The Flyers didn’t leave Ottawa with points, but they did leave with something else: a game they can actually point to as a foundation.
Philadelphia fell 2-1 to the Senators in Ottawa’s home opener on Thursday night, dropping to 0-3-2, but this was a different kind of loss than the ones that opened the season. For long stretches, the Flyers were the better team at 5-on-5. They survived four first-period penalties, took control in the second, and only got their forecheck going late in the third, when the window had already closed.
That’s not a moral victory, and nobody in the room is pretending it is. Still, after four games of rough hockey, the Flyers finally put together a performance they can build around.
“We didn’t get the result that we needed, but at least we got a good effort,” captain Sean Couturier said. “We can build on some good things that we did tonight at least. We got to keep grinding, finding ways to get wins here.”
The Flyers also did something they hadn’t done all season: outshoot an opponent. They finished with 29 shots on goal to Ottawa’s 26, but their only goal came on the power play, and they managed just seven shots in the third period.
“Thought we played a good game; we just didn’t find that extra opportunity that we needed, and they did,” Couturier said. “It’s unfortunate, but we can build on some good things here.”
Rick Tocchet had two full days to work with the team before the trip to Ottawa, and the break seemed to matter. After opening the season with four games in six nights, the Flyers finally had time to reset, and for most of Thursday night they looked more settled.
“We competed well. The passing was better,” Tocchet said. “So it is something to build on.”
The lineup changes also gave the team a different look. Couturier skated between Travis Konecny and Porter Martone, while Trevor Zegras moved back to the wing alongside Christian Dvorak and Owen Tippett. That combination had success last year, and with the Flyers still searching for traction, it was a necessary adjustment.
The early returns were promising. Even with some ice-time swings caused by penalties, all four trios stayed together the entire game, and each line finished with a positive shot attempt differential at 5-on-5.
Zegras, too, saw signs that the Flyers were getting back to their identity.
“I know we’re only five games in, and you can look at those five games 100 different ways, but the way we battled, the way we competed tonight, that’s more of who we are as the Philadelphia Flyers,” Zegras said. “We got a lot of hockey left, and I think if we bring that kind of effort on a daily basis, we’re going to be a much better hockey club.”
Still, one sequence late in the third stood out. The Flyers had nearly 30 seconds of 5-on-3 time just under eight minutes into the period, a chance that could have changed everything. Zegras tried to find David Jiricek for a one-timer, but the puck was poked out of the zone, and the chance evaporated.
“I think the 5-on-3 at the end is probably a spot where we need to get one, and I take responsibility for that, maybe not having us as ready as possible,” Zegras said. “It’s just those moments that win or lose you games. Tough one, for sure.”
Philadelphia’s lone goal came on the power play, with Zegras’ shot slipping through Linus Ullmark before Matvei Michkov jammed it home. That left the Flyers 1-for-15 on the man advantage, a number still sitting near the bottom of the league.
Even so, the performance in Ottawa looked more like the Flyers they want to be. It just came with the same familiar ending.
“There were a couple of things maybe early in the season that maybe we got away from that we were real good at last year. It’s definitely encouraging to see that,” Zegras said. “It’s just a tough way to end that one, for sure.”
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