Christian Dvorak, Nikita Grebenkin look ready as the Flyers preseason schedule winds down

In the penultimate game of the preseason, the Flyers dressed a lineup that appears to be close to the expected opening night roster.

Although the result was a 4-3 loss against the New York Islanders at Xfinity Mobile Arena, there were a few good moments and a few that would like to be forgotten.

Here are three key takeaways.

The Flyers’ penalty kill went 2-for-3, with a lone goal against on a nifty deflection by Maxim Shabanov as he cut to the net off a centering pass from Maxim Tsyplakov.

But is the Flyers’ power kill back? Two seasons ago, the Orange and Black led the NHL in short-handed goals (16), with Travis Konecny outpacing the league with six, and the No. 4 penalty kill at 83.4% effectiveness. Last season, the entire team had four with a 77.6% effectiveness.

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet wants his penalty killers to be aggressive and have good sticks. Christian Dvorak did that and more on Thursday.

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Just a minute, 46 seconds into the game, with the Flyers on the penalty kill, Garnet Hathaway pressured 2025 No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer at the point, allowing Dvorak to intercept his pass to Anders Lee. Dvorak then chipped the puck past Schaefer, outraced Emil Heineman, and sent a perfect between-the-legs drop pass to Travis Sanheim for the goal.

“Once I got to the blue line, I heard him yelling,” Dvorak said of Sanheim. “Felt the D right on my back, and it was either a backhander or drop it back, and luckily, it worked out.”

Added Sanheim: “He had a guy chasing him pretty good and just wanted to let him know that I was there if he needed me. I wasn’t expecting him to make that play, but I’ll take it and, obviously, credit to him.”

Entering the night, Tocchet — who was also Dvorak’s coach in Arizona — said he needs to find Dvorak more minutes in games with him centering the fourth line between Nic Deslauriers and Hathaway.

The penalty kill is a way to do that. In the second period, he was again paired with Hathaway, who put pressure on and caused Anthony Duclair to turn over the puck. Dvorak got the puck and raced down the ice on a breakaway, did a leg pump, but was stopped by Ilya Sorokin.

Dvorak finished with one assist, two shots on goal, two hits, and won 42% of his faceoffs across 13 minutes, 49 seconds of ice time.

“I think he’s a really good player,” said Sanheim. “He’s a guy that can play at both ends of the ice, wins draws, and is pretty creative and can make plays. So, I think he’s going to fit in well.”

Tocchet is a big believer in the box-plus-one defensive strategy, with the intent of keeping shots to the outside because, as he has said, “keeping people on the outside is OK, it’s OK, who cares they have the puck.”

The Flyers did a good job of keeping shots to the outside when the Islanders had established themselves in the defensive zone.

Overall, Sam Ersson made 23 saves on 27 shots. According to Natural Stat Trick, Ersson saved all 12 low-danger shots — flashing the leather on a few, as noted by Tocchet, that were through double screens — but allowed three goals on 10 high-danger shots. The three goals came via a deflection, a short-handed, two-on-none, and after a breakdown that allowed Duclair to saucer a pass to a streaking Heineman.

“Obviously, I think we’ve got to quit giving up some of those easy ones; that’s something we’ve got to clean up for the regular season,” said Sanheim. “But I think some of the system stuff, we’re definitely picking up, and guys are getting a little bit more used to what’s expected.”

Added Tocchet, who made sure to say that Ersson wasn’t the reason the Flyers lost the game: “The Grade A’s, the two-on-ones, the breakaway after the power play, they’re just freebies. You might give about three freebies a month. You can’t give them two or three a game. It just can’t happen. You can’t give free goals in this league.”

Ersson knows mistakes will happen, and he’ll surely want the one mid-danger goal he allowed, off a snapshot by Lee from the right faceoff circle, back. But there is no doubt that the goalie who likes to get shots is happy in the new system.

“I think that’s kind of like the plan, and just talking about, kind of working to let us goalies see pucks as much as possible, and kind of for us what to expect; make it a little bit easier for us to read the play,” he said. “So, yeah, it’s a good thing that we’re trying to work on, and we’ll just get better and better.”

While he may be known for his big personality, Nikita Grebenkin plays just as big a game.

The 6-foot-2, 209-pound winger continues to impress and has surely solidified his spot on the opening night roster. While he may have just seven NHL games under his belt, skating on the top line with veterans Sean Couturier and Konecny, he was the one who stood out on Thursday.

In the first period, he used his legs to split the Islanders’ defense before putting a hard, high shot on Sorokin. Across the night, the Russian showed how he can put pressure on the opposition, create turnovers, and drive to the net.

And while he didn’t get an assist on the goal by Konecny, Grebenkin was a key cog when he helped keep the pressure on before heading to the net to set the screen for the rip by Konecny from atop the circles.

“[The] team wants [me] to play inside, and I understand this,” Grebenkin said. “I speak to Coach, and I understand my game, and what Coach wants for me, to see for my game.”

According to Natural Stat Trick, when the line of Couturier, Konecny, and Grebenkin was on the ice at five-on-five, the Flyers had 75% of the shot attempts (12 to 4), 70% of the scoring chances and shots, and 60% of the high-danger chances.

“He could play in front of the net; he made that goal,” said Tocchet of Grebenkin. “And he’s a sticky guy. He comes up with loose pucks in the corner; you always need those corner guys that can come out with pucks. If we can continue to teach him to play that way, I think he could be a force out there.”

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When John Tortorella was the head coach, he criticized defenseman Egor Zamula for his pace of play. Tocchet has said he, too, wants him to play a faster style. On Thursday, Zamula was credited with three giveaways across 16:17, and when Tocchet was asked postgame if there are any concerns about Zamula, he said, “Yeah, he’s got to pick it up. Yep, definitely.” … Like Grebenkin, Bobby Brink also created a net-front presence, distracting Sorokin as Tyson Foerster sent a cross-crease pass to Noah Cates for a power-play goal. … Forward Deslauriers threw two monster checks that reverberated around the arena in the second period and finished tied for the game-high with five. Brink was second on the Flyers with four. … The line of Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, and Owen Tippett had a plus-minus of minus-2. They were on the ice for the short-handed goal via a two-on-none, and the game-winner. … Dan Vladař will tend the twine on Saturday in the preseason finale. … Forwards Rodrigo Ābols and Jett Luchanko, and defensemen Noah Juulsen and Dennis Gilbert were healthy scratches. … The Flyers will hold the seventh annual Gritty 5K on Saturday.

The Flyers wrap up the preseason slate on Saturday when the New Jersey Devils visit Xfinity Mobile Arena at 12:30 p.m. (NBCSN).