After an entertaining 4–3 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers came out flat against a struggling New York Rangers squad and never recovered, losing 6–2.
The Basics
First period: 1:04- Noah Laba (Matthew Robertson, Tye Kartye), 13:06- Mika Zibanejad (Alexis Lafreniere, Vladislav Gavrikov), 19:23- Alexis Lafreniere (Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck) (PPG)
Second period: 3:54-Matvei Michkov (Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras)(PPG), 6:40- Gabe Perreault (Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fox) (PPG), 18:40- Mika Zibanejad (Gabe Perreault, Vincent Trocheck) (PPG) 19:00- Vladislav Gavrikov (Noah Laba, Conor Sheary)
Third period: 15:28- Sean Couturier (Nikita Grebenkin, Luke Glendening)
SOG: 34 (PHI) – 27 (NYR)
Takeaways
Giving up the first goal – yet again
If you tuned into this match-up a minute late, you probably noticed the Flyers were already down 1-0 a minute into the game. The Flyers have allowed the first goal for the 43rd time in 63 games – definitely not ideal. To be fair, they have won 17 of those 43 games, so this was not an uncomfortable spot for the team to be in. But they do seem to struggle in the first 10 minutes to start a game, and it’s hurt them. At some point, if they’re going to be a serious playoff contender, they’re going to have to get that cleaned up.
Even in Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers struggled to generate anything in the first 3 minutes before they inevitably gave up the first goal. It’s become a major talking point during the first period of many games, and it seems to be something the Flyers have struggled to fix over their 63 games under head coach Rick Tocchet.
Penalty/Penalty Kill trouble
The Flyers’ penalty kill struggles from the month of January reared their ugly head in this one, as they gave up three power play goals on four power play opportunities. Dan Vladar struggled to gather rebounds, and the defense in front of him struggled to stop the Rangers 12th ranked power play.
Troch ➡️ Mika ➡️ Laf ➡️ RANGERS GOAL 🚨 pic.twitter.com/Gc5GEggNgo
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 9, 2026
The Flyers’ penalty kill was one of the worst in the league during their slide in January, but it has returned to league average since returning from the Olympic break. Tonight, they looked like the penalty kill from January.
With that in mind, the Flyers need to be better about taking unnecessary penalties. Alex Bump, Travis Konecny, and Cam York all took unnecessary penalties that led to a Rangers power play goal. These are disciplinary issues that the Flyers are going to need to clean up if they’re going to make a push for the playoffs next season.
Overworking Vladar?
Dan Vladar had possibly one of his worst games as a Flyer tonight, allowing 6 goals on 24 shots. The 28-year-old goalie has been the MVP of this Flyers season so far, and after his performance tonight, I think it’s fair to question whether or not the Flyers have run him into the ground a bit – the same way they did with Sam Ersson in the 2023-24 season.
Since returning from the Olympic break, Dan Vladar has gotten the start in six of the seven games and has allowed less than three goals in all five contests prior to tonight. It’s fair to question if the fatigue of the season has started to wear on him. From starting in 40 of the Flyers’ 63 games, to traveling and playing in the Olympics, the stress and workload could have started wearing on him.
Matvei Michkov on the right wing
Even in the midst of this dumpster fire of a game, where nobody played particularly well, Matvei Michkov showed signs of being back to his 2024-25 season form in this game. Michkov scored on the power play from down low for his 16th goal of the season.
MATVEI MICHKOV STAYS WITH IT AND BANGS IT HOME!! INSANE HANDS. 3-1…#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/k2NfurFPEF
— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) March 10, 2026
This is Michkov’s second point since being moved back to the right wing in the wake of the Bobby Brink trade. He’s playing a lot more confidently on the right, and you can tell he feels a lot more comfortable as well.
On Sunday, head coach Rick Tocchet was asked about him moving Michkov back to the right wing, and he responded, “Well, Bobby leaving, and then Mich wants to try it. We’ll see. I’ve got my thoughts on that, but we’ll see how it goes.” That quote doesn’t seem to imply that the head coach has a ton of confidence in the young 21-year-old winger playing the right side.
However, Michkov has made the most of his opportunities on the right side, and he’s making a case that he should stick there for the foreseeable future.
Sean Couturier scored a goal on a goalie
On brightspot is, Flyers captain Sean Couturier scored a goal on a goalie for the first time since December 7th! There weren’t many positives after a game like this, but hopefully, Couturier got the monkey off his back and can continue moving forward with his season.
Captain Coots. 🫡#NYRvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/j9pyBQAjJb
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 10, 2026
Sean Couturier has been a popular topic on social media, but the Flyers captain is here for the foreseeable future, so his success is going to be imperative for the team moving forward. His defensive game is still solid, but he’s going to need to contribute offensively if this team is going to make a playoff run over the next few years.
