Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko win their debuts – NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers’ season-opening affair continued Friday night.

John Tortorella’s club began the 2024-25 season with a 3-2 shootout victory over the Canucks at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Morgan Frost won it in the fifth round of the skills competition. Travis Konecny kept the Flyers alive after Jake DeBrusk scored to open the third round for the Canucks.

The Flyers improved to 8-0-2 in their last 10 season-opening games and 3-0-0 under Tortorella.

Tyson Foerster and Cam York scored the Flyers’ goals. York’s came 2:48 into the third period and tied the game.

Samuel Ersson was very good in the net.

The Flyers have played their last three meetings in Vancouver, where they are just 0-0-2 this season.

The two teams will meet again in just over a week when the Flyers host the Canucks in their home opener next Saturday.

• The Flyers’ roster featured 12 players 25 or younger, highlighted by the NHL debuts of Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko.

Michkov showed how he can easily find a different gear when the game gets late. The 19-year-old winger had four shots in the third period after not having a single one in the first two periods.

When the score was 2-2 he started playing really well. One of his appearances turned into a rebound opportunity for Luchanko. He also went through his legs from close range for a shot on the power play.

Michkov committed one penalty, but essentially converted two of them. He played 18:32 minutes and was pretty good, although he didn’t score a goal.

Luchanko, who turned 18 less than two months ago, became the youngest player in franchise history to make his NHL debut. The speedy center recorded a shot and a minus-1 rating in 14:36 minutes.

When Teddy Blueger gave Vancouver a 2-1 lead in the second period, he was slightly behind in coverage. Overall, Luchanko didn’t seem overwhelmed or out of place.

Flyers rookie Jett Luchanko spoke to the media after his NHL debut on Friday evening.

• In his first start of the season, Ersson made 24 saves on 26 shots. Eight of those stops came on five unsuccessful Vancouver power plays.

The Canucks took a 1-0 lead in the first period after Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan Poehling failed to make contact on an exit from the defensive zone, resulting in a loss of possession and wide open play for Nils Hoglander.

Despite the goal, Ersson was great in the opening stanza, stopping 11 of 12 shots.

Poehling helped make up for the mishap when he set up York’s equalizer in the third period.

Ersson carried over what he did the previous season (67 saves on 69 shots). This is a prove-it year for the soon-to-be 25-year-old as he begins his first full season as No. 1. The Flyers always liked his attitude.

“I understand that nothing is being given to me here,” Ersson said on Tuesday. “It doesn’t matter. That’s not how it works, you still have to earn everything, especially in this league. You have to put your foot down and keep going.”

Carter Hart has started the team’s last five season-opening games. The Flyers parted ways with the franchise goaltender this summer as Hockey Canada’s sexual assault case unfolds.

Vancouver goaltender Kevin Lankinen stopped 29 of the Flyers’ 31 shots. He defeated Michkov, Foerster and Sean Couturier in the shootout.

The Flyers’ postgame live team analyzed the team’s season-opening win over the Canucks.

• The Flyers’ power play, a key storyline early in the season, began 1-1 with Foerster’s game-winning goal in the first period. It was 1 for 4 that night.

The Flyers almost started 2-2, but Joel Farabee couldn’t convert a slam dunk at the front door in the second period. The 24-year-old knew he had missed it. But he was also the reason the Flyers scored on their first power play when he delivered a perfect pass to Foerster.

Last season, the Flyers’ man advantage was 1-for-20 at the start and finished the year at 12.2 percent, the worst in the league.

• After playing shorthanded for just 1:52 minutes all of last season, Owen Tippett was on penalties for 1:53 minutes of the opening game.

Keep in mind that the Flyers believe his speed can put a lot of pressure on an opposing power play. And Tippett is now one of the Flyers’ highest-paid forwards, so they’ll likely look to him as an all-situation player.

• Nick Seeler was placed on injured reserve, a placement that is retroactive to Oct. 1, when he took a puck to the peroneal nerve in his right leg. The second-pair defenseman will be considered on a day-to-day basis, but the Flyers called up Emil Andrae, who was the team’s extra blueliner Friday night.

Erik Johnson stepped in for Seeler and played 15:45 minutes.

• The Flyers are back in action on Saturday when they visit the Flames for their home opener in Calgary (10 p.m. ET/NBCSP).