Flyers Defense Squeezes the Predators in 3-1 Road Win in Nashville
Nov 6, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; linesman Jonathan Deschamps (80) get in between Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale (9),left wing Nicolas Deslauriers (44), Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90), and defenseman Nicolas Hague (41) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
After yet another shootout win from behind, the Flyers hoped to continue the road trip magic against the Nashville Predators.
The Predators have had some troubles with getting shots on goal, just like the Flyers so far in the season. The Flyers fell behind early on a Ryan O’Reilly deflection at 1:44. Nashville also outshot the Flyers, 10-7, in the first period. At one point in the first period, the Predators had a 7-2 shot advantage, which felt a bit like a broken record lately.
The second period was a different game altogether.
The main difference in the second was that the Predators were getting very chippy, trying to get the Flyers to respond with unnecessary penalties, but for the most part, the Flyers held their cool, and that paid off for them with 2 goals in the period. The first started with a beautiful play to crash the net by Cam York to get penetration to the blue line and passed a dime in front of Nashville goalie Juuse Saros, where Matvei Michkov banged home a one-timer to tie the game.
The second goal was a top-shelf corner shot by Noah Cates that slipped by Juuse Saros.
The third period was more of a grind, and the Flyers tightened up their defense, and their zone might as well have been quicksand, because Nashville couldn’t move the puck at all. The Flyers’ defense took control of the third with the Flyers outshooting Nashville 9-4, even though they dominated time of possession all game. Travis Konecny scored an empty netter in the third, which was the last scoring of the night, and ended with a Flyers 3-1 win.
While the Flyers walked away with a win tonight, they were on defense much more than they needed to be. For the first time in a while, the Flyers outshot an opponent, tonight getting 26 pucks on net while Nashville got 24. I realize that this isn’t a resounding win in shots on goal; any win is huge in this category.
One thing that was encouraging was that this young Flyers squad didn’t allow Nashville to out-physical them. In the second period, the Predators started to get a little chippy, and the Flyers didn’t back down one bit. Steven Stamkos was trying his best to get under everyone’s skin, and the Flyers never responded to his goading and played on. Jamie Drysdale showed real patience and control in the second when Stamkos and Filip Forsberg were trying to get him to retaliate, and it all boiled over when Garnet Hathaway had a shoving match with Stamkos that resulted in penalties. Which on the surface sounds like a bad thing, but they got Stamkos off the ice, and once he was gone, the offense moved the puck better without tonight’s pest on the ice.
The formula remained simple tonight. Early on, they bent but didn’t break. After Nashville scored the first goal, they were peppering Daniel Vladar with shots, and it truly felt like a matter of time before one snuck by, but they stayed the course, cleared the puck, and kept making Nashville reset. This frustrated them, and it definitely helped on the counterattack. Both goals in the second came off transition chances. You could see that the physical play of Hathaway was frustrating the top 2 lines for the Predators.
Tonight was a game that showcased the Flyers’ defensive prowess, but also showed that the offense has a way to go still. Yes, they won the game without the need to have any shootout heroics. Yes, they outshot an opponent, but their offensive zone puck movement isn’t quite there yet. This Flyers squad is gritty and truly clamps down on passing lanes, but they also allow opponents to jump their passing routes as well. So we will take this win, but I’d also like to see more offensive zone puck movement. Games like this will end in wins for the Flyers against the middle-of-the-pack teams like Nashville, but against top-level opponents, this will not work. We can only hope that Rick Tocchet works on passing lane drills before meeting the Senators in South Philly on Saturday.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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