First impressions on the Flyers and their 'awesome' rookies
LOS ANGELES _ First impressions from the Flyers' season-opening 4-2 win in Los Angeles on Friday night:
* Left winger Travis Konecny and defenseman Ivan Provorov, a pair of 19-year-old rookies, have infused this team with energy and youthful enthusiasm that seems contagious.
"They're awesome, man," defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. "It's awesome having them in there. They bring an element I don't think we necessarily had last year. They're so fast and they can make plays. It's fun to watch, too."
* Konecny (two assists) has instincts you can't teach. Take a look at the no-look pass he fed to Sean Couturier (two goals), who gave the Flyers a 3-0 lead.
* Gostisbehere is very fortunate he wasn't severely injured.
The Flyers' dynamic defenseman was accidentally sliced in the face by Kyle Clifford's skate early in the game. He has an ugly gash but didn't need stitches.
"I got really lucky it didn't get me too bad," Gostisbehere said. "I'm just thankful it wasn't worse. I'll take this any day over whatever could have happened. God was with me on that one. I thank him for that."
* The second line _ Couturier centering Konecny and Jake Voracek _ has a chance to be the team's top unit.
After the game, Couturier huddled with first-line center Claude Giroux. Was he telling his captain that his line should move up to No. 1?
"No, I haven't told him yet," Couturier cracked.
Whatever you call it, the Flyers will have two quality lines when Brayden Schenn returns from his suspension _ and that's something that couldn't be said last year.
"The chemistry has been going well for us," said Konecny, whose line excelled in the exhibition games.
With two smooth-passing players as his wingers, look for Couturier to have his first 20-goal season.
* Goalie Michael Neuvirth looks like he is headed for another terrific season. He was excellent Friday and kept the Flyers in a scoreless tie before they found their legs and took over the game in the second period. One of the Kings' goals deflected off the Flyers' Mark Streit.
Neuvirth and Steve Mason, who will start Saturday night in Arizona, will push each other _ a great situation for the Flyers, who are now 9-2-1 at the Staples Center.
* After he made a bad pass that nearly led to a Kings goal late in the first period, Provorov had a solid NHL debut. He finished with four hits and an assist in 20:18.
"I thought I played OK," he said. "A couple shifts were shaky, but I thought I did OK after that. I can play way better. I'll be better tomorrow."
* The Flyers had a calmness in their game. The Kings, playing their second game of the season, were much sharper in the opening period, but the Flyers regrouped nicely in the second period, scoring four goals and outshooting the hosts, 21-9.
"They came out hard and we weathered the storm and started to find our game," Provorov said.
"We were turning over pucks, giving odd-man rushes and had a few bad (line) changes," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said of the second session. "It was one of the worst periods we have played as a team in a long time."
Breakaways. Streit and Matt Read each had four shots to lead the Flyers....Giroux was not used on the PK, which was 2 for 2.....The Kings won 63 percent of the faceoffs....The Flyers have an 86-39-15-4 lifetime record against L.A.