of choices if the Natural Stat Trick model doesn’t work for you! Unfortunately, some services like Evolving-Hockey, utilized a subscription-based membership to complete the really good number crunching for us math nerds. For fans of Twitter/X, @JFreshhockey provides a glimpse at individual performances with his hockey card breakdowns using data from Top Down Hockey.
Flyers @ Canucks (10/11/24)
For our analysis purposes, we will be using the Natural Stat Trick model for these articles. As mentioned, Cam York finished the day as the top-ranked skater for Philadelphia in the 3-2 overtime win in Vancouver. The 23-year-old defenseman skated 20:47 in the game and scored a clutch game-tying goal early in the third period. The Flyers received some strong play from bottom-6 forwards Ryan Poehling and Garney Hathaway who both contributed assists in the game.
Philadelphia defenseman Egor Zamula was listed as having the worst performance around the NHL in Friday night’s win according to the model. The 24-year-old defenseman enters his second full NHL season following 66 games played for the Flyers last season. Zamula skated almost 20 minutes in the season-opener but finished -2 on the evening. This means that the player was on the ice twice when Vancouver scored against Philadelphia at even strength.
Flyers @ Flames (10/12/24)
Despite two goals from winger Travis Konecny, it was Philadelphia Flyers captain Sean Couturier who earned top honors from the Natural Stat Trick model on Saturday night. “Coots” accrued 13 minutes of ice time in the game and assisted on Joel Farabee’s late second-period goal to trim the Calgary lead to one goal at 3-2 before the Flames ended the Philly comeback bid in the final frame. The 13-year veteran was fantastic in the face dot all night with a 69% success rate winning 9-of-13 faceoff attempts for Philadelphia.
Travis Konecny scored a goal and provided an assist to finish second behind his team’s captain in the second game of the regular season. Konecny is tied with Bobby Brink and Joel Farabee for the early team lead with 2 points thus far in 2024-25.
It is not all rosy on the models for Philly as Jamie Drysdale was the worst-ranked skater on Saturday night. Egor Zamula once again appeared on the “bottom 5 skaters” list as both blueliners finished -2 on the night.
Flyers @ Oilers On Deck (10/15/24)
The task at hand does not get any easier as the Flyers play their third game in Western Canada tonight against the Edmonton Oilers (0-3). Despite featuring Connor McDavid, the best hockey player in the world, the Oilers have struggled to score to open the 2024-25 regular season. Edmonton has only scored 3 goals in 3 games through the first week of the NHL season.
McDavid has 2 assists and has not scored yet in the early season. The Oilers captain has scored 96 goals over his last two NHL seasons, so NHL defenses likely won’t keep him off the scoresheet for much longer.
Tonight’s game in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada will be the final game of a season-opening four-game homestand. The Oilers have lost all three games thus far at Rogers Place after falling short in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Florida Panthers last season after erasing a 3-0 series deficiency.
Tough starts have become a recent trend in Edmonton as the Oilers started last season with a dismal 2-9-1 record. Will head coach Kris Knoblach be able to course correct again this season or will the Stanley Cup hangover in Edmonton be too much to overcome in the 2024-25 season?
The Edmonton Oilers (0-3) look for their first win on the season when they host the Philadelphia Flyers (1-1) tonight at 10 pm EST.
Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
