The Philadelphia Flyers are defying the odds and have an emphatic 2-0 series lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And, they just so happen to be impressing a whole lot of people around the NHL, including a star player.
Coming into this series, the Penguins were the major favorite. Whether you went by the sportsbooks, or virtually every hockey analytics site pumping out a projection in the Penguins’ favor, or even national media members choosing Pittsburgh to win it in as few as five games; the Flyers were not seen as a team that can be where they are right now. But instead, they’re playing incredibly smart hockey, making the Penguins look foolish, and are heading back home with a controlling series lead.
This has got a whole lot of attention around the hockey world and now thanks to the invention of podcasts and hockey players having their own podcasts, we get to hear their exact thoughts on it.
Notably, Matthew Tkachuk is spending his time not playing with the Florida Panthers (because they missed the playoffs after winning the Stanley Cup) and sitting in front of a microphone to make content instead. And this week, he raved and raved about the Flyers and specifically about their hot new rookie Porter Martone.
Matthew Tkachuk impressed by Porter Martone and the Flyers
On the latest episode of his podcast Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, Matthew had a whole lot of good things to say about Martone and how the team looked overall.
“Yeah, Martone. He looks unreal,” Tkachuk said. “He had a snipe that ended up being the game-winner. But he looked so confident — some of these young players on Philly are making that team fun to watch. I mean, you look at some of those forwards, man. Like, they just buzz around. Tippett flies, that Foerster is a hell of a player. Guys that maybe aren’t household names, that are going to be household names. That Martone, he’s just solid.
“I haven’t played against — it’s hard to say how good these guys are, or what type of player they are, because I haven’t actually played against them yet but watching them, that team might be for real, boys. They might be for real. And they might just be a sneaky, sneaky wagon.”
It’s weird to see a whole lot of praise for the Flyers coming from someone who is not connected to them at all.
Due to a lengthy absence this season, Tkachuk laced up for just 31 games this season and did not get to face this season’s Flyers as all three of this season’s games against the Panthers were done by the end of November. The last time Tkachuk faced off against the Flyers it ended up being a 4-3 win for Philadelphia back in January 2025 and it was so long ago that Morgan Frost scored a power-play goal for the team.
That’s the Flyers team that Tkachuk has an on-ice memory of, so it must be jarring to see this team suffocate Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins offense and have a rookie make one of the best first impressions in modern NHL history.
Martone is getting a lot of recognition from around the league in terms of media members really cluing in to just how good he has been since leaving Michigan State and putting on that Flyers sweater, but nothing like this. From a player who will be his peer — and will certainly be battling against him next season — to so outwardly praise a player for how good they have looked. And then to even just bring in others like Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster, as players who just bring a whole new dynamic to the Flyers, is something else.
That first Panthers-Flyers game next season is going to be interesting no matter what. But what is interesting, is that if the Ottawa Senators can get their act together and overcomes the odds against the Carolina Hurricanes and if the Flyers hold on to this series lead, Matthew could be cheering for his brother Brady against a team full of players that he has high praise for and a team that he thinks, could go fairly far. Just to add a new little wrinkle into a potential second round series.
Maybe then, Matthew would be a little more hesitant to express just how impressed he is by this Flyers team. But still, it is a little wild to see one of the best wingers in the league and someone known for being such a playoff performer, applaud the 2025-26 Flyers for doing exactly what is needed and having a star rookie to go along with it.
