PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sean Couturier’s second goal of the game with 4:10 remaining snapped a tie and sent the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday night in Rick Tocchet’s home coaching debut.
Bobby Brink and Christian Dvorak added late empty-netters for the Flyers.
The Flyers captain, Couturier became the longest-tenured athlete in Philadelphia sports once Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham retired at the end of last season.
The Flyers lost their first two games of the season on the road but got a needed lift on a throwback night at home. Tyson Forrester scored in the first period and Couturier followed with his first of the season in the second for a 2-0 lead.
Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett rallied the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers with goals but they lost for the first time in four games.
Tocchet easily received the loudest cheers from fans during pregame introductions ahead of the home opener. The Flyers hired the former fan favorite as coach in hopes his return would push them out of an extended rebuild and into playoff contention. Tocchet, who played more than a decade with Philadelphia in separate stints at the start and end of his career, is at the start of his fourth head-coaching job after time with Tampa Bay, Arizona and Vancouver.
Tocchet took over months after the Flyers fired John Tortorella with nine games left in another losing season for a franchise that hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2020.
Philadelphia, once a model franchise in the league, has one of the longest championship droughts in the NHL.
The Flyers have failed to win the Stanley Cup since going back to back in 1974 and ’75. Those Broad Street Bullies teams have become a cherished part of the franchise’s past but also a reminder of how much time it has been since the Flyers won: They last played in the final in 2010.
The Flyers opened with a somber nod to those Bullies teams with a tribute for the late Hall of Fame goalie Bernie Parent. Parent, who died in September at 80, won Conn Smythe and Vezina trophies in back-to-back seasons for the Stanley Cup champions. The Flyers painted his retired uniform number “1” behind each net and chose to bypass a moment of silence for fans to instead “show the same passion he lived for with a standing ovation.” They will wear a “1” jersey patch this season.
Up next
Panthers: Play Sunday at Winnipeg.
Flyers: Host Winnipeg on Thursday.