The Flyers’ October has looked nothing like the team that surprised people last spring, and the numbers are already telling the story.
Through five games heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup at Boston, only Matvei Michkov had scored more than one goal. The shots battle has been lopsided, too: after five games, the Flyers had been outshot 184 to 89. Even before that Bruins game, they had allowed 158 shots while managing only 62 of their own through four contests, a minus-82 margin that ranks as the second-worst in NHL history since official shot tracking began in 1959-60.
The power play has only added to the frustration. Philadelphia went scoreless on its first 11 chances, then finally broke through in Thursday night’s 2-1 loss to Ottawa. That unit has lived near the bottom of the league for years, and right now there’s no obvious fix waiting to rescue it.
Coach Rick Tocchet has resisted blaming the abbreviated training camp, even as the schedule left little time for full-scale work. His point has been simple: everybody dealt with the same short runway.
For the Flyers, the bigger issue is buried in plain sight. They are not generating enough offense, and too much of what they do create comes from the outside.
Tocchet wants his forwards to attack closer to the net, where goals are actually made. Too often, they’re settling for perimeter looks that opposing goaltenders are happy to face.
That lack of pressure also shows up in the broader flow of the game. Philadelphia has spent too much time pinned in its own zone, and when the puck finally turns over, the breakouts have not been clean.
The lone Flyers goal in Monday night’s 4-1 loss to Tampa was a good example of the kind of play they need more often. Tyson Foerster came out of the circle while Porter Martone worked the crease, and Foerster’s shot got through Andrei Vasilevskiy because Martone and his linemates created enough traffic to make life miserable in front.
The power play was supposed to get a lift from defenseman David Jiricek and his heavy shot from the point, but that alone is not enough. Blasts from the blue line still need bodies in front, screens, deflections, and rebound chances to really matter.
And when opponents know a power play is struggling - Philadelphia was 29th out of 32 - they can push the envelope a little more at five-on-five.
Goaltending has not been the problem. Dan Vladar’s season-opening outing against Pittsburgh was well below his standard, but the rest of the group’s early work has been respectable. Joseph Woll, in particular, has been strong in all three of his appearances.
Tocchet is still juggling his line combinations every night, and the task got a little trickier with Alex Bump’s demotion to Lehigh Valley and the addition of free agent Michael Bunting. He is still trying to find a group that can actually connect.
None of this should come as a total shock. The Flyers went 1-3 in the preseason, and injuries to Vladar and Denver Barkey were already warning signs that the start could be rocky.
After the final exhibition game, Tocchet put it bluntly: “Maybe we’re not as good as we think we are.”
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 🡒]