It was just one week ago, the Flyers were tied with Toronto heading into overtime. They had won three of their previous four games, and tried to take the second point in the extra session from the Maple Leafs. The overtime was highly entertaining, with Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier having golden chances to end it. However, they didn’t. The Leafs went back down the ice and scored to win the game. It didn’t seem like a huge deal. Philadelphia gained a point. Onto the Lightning.
Well, we all know how the pair of games against Tampa went. The Flyers were railroaded in both contests, the latter an ugly 7-2 loss that showed every possible flaw Sam Ersson possesses. The skaters in front of him didn’t help much, but it was an ugly loss. And should’ve been a game the Flyers bounced back from. The losing streak stood at three games, the longest of the season. On Wednesday night, Philadelphia imploded. A few criminally bad turnovers by Sean Couturier and Trevor Zegras put the Flyers on their heels. And if not for two posts, the game would’ve been 4-0 before the first intermission. But then it got worse: Dan Vladar left the game with what looked like a leg injury as he was favoring it after the second goal. He didn’t return. Ersson was thrown in. However, between a rash of undisciplined penalties, an inability to score on the power play, and what is now an inability to kill penalties, the Flyers lost 5-2 in Buffalo.
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet wasn’t happy with the undisciplined penalties, nor the execution late in the game, stating the Flyers weren’t moving their feet when Philadelphia had a six-on-four advantage.
“We’re not playing smart hockey,” he said in a scrum afterwards. “I know they had 14 shots but they capitalized, we gave them the middle ice on three shots. And we had moments where we’re not delivering right now, that’s the key, that’s it. You give up 14 shots, but we give up four unbelievable middle shots. The last couple of games, it’s been uncharacteristic of the team right now.” Trevor Zegras was a bit more succinct, stating the Flyers needed to find their “mojo” again and “reboot our brains.”
So that makes four games without a win, and one of a possible eight points. On Thursday night, the Flyers play Pittsburgh. And at the time of writing, nobody is sure what Vladar’s status is, or if Ersson will be thrown to the lions, er, Penguins tonight after playing 40 minutes Wednesday night.
Another poor effort this evening and that makes it five games, or halfway to what has become an almost ridiculously accepted part of a Flyers season: a 10-game losing streak. Since the beginning of this decade, the Flyers have had three streaks of at least 10 games. In 2021-22, the Flyers went on a 10-game streak (Nov. 18, 2021 to Dec. 8, 2021). Then three weeks later they outdid themselves, going on a 13-game bender (Dec. 30, 2021 to Jan. 25, 2022). The following season? Another 10-game streak (Nov. 10, 2022 to Nov. 26, 2022). Last year they avoided it, but only barely, losing 11 out of 12 down the homestretch. So the pedigree for poor play is there, regardless of the new coaching staff and the additions of new players. Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Travis Sanheim, Cam York, and Noah Cates are just some of the Flyers who’ve experienced those streaks. And should know by now how the hell to stop them.
Obviously the sooner this streak ends, the better it will be for Philadelphia. But the longer this goes, the further they’ll drop in the standings, and the more teams they’ll have to jump over to get back into the wild card spot. Or a top three slot in the Metropolitan Division. To steal a Bob Dylan lyric, it’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.
Why this has the makings of another streak?
The Flyers are having their longest losing streak of the season. And while they did lose badly the last three games, they weren’t exactly playing against teams in a rut. The Lightning have won 11 games in a row. And Buffalo have won eight of their last 10 games. The Penguins are 6-3-1 in their last 10. And with the goaltending situation appearing to be quite in flux, nobody is certain who will be between the pipes on the second of a back-to-back. The one saving grace — assuming the Flyers can’t find their way to a victory against Sidney Crosby and company — could be Saturday against the Rangers. But after that there’s a three game road trip that sees them taking on Vegas (currently on a five-game winning streak), Utah (6-3-1 in their last 10 games), and then concluding it against the Avalanche, who have a whole four losses in regulation this year. If Philadelphia can’t manage a win in those games, that would put the streak at nine.
The schedule isn’t their friend right now. But the Flyers aren’t making it any easier on themselves. The power play has scored 10 goals on 80 chances since mid-November. That works out to 12.5 per cent, or basically the horrible efficiency they’ve had in past years. Meanwhile, the other side of the coin is gaining speed down a steep hill. The penalty killing has been just as terrible, going 13 for 22 since the start of 2026. That’s embarrassingly low, especially for a team that prided itself on a decent kill earlier this season. So with no special teams doing anything but hindering victories, the Flyers are going to have to fix at least one of these issues sooner than later. Otherwise it will be a freefall.
Of course, the situation with Vladar will be a huge factor in this current stretch and possibly the rest of the season. If he’s out until the Olympic break, Philadelphia will probably be doing outstanding to simply stay at .500 and have a puncher’s chance at the playoffs after Milano/Cortina. If it’s a few games, then that shouldn’t completely destroy the season. It won’t be pretty, but it shouldn’t be a turning point. If it’s the rest of the season, then Flyers general manager Danny Briere is going to have one of two options. One is to make a hockey trade which sees them get some kind of goaltender that can stop the puck more than Ersson. And by doing that try to keep Philadelphia in the hunt. Otherwise, a lengthy losing streak resets Briere’s idea of adding at the deadline, and Philadelphia possibly becomes sellers. No huge deals would be anticipated, but pending unrestricted free agents like Noah Juulsen, Rodrigo Abols, Nic Deslauriers, Carl Grundstrom could be in play to obtain more picks and possible prospects. Even a depth piece like Garnet Hathaway could also be moved at the deadline with another year left on his contract.
Perhaps the most damning aspect of the last three games is how the Flyers don’t quite look like the same team they did the first 40 games of the year. While the goaltending hasn’t been great, Philadelphia has been all out of sorts, whether it’s bitching about penalty calls to referees which have resulted in unsportsmanlike conduct penalties the last two games, or looking like five individuals and not a five-man unit. Yes, they outshot Buffalo. But Buffalo didn’t look as foolish on an odd-man rush as Trevor Zegras and Travis Konency did last night in the first period, not getting a shot on goal in the process. It’s hard enough beating tough competition in the National Hockey League. It’s impossible when you are helping them shovel dirt on you to begin with.
So what happens
It’s difficult to point to one or two games and state the season hinges on those specific games. However, Philadelphia would go a long, long way to put these current streak behind them with a victory against Pittsburgh after the disaster Wednesday night. A win in regulation would be icing on the cake, and possibly leading the Flyers into Saturday’s game against the Rangers with a little bit more moxie or confidence in themselves. A loss wouldn’t do anything but pour more gasoline on what is becoming a slightly bigger fire.
Something as simple as scoring the first goal, or even the first two goals, against a hated divisional rival in their own barn might be enough to weather the storm. The Flyers are capable of doing that, as they did against Edmonton just a few weeks ago. But if they continue to essentially feel sorry for themselves, and start taking idiotic penalties that they’re having a harder time killing, then fans could be looking at the fourth 10-game losing streak this decade. And one which might put the team’s rebuild back a step or two. If the Flyers don’t nip this streak in the bud, they have nobody to blame but themselves.
