Coach John Stevens, who took over after Darryl Sutter was fired April 10, believes that a lack of familiarity with those new faces could be beneficial for the Kings.
"I think sometimes the element of surprise creates a little bit more opportunity," Stevens said. "You might not exactly know what to expect from them and that can be an advantage to the offensive player."
Stevens' biggest task is to improve an offense that finished 25th in the NHL last season (2.43 goals per game). Defenseman Drew Doughty is excited to play in a more aggressive system.
"Our forwards are actually looking for that D-man basically every single time they are going up the ice," said Doughty, who had 44 points (12 goals, 32 assists) in 2016-17. "We're going to have opportunities to score, opportunities to get on the rush and create offensively."
The Flyers opened their season with a 5-3 win at the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday. Forward Wayne Simmonds scored three goals for the first hat trick on opening night in Flyers history. His second goal was the game-winner and the 400th point of his NHL career.
Simmonds scored two of the Flyers' three power-play goals against the Sharks. Philadelphia was 3-for-5 with the man-advantage after scoring five power-play goals in the preseason.
The Flyers had five rookies on their opening night roster for the first time since the 1992-93 season, though defensemen Travis Sanheim and Samuel Morin were scratched.
