The Philadelphia Flyers are still searching for that first win, and Saturday in Boston offered the same frustrating script with a different ending on the scoreboard. A sluggish start, too many giveaways, very little sustained pressure, and a Bruins team that knew exactly how to punish mistakes added up to a 5-1 loss at TD Garden.
Boston got goals from Pavel Zacha, Mason Lohrei, Murat Khusnutdinov, Casey Mittelstadt, and Fraser Minten. Porter Martone scored the lone Flyers goal.
The night had a makeshift feel from the jump for Philadelphia, with head coach Rick Tocchet forced to shuffle the lines again because of Travis Konecny’s absence due to injury. That uncertainty showed early. The Flyers had trouble with simple passes, couldn’t consistently exit danger, and spent long stretches chasing the puck instead of doing anything with it.
Even their first power play didn’t change the tone. Pavel Zacha was sent off for tripping David Jiricek, but Philadelphia couldn’t keep possession long enough to make the Bruins sweat.
Boston killed it quickly, then turned around and struck first. Zacha buried a shot that slipped behind Dan Vladar and crossed the line before the Flyers goalie could sweep it away, making it 1-0.
From there, the Bruins took command. Philadelphia’s energy faded, Boston stayed organized, and the Flyers finished the opening period with only three shots while the Bruins led 12-3.
The second period brought more of the same. The Flyers spent much of it turning pucks over and failing to build anything in the offensive zone.
Through the first eight minutes, they didn’t register a shot. A Noel Acciari holding call gave them a brief scare, but the Bruins came away empty on that chance too.
Porter Martone finally got Philadelphia’s first shot of the period with just under 10 minutes left, but Jeremy Swayman handled it. Not long after, Boston added to the lead when Mason Lohrei finished a transition chance, with assists from JJ Peterka and Fraser Minten, to make it 2-0.
Philadelphia did get one more power play late in the period after Connor Clifton was called for delay of game, but Tyson Foerster was whistled for a high stick just 17 seconds later, ending that opportunity before it had a chance to breathe. By intermission, the Bruins were ahead 2-0 and held a 22-8 edge in shots.
Boston pushed the margin wider early in the third when Murat Khusnutdinov scored his first of the season, wiring a wrist shot past Vladar with help from Minten and Will Borgen. That made it 3-0 and left the Flyers with a steep climb.
They finally showed a little spark on their next power play. After Borgen went off for tripping, Martone snapped home his first goal of the season from a tough angle, beating Swayman to the far high corner. David Jiricek and Denver Barkey picked up the assists, and suddenly it was 3-1 with a little more than 13 minutes left.
Any hope of a real push didn’t last. Casey Mittelstadt answered to push Boston back out to a three-goal cushion, with Elias Lindholm and James Hagens on the assists. Fraser Minten then capped his strong night with another goal to make it 5-1 and seal it.
The Flyers now head right back to work with a quick turnaround, hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday at 7:00 PM ET at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
In Other News...
Flyers Already Face A Franchise-Level Problem After Another Lopsided Loss
The early-season alarm bells keep getting louder for the Flyers, who were beaten 5-1 by the Bruins and are now off to a six-game losing streak to open the year. It is only the second time in franchise history they have started this poorly, and the latest loss looked familiar in all the wrong ways, with Boston controlling play for long stretches and Philadelphia chasing the game again.
The Flyers were without Travis Konecny, Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen, a blow to a lineup already trying to find traction. The absences have only added to the pressure on a group that has been outshot badly through six games and is struggling to generate much offense at all, leaving an increasingly uncomfortable question hanging over a start that has already gone from disappointing to historic. [Read more 🡒]
David Jiricek Just Gave The Flyers A Real Reason To Believe
David Jieks latest turn against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 8 offered the kind of all-around shift the Flyers have been waiting to see more often. He played about 18 minutes, showed up in the shot-creation department and looked comfortable enough to stay involved in key situations at both ends, a noticeable step forward from some of his earlier outings.
Jiek also found his way onto the top power-play unit, where he was part of a sequence that helped set up one of Matvei Michkovs goals. He still finished without a point, but for a Flyers team trying to sort out how much trust to place in him, the performance mattered because it suggested he can do more than just survive on the ice. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Still Searching For First Win As Tocchet Tests New Look In Boston
The Flyers head into TD Garden trying to end the road trip on a positive note and, more important, to get their first win of the season. Philadelphia has spent the week sorting through lineup decisions and special teams looks ahead of a matchup with a Boston club that arrives with a recent victory, and the game offers another chance for Rick Tocchet to keep evaluating how the group fits together in a new setting.
There is still a sense that certain combinations are starting to take hold, even as the results have not followed yet. The projected lineup shows the coaching staff leaning on some familiar pairings and trying to stabilize both ends of the ice, with the next question being whether those choices can finally translate into something tangible in a difficult building against an opponent that already has its footing. [Read more 🡒]