Oct 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers celebrate win against the Nashville Predators at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA -- A quick glance at the box score will tell you that the attendance for the Flyers 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night was 15,812.
By now, its no secret that the attendance figure that is put out for sporting events is often different than the actual number of people in the building.
Every league does it a little differently, but while the public attendance is usually tickets sold, or tickets out (in case of comps), the number teams really look at is the "drop count."
The Drop count is the number of people who actually walk through the doors of the arena or stadium for that particular game.
Very often, the drop count is less than the announced attendance.
That was certainly the case on Thursday for the Flyers, and the arena looked at approximately 65% capacity.
Drop counts are closely guarded secrets by teams, and I was in such a rush to get out of the Xfinity Mobile Arena last night to avoid traffic from the Norfolk State-Delaware State football game at the Linc that I forgot to check with my arena source for the actual number.
If I could make an educated guess, I would say it was in the 13,000 range.
It's a Thursday night and a weak opponent in Nashville with no real juice. But jeez, easily the lightest crowd of the season for puck drop. And the Flyers have been a good team so far. Kinda surprised the fairly strong start hasn't drawn more. pic.twitter.com/vvMOUOdlXd
Why am I talking about this?
Because these Flyers are proving they deserve better than that.
Fans might be skeptical because of how inconsequential the Flyers have been for so long, but this group is showing something different.
The team is 6-3-1. They are 6-1-0 at the X (it's what I'm calling the arena so I don't have to type out the name every time). They have been in every game except one so far.
And they did something against the Predators that they wouldn't have done in the past - they played an uneven game, and still found a way to win - going away.
They were fortunate to be ahead 2-1 after two periods, but grinded through and added on to pick up their third straight win.
"There wasn't a lot of good going on but we just stuck to the gameplan and tried to make it work," said Travis Sanheim, whose seen his share of games where not a lot of good was going on and it resulted in defeat. "You come away with points and that's what good teams do. We're getting there as a group. This was just another lesson in being able to find a way to win a game that you probably didn't deserve to (win)."
Sanheim went on to credit goalie Dan Vladar, who has been a revelation for the Flyers. He made 32 saves and allowed just one goal.
Dan Vladar hadn't seen game action in a week and you'd have no idea. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/IAr2VdYTdv
In six starts for the Flyers this season, Vladar has allowed just 10 goals.
Among goalies with at least four starts this season, Vladar's 1.67 goals against average ranks second in the NHL behind Washington's Logan Thompson. His save percentage of .939 is tied with Thompson for tops in the sport.
Good goaltending can mask shoddy play by the skaters, and this was the first time it was needed this season by the Flyers in a win. But their other five wins, and in three of their four losses, the Flyers have been pretty impressive.
Trevor Zegras is already paying dividends offensively. He leads the team with 12 points. He had another three-point night on Thursday with two goals and an assist. He became just the third Flyer, joining Peter Forsberg and Peter Zezel, to register at least one point in each of his first seven home games with the franchise.
Sanheim and Cam York have been very good as the Flyers top defensive pair, but the emergence of Jamie Drysdale, who looks so much better under Rick Tocchet than he ever did under John Tortorella, is a big boon for the blue line.
Drysdale scored his first goal of the season taking a pass from Matvei Michkov from behind the net to make it 3-1.
"That was a big goal because Nashville was all over us," Tocchet said.
JAMIE DRYSDALE!!! MICHKOV AND ZEGRAS GET ASSISTS. WHAT A PASS FROM MATVEI. JAMIE GETS REWARDED. 2-0!!!!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Q0eqTZjFxl
Michkov, who came into camp not in the best shape due to a minor ankle injury that slowed him over the summer, has started to look more like the player who burst onto the scene as one of the top rookies in the NHL a season ago.
The line of Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates and Bobby Brink has continued to develop into a very good NHL line, one that a season ago many thought could be a serviceable third line on a good team, and now is proving to be more than that.
There are some concerns. Sam Ersson has been hit or miss in the games he's started in net and now is sidelined for at least a week with a recurrence of a groin injury that stalled him out multiple times a season ago.
As good as Vladar has been, the Flyers can't expect him to be a guy who shoulders a heavy load. A second goalie is going to be needed for the Flyers to stay in the playoff conversation. Ersson needs to be that guy. If not, next up is Aleksei Kolosov, who has had a fine start with the Phantoms in the AHL, but struggled mightily when given an opportunity in the NHL a year ago.
Additionally, captain Sean Couturier, who was off to a very good start and looked like the pre-Covid version of himself for the first nine games, was hit by a slap shot by his own teammate when Noah Juulsen uncorked one Thursday that caught Couturier either on the arm near his elbow or in his rib area (it's hard to conclude from the video replay).
The Flyers had no update on the injury and with the team having an off day on Friday, one probably won't be provided until Saturday.
Losing him for any length of time will force the Flyers to shuffle a lineup that has been consistent and reliable and that could create some instability. The Flyers depth, which isn't the greatest, would also be tested.
But regardless of that, this Flyers team is scrappy. It's fun. It's got energy. It's got personality. And it's getting results.
A game like Thursday would have been a loss as recently as last year. Not anymore. This team is learning to find a way to win even when not at its best.
There's a reason to be interested in Flyers hockey again. It's pretty certain that no matter the opponent, you're going to get an entertaining game. If you've stepped away from the team because you didn't think it was worth your emotional investment, then you are missing something interesting.
I feel like I've always been honest with you about this team. In previous seasons I told you I didn't think they were a playoff team, so if you watched them, keep that in mind.
Now, things feel different. There's a lot to like about the Flyers. I recommend getting on board the bandwagon now, while there's still seats available.
Don't miss Snow The Goalie, live at Chickie's and Pete's every Wednesday at 6PM. The show will broadcast from a different Chickie's and Pete's location every week throughout the Flyers season. The next show is Wednesday (11/5) and will be at Chickie's and Pete's of Glassboro, 234 Rowan Blvd., Glassboro, N.J.
