The Philadelphia Flyers have opened the 2026-27 season in a way no franchise wants attached to its name: eight straight losses.
That latest setback came Tuesday, Oct. 13, when Philadelphia fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Seattle Kraken. The defeat left the Flyers at 0-5-3 through eight games, which is now the worst season-opening stretch in franchise history, according to Novig on X. Philadelphia is one of just two NHL teams still without a win this season, along with the Los Angeles Kings at 0-3-2.
The numbers behind the skid are just as rough. The Flyers own the league’s worst goal differential at minus-21, with only 10 goals scored and 31 allowed. Calgary sits second-worst at minus-17 through six games, a gap that underscores how deep Philadelphia’s early-season problems have been.
It is not just the losing that has been the issue. The Flyers have had trouble creating enough offense and have also been too easy to score against, leaving them with a string of close games that have not turned into anything in the standings. The shootout loss to Seattle only sharpened the frustration, since Philadelphia was close to snapping the streak before coming up short again.
This start has now pushed the Flyers past every previous low point to begin a season. Their prior worst opening run came in 2008-09, when they lost their first six games. They also started 2014-15 with four straight defeats and dropped their first three games in both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
That makes this collapse all the more surprising for a club that finished last season with 98 points, good for third in the Metropolitan Division. Philadelphia then advanced to the second round of the playoffs before being swept by the Carolina Hurricanes, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
There is still time for the Flyers to dig out of it, but the urgency is obvious. Ending the streak and tightening up defensively will be the first order of business if they want to get anywhere close to last season’s standard.
Philadelphia’s next chance comes Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, when it visits the Red Wings, who are 1-3-2, in search of that first win.
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Flyers Hit A Franchise Low And The Frustration Keeps Growing
The early-season slide for the Flyers kept getting heavier in Seattle, where they came away with a 3-2 shootout loss that pushed their winless start to a franchise-record eight games. Philadelphia got another solid effort in net from Dan Vladar, who stopped 29 shots, but it was not enough to overcome a Kraken team that found ways to hang around and then finish.
Bobby McMann was central to the outcome for Seattle, with his goal in regulation helping force extra time and his shootout winner sealing it in the fifth round. Philipp Grubauer turned aside 24 shots for the Kraken, and the latest missed opportunity leaves the Flyers still searching for something to turn the mood after a stretch that has already become part of team history. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Blue Line Still Has A Problem As Injuries Keep Lingering
The Flyers blue line is still carrying a heavy injury load as they head into their meeting with the Detroit Red Wings, with the club again preparing to be without key defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Cameron York. Philadelphia has already spent plenty of time juggling its back end, and the latest availability report suggests the group is still far from full strength as it tries to steady itself on a night-to-night basis.
Ristolainens situation is particularly notable because he had recently returned to practice after missing the last five games with a hand injury, but there is still no indication he is ready to suit up. York remains in the same uncertain lane, leaving the Flyers with more questions than answers on defense while injuries continue to ripple around the league, including Buffalos absence of Rasmus Dahlin and other notable sidelined players. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Losses Are Raising A Trade Question Fans Wont Ignore
A rough start to the season has put the Flyers in an uncomfortable early spot, and it has already started to change the way the rest of the league looks at them. With Philadelphia struggling out of the gate, general manager Danny Briere is hearing from other teams more often than he probably expected this early, as rival front offices take a closer look at whether the Flyers might be willing to move help for the present in exchange for future value.
For a club trying to build around young talent, the line between available pieces and untouchable ones matters. The Flyers are believed to have a core of prospects and young players they are not eager to discuss, but that only makes the rest of the roster more interesting to the teams calling around. Among the names that naturally come up are veterans on the blue line, the kind of players contenders tend to want when the calendar turns and needs become more obvious. [Read more 🡒]