Old school rules: Flyers’ vets steal show while pushing Penguins to the brink

PHILADELPHIA -- While the Flyers made their unexpected march to the playoffs and now hold their commanding 3-0 lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of them, the rightful fun stories have been centered around the younger players, like 19-year-old Porter Martone and the impact he's made, including the game-winning goals in the first two games of the series. 

The team's fortunes grew exponentially with the return of forward Tyson Foerster, only in his fourth season, who missed most of the season after needing surgery on his shoulder. After a frustrating first half of the season in which he came to the club in poor hockey shape, Matvei Michkov used the Olympic break to get himself ready for the final regular season push, and the 21-year-old seemed to be a different player to end the regular season. 

Trevor Zegras, one of the most exciting goal scorers on the team, seems to have settled into a home here after some rocky seasons in Anaheim. The just-turned 25 year-old posted a career-best 26 goals and 67 assists in the regular season and scored his first career playoff goal on Wednesday. 

Soon-to-be 21-year-old Denver Barkey has provided solid ice time to add to the young group.

All that is not only exciting for now, but for the future of Rick Tocchet's club. In Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Penguins in front of a wildly raucous crowd at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, all of those mentioned were on the ice and made significant contributions in a dominating performance by the club, which is now on the brink of advancing to the second round.

But, this was a night for the old guys.

Hear from head coach Rick Tocchet and forwards Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny and Trevor Zegras following Wednesday's Game Three win over Pittsburgh.#PITvsPHI | #IgniteTheOrange

— x - Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 23, 2026

Captain Sean Couturier was simply outstanding all night long in so many areas. He again threw his body into any Penguin he could find. His forechecking was as pesky as an untrained puppy. He dealt two assists, deflected numerous Pittsburgh passes and provided everything a 33-year-old captain can and should. 

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who waited through 820 regular season games before making his playoff debut, needed only three games to get his first playoff goal when he beat Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner with a wrist shot between the legs in the second period to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. The 31-year-old has put in more than 24 minutes of ice time in each game of the series and has been a stellar force in front of goalie Dan Vladar. 

With typical playoff chipiness displayed throughout the game, 34-year-old winger Garnet Hathaway seemed to be in the middle of every scrum. He not only provided muscle that was needed in those moments, but he was sure to let the Penguins know his displeasure of how they were handling themselves throughout the game. It was kind of the adult in the room telling the youngsters that now wasn't the time for them to be where they wanted to go, and if they dared venture there, trouble would surely be waiting. 

Travis Konecny threw his 29-year-old body, which most surely is feeling the effects of the long season, all over the ice and was a major player in a huge second period melee that seemed to turn the game in the Flyers' favor. And Tocchet talked after the game about the positive contributions from almost 37-year-old Luke Glendening, who was very noticeable in his 14-plus minutes.

The balance has to be there for any team, between the rising young players and the established vets, no matter the sport. But when it seemingly comes so fittingly together at this time of the year, as it appears to be doing for the Flyers, the results are, well, a 3-0 lead in a series that most believed would be a lot closer.

"I think just from the buy-in since training camp, they've got a new guy on the block so they've really helped me, spreading the messages," said Tocchet of his vets. "Even through the bad times in January, they held it together. They still believed. What I love is they also set the pace in practice. Those guys really practice hard, which is good. And the young guys watch their practice and that's something that I'm a big believer in and they're passing that down to the young guys."

Tocchet also went on to praise Glendening, a 13-year vet of the NHL whom the team claimed off waivers in early March.

Hear from forwards Noah Cates and Garnet Hathaway as well as defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler following Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Pens.#PITvsPHI | #IgniteTheOrange

— x - Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 23, 2026

"Underrated move by (G.M.) Danny (Briere) to pick him up on waivers," said Tocchet. "And he is just a solid veteran guy. The guys love him already. He's jacked up. He's in shape. He just does everything the right way, never complains. Really underrated move by Danny getting him. I don't think people really realize that we pick up a guy off waivers like nothing and all of the sudden this guy's been a big cog for that fourth line and really given us an identity, especially in this playoff but even before that."

And as Ristolainen spoke in the locker room following the win on Wednesday, he just exuded veteran leadership on a team full of it but undoubtedly needed with the slew of youngsters on the roster.

One of those younger guys, Noah Cates, identified just how important guys like Ristolainen and the other veterans have been to this run.

"I think we've been playing playoff hockey for the past month, month and a half," he said. "That's kind of gotten us ready. Our vets have been huge in the locker room. I don't think we've had a ton of good first periods, but then we had some good second periods and keeping our composure, staying calm. And it's chaotic when the crowd's going, so just our vets are helping us with the inexperience. But we've been playing the same hard way for a month and a half now. It's not going to change."

For now, it shouldn't. The change is mostly going to have to come from the Penguins, and it may be a bit too late for them. For the Flyers, Tocchet will certainly tweak before the teams take the ice on Saturday, but it's got to be a great feeling for the coach how seamlessly his mix of vets and youngsters have come together.

"I've been in the game 40 years and I'm not just saying it, this is one of the tightest groups for me even as a coach or even as a player," Tocchet said. "It's very, very tight. We were in Pittsburgh and team meals and after the games they're together, they play cards. There's a big group of guys. They're always talking about eight to nine guys going to dinner. I have nothing to do with it, it's all them. Even when I got here you could tell it's a close group. And whoever we've brought in, the new people that have come in, they just kind of got into that group. I give those guys a lot of credit over the years for that tight group."

Young or older, it doesn't matter. The foundation is set right now for Tocchet's group, and it couldn't have come at a better time.