The Flyers’ road trip has already turned into a familiar kind of mess.
It started Thursday with a rough loss to the Rangers, another one that landed in the “inexcusable” bucket and somehow keeps finding the Flyers anyway. Then came Calgary, where things got even uglier in a different way: the Flyers blew three leads against the Flames and lost in overtime.
That game brought the discipline issue into sharper focus. The Flyers are making too many mistakes that hand opponents extra chances, and it’s becoming a real problem.
There was at least one bright spot in the Calgary loss. Jamie Drysdale looked really good, even as the result went sideways.
The fallout from that game wasn’t limited to the scoreboard, either. The Flyers took another tough loss, and the drama around Matvei Michkov continued to build. Still, Michkov appears ready to move past it and get things rolling in the right direction again for everyone.
Ahead of the Calgary game, the Flyers shuffled their lines in an effort to find some chemistry, and that move did give them a better look. For stretches, they outplayed the Flames and showed some real flash.
They also managed to get a point. But once again, the game slipped away at the end.
Denver Barkey added a goal in the matchup, giving his resume a little more production and continuing to build his case as a budding analytics darling.
Even with those moments, there’s still plenty more the Flyers need from up and down the lineup.
And with the season moving along, the trade conversation is starting to come into view. One name to watch is Nick Seeler, with the idea of moving him sooner rather than later now on the radar. At the same time, the Flyers still need more help down the middle, so the center market remains a clear area of interest.
In Other News...
Flyers Still Have One Problem Threatening This Early-Season Slide
Through the first 19 games of the 2026-27 season, the Flyers have been trying to find any kind of rhythm at both ends of the ice. The offense has been too inconsistent, the defensive group has been stretched thin, and a 4-10-5 start has left little margin for error in a Metropolitan Division that rarely gives teams much breathing room. Even with Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett back in the lineup after injury absences, Philadelphia still has not found the steadier version of itself coach Rick Tocchet needs.
One lingering issue is the blue line, where the Flyers have had to keep adjusting their mix while waiting for more stability. Rasmus Ristolainen is still on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, and his absence has only added to the challenge of building depth on defense. The Flyers are working to correct the slide as the schedule moves on, but until that side of the roster settles in, the pressure on the rest of the group will keep growing. [Read more 🡒]
Cutter Gauthier Is Making The Ducks Rebuild Look Way Ahead Of Schedule
Cutter Gauthier keeps turning Anaheims rebuild into something much more immediate. He scored another hat trick in the Ducks win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, helping stretch the clubs winning streak to five games and further validating the kind of long-term bet Anaheim made when it committed major money to its young core. Leo Carlsson is also off to a strong start, and together the two have given the Ducks a much faster timeline than many expected.
Gauthiers production has been the loudest part of it, with the winger sitting at the top of the league scoring race and piling up milestones at a pace that is starting to feel historic. For Flyers fans still watching the other side of that trade, it is hard not to notice how quickly Anaheim is building around him, and how much more dangerous the Ducks look when their young stars are driving results instead of just projecting them. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Grind Out The Kind Of Win They Desperately Needed
The Flyers left Calgary with another frustrating result after a game that had the feel of one they could have taken. Philadelphia traded momentum with the Flames all night at Scotiabank Saddledome, with both sides finding ways to answer and the goaltenders staying busy. Dan Vladar stopped 22 shots for the Flyers, while Calgarys Devin Cooley turned aside 32 as the home team tried to steady a season that had been searching for a spark.
For Philadelphia, the bigger concern is how often these tight games have slipped away. The Flyers are now 4-10-5, and a contest that featured multiple lead changes ended with Calgary improving to 8-9-1 in the kind of finish that can linger on a long road trip. The Flyers had enough chances to make this one theirs, but instead they were left chasing the next opportunity and wondering how many more of these close calls they can afford. [Read more 🡒]