Couturier returns but Atkinson doesn't as Flyers are rolled in preseason opener

NEWARK, N.J. — The preseason opener wasn't pretty for the Flyers.

They were ambushed early by the Devils en route to a 6-0 loss Monday night at the Prudential Center.

The club's decision-makers couldn't have taken away many positives because there just wasn't much to evaluate.

The Flyers looked like they had nerves, rust and little chemistry, which can be the reality of the preseason.

"Especially early on in camp," Sean Couturier said. "I think in two weeks, if we have the same kind of problems, then that should be concerning. For now, we've just got to keep grinding, build things together and go from there. I think it can only get better from tonight's performance."

The Flyers surrendered four goals in the opening 5:50 minutes of the game before finally finding some footing.

AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperriere led the Flyers behind the bench. His group was outshot 24-11 through two periods and 34-21 for the game.

• The big storylines Monday night were the return of Couturier and the absence of Cam Atkinson.

Couturier played his first game in 21-plus months, an arduous layoff that was the result of two back surgeries.

"It's been a year and a half," the 30-year-old center said after morning skate. "I've been waiting for this moment for a while, all summer I've been thinking about it. Now I'm here. I'm just excited to get the warmups going and first shift out of the way and just play hockey. That's what I miss most."

Overall, considering the circumstances, Couturier looked fine. He didn't shy away from contact and he showed his smarts along the wall. He went 10 for 18 in the faceoff circle and played over 18 minutes.

"The body felt good," Couturier said. "Just got to build on it. Mentally, I think after that first shift, I felt a lot more fresh and clear-minded. I've just got to be better I think on execution, making plays. There were times where plays were there, just wasn't quite executing."

Atkinson, who skated on the second line in the morning and was expected to play, ended up being a scratch.

The 34-year-old winger missed the game because of soreness from a lower-body injury. If there's any positive for the Flyers here, it's that the issue isn't related to what kept Atkinson out all of last season. He missed the 2022-23 campaign with a neck injury that required surgery in December.

Time will tell the severity of Atkinson's lower-body issue and if it lingers through the preseason.

"Obviously I'd love to have an experienced guy like that in a game like this, I'm sure he is disappointed, he wants to play," Laperriere said. "But I don't think it's anything major. We'll see what happens tomorrow. He's a competitor, he wants to get back. Like Coots, he wants to test himself and I'm sure he will soon."

Wade Allison played in Atkinson's place Monday.

• The Flyers fielded a lineup that featured kids and six players with over 100 games of NHL experience.

Ondrej Palat's game-opening goal came just 1:08 minutes into the action. The Flyers were beaten to the net directly off of a faceoff.

Erik Haula made it 2-0 with an easy goal in front as the Flyers had a breakdown in coverage.

New Jersey's third tally bounced in front for a rebound and Cam York had a turnover along the back wall that led to the fourth goal.

"As a team, we were off tonight," Couturier said. "We weren't good on the forecheck, they were coming at us hard, couldn't break out, not really much we could do, to be honest."

• Top prospects Tyson Foerster and Emil Andrae couldn't do much to stand out in their quest to make the Flyers' roster.

Foerster didn't record a shot and the Flyers' power play went 0 for 3.

"They were tired," Laperriere said about some of the young prospects. "I hate to be the guy who says it, but you guys are watching camp, it's a lot of skating. They have a day off tomorrow, everybody's happy, they're happy. But they battled through it. That's the thing I wanted to see, that's the thing [John Tortorella] wanted to see. They didn't quit, they just kept battling, kept working."

Andrae had a powerful blast in the first period that seemed to surprise Vitek Vanecek, but the Devils' netminder still made the save.

"There's a lot to like there," Laperriere said about the 21-year-old defenseman. "He always looks for the right play, the nice play that I know guys at this level love. They don't like defenseman that just flip the puck out and put it in the glass. He doesn't do that. He likes to make those nice little plays. I know his future is bright here."

The Flyers have five exhibition games left. Foerster and Andrae will get a long look.

• Cal Petersen, who came to the Flyers in the Ivan Provorov trade, made 19 saves on 24 shots over two periods. His rebound control was shaky at times but he also didn't have much help.

"I think I have the ability to stop every goal, I want to do that for my teammates," Petersen said. "I'm going to look at those and look at what I could have done to make those saves. Sometimes you do things right and the puck still goes in. But I think there's still a chance, whether it's a better read or I can process the play a little bit better.

"That's what this time of the year is for, to look at those things, analyze and then not get caught up really too much in the result."

Felix Sandstrom played the third period and stopped nine of 10 shots. Michael McLeod got him on a silky breakaway move.

Vanecek and Erik Kallgren pitched the shutout for New Jersey.

• Sean Walker, competing for a spot on the blue line, played a solid game overall.

• After a day off Tuesday, the Flyers visit the Islanders on Wednesday for their second preseason game (7 p.m. ET).

The team will hold a skate at 10 a.m. ET in Voorhees, New Jersey. The non-game groups will practice at 10 a.m. ET and 11 a.m. ET on the adjacent rink.

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