Barkey, Liske Fuel Flyers' 4-1 Win Over Rangers — Philadelphia Completes Rookie Series Sweep

Denver Barkey scores and assists, Brek Liske nets his first as a Flyer with five seconds left in the second period, and two childhood friends from Czech share the crease. Flyers complete only their second-ever Rookie Series sweep. September 13, 2026.

Philadelphia Flyers 4, New York Rangers 1 PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Denver Barkey was the story from the first goal to the final assist. Brek Liske scored the kind of first goal you remember forever — five seconds left in the second period, off a bounce, in front of 3,234 people who understood exactly what it meant. Noah Powell came back from a torn jersey and a fight to score an empty-netter. And two childhood friends from the Czech Republic split the crease in a performance that gave everyone a reason to remember their names. The Philadelphia Flyers completed only their second-ever NHL Rookie Series sweep on Sunday evening with a 4-1 win over the New York Rangers — and the first since the debut of the series in 2022.

How It Happened

First Period: The Flyers controlled the play but couldn’t beat Danaii Shaiikov for most of the first twenty. Jett Luchanko fed a stretch pass to Oliver Bonk, who spun out of the corner and found Barkey sweeping around the goaltender to tuck it inside the left skate at 16:28. It was the second straight Rookie Series in which Barkey scored the game’s first goal. Martin Psohlavec — one half of a Czech goaltending duo making his first appearance of the weekend — was perfect in the first period, stopping all 5 shots he faced.

Second Period: Marek Sklenicka took over in net and the Rangers got to him once. A Porter Martone turnover in front of the Philadelphia goal gave Liam Greentree the space to tie it at 1-1 at 12:39. Martone said he owned up to the mistake immediately — and he’d make good on it later. Meanwhile, Noah Powell dropped the gloves with Jackson Dorrington, and when his jersey was shredded in the fight, he came back out in a replacement number. The equipment staff had him ready quickly. Then, with five seconds left in the period, Spencer Gill’s shot rattled off Shaiikov’s shoulder and Brek Liske — a defenseman who had rotated forward — was there for the quick put-back off the leg of the goaltender from a sharp angle in the left corner. Liske’s first goal as a Philadelphia Flyer came at 19:55 of the second period. The building knew what it was.

Third Period: Powell blocked a shot late in the game and scored a long empty-netter from the Flyers’ zone at 18:05 to make it 3-1. A scrappy 8:30 third-period scrum produced a batch of coincidental roughing penalties for both sides, and there were unsportsmanlike conduct calls at 19:13 for Martone and Sokolovskii after the final horn. But the lasting moment came at 19:13 when Maksim Sokolovskii won a puck and found Barkey rushing up ice, who flipped it right for Martone’s empty-netter — completing his two-point game and making good on his promise to Sklenicka after the turnover that cost them the tying goal.

Goaltending

Philadelphia used two goalies in a planned split. Martin Psohlavec opened the game and was perfect — 7-for-7 saves in 30:58 of work. Marek Sklenicka took over for the second half, stopping 8 of 9 shots (.889 SV%) in 29:02 to earn the win. Both are 2026 Flyers draftees from the Czech Republic and, as noted by the Phantoms organization, have been friends since childhood — drafted by the same team, potentially future Lehigh Valley Phantoms teammates in the coming years. Danaii Shaiikov took the loss for New York, stopping 24 of 26 regulation shots (.923 SV%) in 58:37 before the empty-net goals closed it out.

Special Teams

Philadelphia: 0-for-2 PP | New York: 0-for-2 PP | Penalties: NYR 13 min (5 infractions), PHI 15 min (6 infractions). Neither team converted on the power play — the game was decided at even strength.

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