Panthers snap the Flyers’ season-opening win streak with a 4-3 victory

SUNRISE, Fla. — On the second night of a back-to-back against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, the Flyers channeled some of the resiliency they’ve shown in each of their three comeback wins this season, but not enough of it.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Flyers clawed their way back to tie the game in the second at FLA Live Arena. But a defensive breakdown between Nick Seeler and Egor Zamula just four minutes into the third period led to Panthers winger Rudolfs Balcers notching the go-ahead goal, helping the Panthers to a 4-3 victory and ending the Flyers’ season-opening win streak at three games. Panthers defenseman Josh Mahura added another on netminder Felix Sandström halfway through the third period, which ultimately proved to be the game-winner.

“We give up the third goal on just a simple two-on-two,” Tortorella said. “That’s the one that hurts. I thought Sandy [Sandström] gave us a chance. ... To me, that’s a free one on an even-strength situation.”

Seeler cut the Panthers’ early 2-0 lead to one with three and a half minutes remaining in the opening frame. Then, late in the second period, winger James van Riemsdyk cleaned up a loose puck in the crease on the power play to tie the game, 2-2. The Flyers have now scored a power-play goal in all four games this season.

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Winger Travis Konecny scored from the right circle with three seconds remaining in the third period. However, their contributions were not enough to preserve the Flyers’ unbeaten start.

With a deep pool of talent up front, headlined by center Aleksander Barkov, winger Matthew Tkachuk, and center Carter Verhaeghe, the Panthers made the Flyers pay for defensive mistakes early on. Roughly six minutes into the opening frame as the Flyers attempted to break out of their own zone, winger Scott Laughton committed an unforced turnover at his own blue line, passing the puck into the skates of Panthers center Sam Reinhart to put the Panthers back on the attack. The sequence ended in a Verhaeghe wrist-shot goal from the right face-off circle to put the Panthers up, 1-0.

About two and a half minutes later, the Panthers caught the Flyers’ defense pinching and pounced on a scoring chance. Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling sprung Verhaeghe for a partial breakaway with defenseman Justin Braun backchecking hard in his wake. Verhaeghe notched his second goal of the night, beating Sandström with a quick shot under his catching glove.

“We knew they were going to come on hard in the first,” Seeler said. “It’s their home opener. We knew that. They got a couple quick, and we showed some resiliency, again, which is a positive, but [we had] a few breakdowns that led to a few untimely goals, which hurt us.”

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After missing part of the preseason with a lower-body injury, Sandström made his regular-season debut on the second night of the Flyers’ back-to-back. His stellar play and clutch saves kept the Flyers in the game, as they rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the second.

Sandström looked particularly sharp on the Flyers’ power play, which surrendered five shorthanded shots to the Panthers. One of those opportunities included a shorthanded breakaway for Tkachuk early in the second period, but Sandström robbed him. Later in the second period, Sandström slid across the crease to deny Reinhart with his left pad after a well-executed passing sequence in transition for the Panthers. Sandström finished the game with 31 saves on 35 shots.

“I wouldn’t say I was 100 [percent] from the start,” Sandström said. “It took some time to get into it. But got lots of shots, so it was good to get that and to find the pucks, kept working all the time, and I got better and better, I felt like.”

Winger Zack MacEwen did not make the Flyers’ opening-night roster, as the front office opted to give winger Hayden Hodgson a chance with the big club. However, the Flyers recalled MacEwen on Monday, and he made his season debut Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. MacEwen was one of the few noticeably impactful skaters for the Flyers in the first period Wednesday on the attack and on the forecheck. He registered a secondary assist on Seeler’s goal in the first period to pull the Flyers within one.

In the final minute of the first period, he was aggressive on the forecheck as the Panthers tried to break out of their own zone, stripping the puck away from defenseman Marc Staal. He managed to get a shot off on Sergei Bobrovsky but couldn’t put the puck away. MacEwen finished the night with four shots on goal and four hits.

The Flyers wrap up their three-game road trip against the Nashville Predators at 7 p.m. Saturday (NBC Sports Philadelphia+).