Earlier in the day, Murchison sat in the Xfinity Mobile Arena stands, taking in the atmosphere where he'd soon make his NHL pro debut.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett is among the players who have made Greg Wyshynski's latest trade board for ESPN.

Two alums of the final version of that grouping—the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers—are doing their lineage proud with positions among the top 10 teams in this week's edition of B/R's NHL Power Rankings. The Capitals climbed five positions to No. 3 after staff voting, and the Flyers skipped up two rungs from No. 11 to No. 9.

A promising young hockey player only gets one shot at his NHL debut, so Ty Murchison was determined to make his a good one.

Valeri Nichushkin scored the eventual game-winner early in the second period, Nathan MacKinnon had an assist to add to his NHL-leading points total and the Colorado Avalanche hung on for a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers outshot the Avalanche by 13-3 in the third period, but their comeback effort came up short. On his birthday, Sean Couturier set the tone early with a Flyers goal.