Flyers Daily: Ivan Provorov, Tony DeAngelo Show Instant Chemistry; Penguins Stumble

The instant chemistry shown by the Philadelphia Flyers’ top pairing is even more surprising when you realize that the duo played together only once in the preseason because of an injury to Ivan Provorov.

But in the first two regular-season games, Provorov and Tony DeAngelo didn’t miss a beat. They combined for six points and a plus-9 rating for the 2-0 Flyers.

“I think both of us understand the game on a pretty high level,” Provorov said after practice Monday in Voorhees. “That allows you to almost predict and think where your partner is going to be. Obviously, that’s one of the   important parts of the game when it comes to D pairings.

“When you have good chemistry with your D partner,” Provorov said, “half the time you don’t even need to look. You just know where he’s going to be. And we’re trying to get to the highest level of that.”

So far, Provorov said, DeAngelo reminds him of a combination of two of his former partners, Shayne Gostisbehere and Matt Niskanen.

“I think (DeAngelo) and Ghost are very similar with wanting to play with the puck and be able to skate with the puck,” said Provorov, whose team has a major test Tuesday when it meets the host Tampa Bay Lighting. “And I think he’s got the competitiveness and a good first pass and the mentality that Nisky had. He’s a good player and we’re going to continue to get better.”

“It’s a young, dumb league,” Torts said. He saluted ⁦@noahcates⁩ and ⁦@FarabeeJoel⁩ for the “smarts” they bring to ⁦@NHLFlyers⁩. pic.twitter.com/EqBiYFjDuV

— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) October 17, 2022

DeAngelo (goal, two assists) is the fifth player in the Flyers’ history to have two or more points over his first two games — and the first since Danny Briere in 2007, per the NHL.

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