Michigan State hockey earns praise after Porter Martone's blazing NHL start

Porter Martone (center) of the Philadelphia Flyers celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period of Game 2 of a first round Stanley Cup playoff series at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on April 20, 2026.

A little more than three weeks go, Porter Martone was still playing hockey at Michigan State when the Spartans suffered a devastating 4-3 NCAA regional final loss to Wisconsin on March 28.

Today, he's the talk of the NHL after his stunning first 11 games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

After signing with the Flyers the day after that MSU loss to the Badgers, the 19-year-old Martone has burst onto the NHL scene, scoring 10 points in the final nine regular-season games to help lead Philadelphia into the playoffs. And he's only gotten better in his first two playoff games.

Martone is the first teenager in Stanley Cup Playoff history to record the game-winning goals in his first two postseason games, helping the Flyers grab a massive 2-0 series lead with two road wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins as the series now heads to Philadelphia.

Martone's outstanding start to his pro career has brought invaluable positive attention to the MSU hockey program. Martone has given MSU's staff, in particular coach Adam Nightingale, a ton of praise for the role they played in his development when he led the Spartans, who won their third straight Big Ten regular-season title, in points with 25 goals and 25 assists and was a First Team All-American.

“I think I really found my identity as a player and who I needed to be to be successful,” Martone said in a press conference after signing with the Flyers. “I think (Nightingale) really forced me to play below the hash marks, play in front of the net. He told me when I got to (MSU), which is the truth — if I want to play at the NHL level, I’m going to have to play at a faster pace. That’s something that I really worked on there.”