Nov 26, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Emil Andrae (36) shoots the puck against Florida Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola (77) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
After the first period of last Thursday's home game against the St. Louis Blues, Flyers coach Rick Tocchet turned to assistant coach Todd Reirden, who is in charge of the defense, and said three words.
"Let's do it," he said.
The "it" he was referring to was making a switch in defensive pairings.
The idea was to put Emil Andrae on the second unit with Jaimie Drysdale and move Nick Seeler down to the third pairing with Noah Juulsen.
Andrae had been playing some good hockey and the team had been talking about making that move at some point. Tocchet had a feeling that was the right time.
It has paid immediate dividends.
Andrae set up Tyson Foerster for the tying goal in that game. And then on Wednesday, he scored his first goal of the season and picked up an assist on another tying goal in the Flyers come-from-behind 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers down in South Florida.
It was the 10th time already this season the Flyers have come from behind to win a game, the most in the NHL.
And it was Andrae who got the offense off the schneid. They had been shutout in Tampa on Monday and were fortunate to come into the second period down just a goal thanks to goalie Dan Vladar once again playing the role of Superman in net.
But once the Panthers went ahead 2-0 it felt like the game could get away from the Flyers.
Enter Drysdale and Andrae, working well together.
Emil Andrae - Philadelphia Flyers (1) pic.twitter.com/0xrsDwTrLh
Andrae won a race to a loose puck on the wall, and got it to Owen Tippett, who sent it back to Drysdale at the point. Drysdale quickly fed Andrae who snapped a shot through a sea of bodies past Sergei Bobrovsky to get the Flyers on the board.
A few minutes later, the pair were back on the ice again, and again it was Drysdale to Andrae for a shot. This time, Matvei Michkov was able to tip the puck just enough on Andrae's shot to sneak it past Bobrovsky to tie the game.
Matvei Michkov - Philadelphia Flyers (6) pic.twitter.com/WfmWSZNIIb
That's five points for the new defensive pairing since they were put together. Drysdale, who has vastly improved on the defensive side of the puck, is playing more than 20 minutes a night since being paired with Andrae, who is just behind him, averaging 19 minutes in the past six games.
Andrae was going good before being paired with Drysdale, and now has five points in the last six games and is a plus-4.
How long the Flyers can play two defensemen together who are on the smaller side remains to be seen, but they both play a fast and intense game and have seemed to gel.
The win was a big one for the Flyers, who beat the defending Stanley Cup champions twice in three meetings this season. While they didn't exactly hold onto a playoff spot at Thanksgiving, something that is often an indicator of a team's ability to make the post season, they are only one point out of a spot, and because they have played the fewest games in the Eastern Conference and have games in hand, they are tied for the fourth-best points percentage in the conference (.614) and eighth-best in the league.
It's worth noting that there is a a weird scenario where come Sunday morning, the Flyers could be in first place in the Metropolitan Division. If the Flyers win both games this weekend in regulation, the Devils lose in regulation to Buffalo and Carolina loses in regulation to Winnipeg on Friday, the Flyers would ascend to the top of the Division.
Regardless, the Flyers are more than a quarter of the way into the season and playing good, competitive hockey.
The pairing of Andrae and Drysdale has helped lately, but the biggest reason remains Dan Vladar, their clear-cut No. 1 goalie at this point.
Vladar was superb again on Wednesday, stopping 25 of the 27 shots he's faced.
Dan Vladar has been a STUD this season. And he’s been dominant against the Panthers in three games this season. BIG win. #LetsGoFlyers
It was especially important in the first period when the Panthers were dominating the Flyers. Vladar absolutely kept them in the game.
It's not just that he's sixth in the NHL in goals against average (2.39) or tied for fifth in save percentage (.913). No, it's more than that. According to Money Puck he has the best save percentage in the league against high danger chances by the opposition among goalies who have played at least 10 games (also .913).
If the team was giving out their annual awards right now, he'd win the Bobby Clarke Trophy as Team MVP. Hands down.
If you have a top tier goalie, you have a great chance at the postseason. If you have solid defense, you have a good chance at the postseason. And if you have a sniper, like Tyson Foerster continues to show that he is, well... you know the rest.
Tyson Foerster scores the go-ahead goal for the Flyers with less than a minute left in regulation 👀 pic.twitter.com/Y61hsd2KMa
The point is, this was a bigger victory than normal for November for the Flyers. There's a lot of season left. A lot can go wrong and upend this apple cart. But a lot can go right, too - and that's what the Flyers are counting on over the next four months.
