Flyers come up short to begin the Rick Tocchet era in 2-1 loss to the Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. — The author C.S. Lewis once said, “There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” That sums up quite nicely where the Flyers are right now.

Kicking off a fresh slate of 82 games with a new coach in former Flyer Rick Tocchet behind the bench, it’s clear the last few seasons are in the past, and the hope is that the future will be brighter as the team moves through its rebuild.

The Flyers battled and went toe-to-toe with two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday but fell, 2-1.

» READ MORE: The Flyers are in Rick Tocchet’s ‘blood.’ Now he’s tasked with returning the once-proud organization to prominence.

Offseason free-agent acquisition Dan Vladař got the start in goal for Game 1. In the first period he looked steady as he stopped all 13 shots he faced before allowing a goal on 12 shots in the second frame. In all, he allowed a pair of goals on 34 shots.

According to Natural Stat Trick, through two periods, the Czechia native faced 13 low-danger shots, five from high-danger spots, and six mid-danger shots, including the opening tally by Anton Lundell off the rush on a power play.

However, Vladař was consistently good, making several stops at the doorstep or with traffic in front. He stopped a deflection by Jonah Gadjovich and made a save on Carter Verhaeghe with Lundell in front, before taking a whack by Mackie Samoskevich that knocked his mask off during a Panthers power play.

The one thing the Flyers couldn’t leave in the past was the line of Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, and Bobby Brink. The trio picked up right where they left off last season, getting on the board with under three minutes remaining in the second period to tie the score.

On an offensive-zone faceoff, Cates won the puck back to Foerster, who ripped a shot as Cates crashed the net. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky couldn’t handle the high, hard shot, and Cates was able to pop the puck past the former Flyer on the rebound.

Brad Marchand broke the tie early in the third period with a goal from the half-wall. He threw the puck on net just as A.J. Greer was skating past Vladař, who looked like he didn’t see the shot.

Travis Konecny came close to tying the score with 8 minutes, 26 seconds left in regulation. Skating with Trevor Zegras and Owen Tippett, the trio made some crisp passes, with Tippett feeding a wide-open Konecny, who had an open net but hit the outside of the left post.

Cates, who made a dipsy-do move earlier in the game, had another chance in the third period but couldn’t cash in as Bobrovsky made the save.

Defenseman Dennis Gilbert and forwards Jett Luchanko and Nikita Grebenkin were healthy scratches. ... Zegras, Christian Dvorak, and defenseman Noah Juulsen made their Flyers debuts. ... The Flyers won 61% of the faceoffs, led by Rodrigo Ābols winning six of eight and Sean Couturier winning 19 of 28. Last season, the Flyers were 18th in the NHL in draws at 49.9%. ... Travis Sanheim played a game-high 26:52.

The Flyers head to North Carolina after the game to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday (7 p.m., NBCSP).