Although it wasn't perfect, the Philadelphia Flyers started off their preseason with a 3-2 shootout win over the New York Islanders, with key players like Trevor Zegras standing out exactly like they needed to.
Zegras, 24, made his Flyers debut against the Islanders on Sunday night, and while he didn't score a goal or pick up an assist, he was arguably the most impressive player on the ice.
Much has been made of whether or not Zegras can play center again at the NHL level full-time, and the Flyers' big trade acquisition passed the early test with flying colors.
Zegras made a number of defensive plays on the evening, coming way down low in his own zone to support puck battles and even stripped Mat Barzal of the puck from behind on a breakaway in overtime.
I've long believed that the idea that Zegras cannot play center is just a narrative-driven myth, and while the questions about his defensive game are legitimate, he showed well in the exhibition game.
Overall, Zegras was a +1 in his Flyers debut with four shots on goal and a penalty and went 4/9 on faceoffs (a solid 44.4%) in 23:09.
Zegras's two linemates, Nikita Grebenkin and Matvei Michkov, were also effective players, even if the trio as a whole understandably lacked chemistry.
Grebenkin was his typical effective self in the corners and below the goal line, holding onto pucks and showing off his creativity with some of his pass selections.
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Michkov tied the game for the Flyers at 2-2 with just over a minute left in the third period, burying a Jamie Drysdale rebound with an empty net.
Michkov was also perhaps unfortunate to have not received a penalty shot in overtime, but star Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer was able to cleanly disrupt him from behind without committing a foul.
The 20-year-old Russian did also score for the Flyers in the shootout and looked to have won it, only for Barzal to go down the other way and score on his attempt to keep the game going.
Other forwards who stood out to me include Denver Barkey and Jack Nesbitt, who each played a bit of power play and penalty kill as well.
Barkey's size and lack of experience may limit his chances, but he's looked really good to the point where I would consider him in the picture for an NHL roster spot.
I find him more versatile than an Alex Bump in terms of being able to play in a bottom-six role in addition to playing in a scoring role. Now might not be the time, but Barkey is going to be a player for the Flyers sometime soon.
Nesbitt still struggles with his skating at times, but his hockey IQ and puck skills are top notch. He forced a neutral zone turnover that ultimately led to Rodrigo Abols's first-period goal, giving Nesbitt his first unofficial assist as a Flyers player.
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My only knock of Nesbitt's performance is his lack of success in the faceoff dot; he went 3/10, though he, Zegras, and Noah Cates were all average at best in that regard.
Defensively, Spencer Gill looked like he belonged, and Jamie Drysdale and Emil Andrae were in command all night long. Adam Ginning also massively improved on his dire preseason performance last year and was remarkably steady on a pairing with the inexperienced Gill.
Noah Juulsen was probably the least effective of the Flyers defensemen, though he did open some eyes with a big hit on Kashawn Aitcheson late in the game. We'll see how Helge Grans performs in the next preseason game with the other group of players, but Juulsen's stock is definitely trending down early in camp.
On the date of Bernie Parent's tragic passing, goalies Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason were outstanding for the Flyers in goal, combining for 32 saves on 34 shots in the shootout win.
Both Islanders goals came against Kolosov, but the first came on a rebound that wasn't cleared, and the second came on a 2-on-1 when Juulsen was unable to prevent the cross-ice pass from making it across the ice to the shooter.
Bjarnason stopped all 17 shots he faced and locked it down in the shootout, allowing only three goals on the 11 attempts that came his way.
It was an encouraging start for the Flyers' presumed AHL goaltending tandem, and for the Flyers as a whole. The Rick Tocchet era is so far off to a flawless start.