Edmonton, Alberta (My Sportsbook) - Ken Hitchcock makes his regular season Flyers debut behind the bench tonight when Philadelphia visits the Edmonton Oilers at Skyreach Centre.

Hitchcock, who was fired by Dallas in January, was hired by the Flyers in May after the tumultuous dismissal of former coach Bill Barber. Barber was released on the heels of the club's fourth first-round playoff loss in five years, after several players, led by captain Keith Primeau, issued a verbal assault on him via the media.

The postseason failure and the ensuing blame placed on Barber prompted the Flyers to give last year's group of players one shot at redemption, and the team was relatively inactive in the offseason. The most notable acquisition was that of defensive center Michal Handzus, who was obtained, along with backup goaltender Robert Esche, from Phoenix for backstop Brian Boucher.

The returning cast of characters, led by Primeau, Jeremy Roenick, Simon Gagne, John LeClair and Mark Recchi, do have some questions to answer. LeClair and Recchi hope to bounce back from off years, while Gagne, who led the club with 33 goals, will attempt to break through into full-fledged stardom.

Another enormous question surrounds goaltender Roman Cechmanek, who is the clear-cut No. 1 now that Boucher is out of the picture. The runner-up for the 2001 Vezina, Cechmanek's numbers -- 2.05 goals-against average and .921 save- percentage -- have been stellar in two seasons, but he drew the ire of his teammates with an on-ice outburst during the playoffs in Ottawa. Hitchcock has said things between Cechmanek and the rest of the dressing room have been smoothed over, but the Czech's sub-par preseason performance has become an even worse concern.

Philadelphia is 16-13-6 in season openers, including victories in each of the last two years.

Edmonton, meanwhile, begins its quest to get back into the playoffs after missing the field by two points last spring. The club's offseason was inactive in terms of additions, with the exception of former Flyer Jiri Dopita, but the team did accomplish its goal to re-sign key names like Anson Carter, Jason Smith, Todd Marchant, Mike York and Eric Brewer. The one major subtraction was tough forward Mike Grier, who was dealt to Washington on Monday.

Much of the Oilers' fate has been placed in the hands of center Mike Comrie, who begins his third NHL campaign. In 82 games a year ago the skilled pivot paced the club with 33 goals and tied for first with 60 points, and he's only expected to improve.

Goaltender Tommy Salo returns for his fourth full season with the Oilers, and continues to be their workhorse and backbone. In 69 contests the Swede went 30-28-10 with a 2.22 GAA and .913 SP in 2001-02.

Edmonton is 11-9-3 in season opener since coming over from the World Hockey Association, and hopes to win its second straight game in this series. The Oilers won a 3-2 decision in Philly last December 16 to snap a two-game series losing skid. The Flyers are, however, 3-0-1 in their last four trips to Edmonton, last losing on December 27, 1995.