PITTSBURGH -- Less than a month ago, Porter Martone was a college freshman in a Michigan State hockey sweater, taking the ice with the Spartans against Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament. On Monday night, the 19-year-old right winger made Philadelphia Flyers history as the first teenager to record a goal in each of his first two playoff games.
Darting in from the slot, Martone collected a rebound and scored the first goal of the game in the second period of the Flyers' eventual 3-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"He's not overwhelmed," Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said of Martone after Philadelphia took a 2-0 series lead. "Even that goal, I called it scooter skating, get yourself positioned, that's a goal scorer's goal. I know people think maybe it's easy, but it wasn't because he had a scooter -- the timing, all that stuff on his back end. So, that's what he does. He's a hockey player."
Martone, the sixth pick in the 2025 NHL draft, joined the Flyers just before the postseason and gave the team an instant boost in its playoff push. After making his NHL debut March 31, Martone scored four goals and recorded six assists in the Flyers' nine final regular-season games, including an overtime winner against the Boston Bruins for his first career NHL goal.
Martone finished the regular season with goals in three of the final four games, and despite significantly limited NHL experience, he continued that dominance in his first postseason.
Leading 2-1 late in the third period Saturday, Martone flicked in his first career playoff goal past Penguins goalie Stuart Skinner to seal the Flyers' series-opening win.
"It's pretty impressive," said teammate Travis Konecny, who made his NHL debut with the Flyers a decade ago at 19. "There's not a lot of guys that can come in and make the impact that he has, especially in the games leading up to making the playoffs, like how important those were and for him to be able to jump in.
"I think it just speaks to not his hockey ability, but how he wants to learn. And he listens to us when we talk in the room, when we talk about little plays, you go out there, and you see it's a switch the next shift. He learns quick, and you're not duplicating mistakes."
At the postgame news conference, sitting beside Konecy, Martone was quick to credit his teammates for his accelerated acclimation.
"I got to give a lot of credit to the guys in this room," Martone said. "They've taught me a lot, not just on the hockey side, but the life side. I think I made the jump because ... I thought I could come help this team. And they did a lot this year. They went through a lot of ups and downs, and when I came here, they were really rolling. So, I kind of hopped onto a moving train, and it's been good ever since, but I think there's a lot of work still to be done."