After spiraling in two consecutive games against the Bolts, the Flyers continued to throw away their playoff chances in Buffalo last night. As Jamie Drysdale made his return, the Flyers continued to play physically with no power play to defend it, give up too many chances, and attempt to combat key injuries.

Despite some respectable goals from Buffalo in the first, the Flyers started by showing great improvement from their previous two appearances. One thing that did not improve, however, was their powerplay showing. Going into the night, the Flyers had recently been 2-for-23 on the powerplay, and they kicked things off early by wasting a powerplay after Sabres’ goalie Luukkonen hooked Christian Dvorak. After they failed to generate any chances in their first powerplay, their overall time and space distribution really favored Philadelphia throughout the first half of the period, a big change from both faceoffs with the Bolts. Yet the tone shifted when Cam York went off for cross-checking at 9:16, giving Rasmus Dahlin a perfect opportunity from the slot, giving the Sabres a 1-0 lead. After a takeaway from Zegras by Josh Doan, Mattias Samuelsson was set up by Noah Ostlund to give the Sabres an unanswered 2-0 lead in the first. Konecny and Zegras had a 2-on-0 chance late in the period, yet never got on the same page and were unable to finish.

Dan Vladar did not return for the final two periods after exiting the game with an injury. He made three saves on five shots in the first period. 

After an early penalty kill for the Flyers following a hooking call against Trevor Zegras, Buffalo grew the lead 3-0. Jack Quinn was able to get one by Sam Ersson while the Flyers’ defenders seemingly watched the play develop. This seemed to be a wake-up call for the Flyers, who only allowed Buffalo to generate 9 shots through the rest of the game. The upward motion continued as the Flyers dominated possession, with Cates securing a turnover and feeding it to Tippett for Tippett’s 15th goal of the season and 6th in the last 12 games. Buffalo responded just minutes later after Konecny went off for tripping, advancing Buffalo to a 4-1 lead. The Flyers finished the period by warding off serious chances for Buffalo, yet also failing to generate chances for themselves. 

After a day of media drama surrounding Matvei Michkov, he was moved up to play alongside Dvorak and Konecny, replacing Trevor Zegras, who later made use of one of the Flyers’ 5 powerplays by deflecting Konecny’s shot to get the Flyers within a 2-goal reach. Yet after this, neither teams really generated any chances throughout the third. The Flyers could have pulled it together for a fighting chance, yet they were offensively lacking throughout the whole game. Buffalo was able to score shorthanded late in the period on an empty netter as the Flyers pulled Ersson for the final 3 minutes of play.

The Flyers simply didn’t make the chances and they haven’t been making the chances, something that needs to change throughout these injuries if they want to find their way back into a playoff spot, as they now sit 5th in the wildcard. They face the #4 spot in the wildcard tonight on the road in Pittsburgh as Bobby Brink moves to IR and Aleksei Kolosov gets his second start of the year and first since November 2nd. Kolosov has a .908 SV% in 19 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, looking to keep similar momentum for tonight’s game against the Penguins.

After earning at least one point in 3 consecutive games for the Flyers, they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning twice in consecutive meetings, 7-2 and 5-1. Let’s look into what went wrong, from who was missing and what was missing.

Saturday: 7-2 Loss

The Flyers were without Bobby Brink and Travis Konecny did not play after Brink’s injury in Tuesday’s game against Anaheim and Konecny’s 2nd-period exit on Thursday against Toronto. Konecny looks to be on the mend, yet he left yesterday’s practice after taking a puck to the knee. He was on the ice for an optional morning skate today and will be a game-time decision. Bobby Brink was also on the ice this morning, but will sit out for a third consecutive game as he looks to return at full capacity later this week. Despite not being eligible to come off injured reserve until this Wednesday, Drysdale was also present at morning skate. It is likely that he and Brink will return by Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh on the road. 

After Vladar started in net the last 3 games, Sam Ersson got the start against the Lightning. The game was a career-worst performance for him in games he played the full 60 minutes, making 16 saves on 23 shots and ending with a .696 SV%. 

The Bolts kicked things off early with Nikita Kucherov receiving a cross-net pass from Brayden Point, just missing Ersson’s glove at 1:49. The goal came from a bad turnover from the Flyers coupled with a bad moment of misplacement from Cam York to leave Ersson out to dry, despite it being a horribly missed blocked shot from the goalie. 

           Just minutes later, Garnet Hathaway tipped the puck out of the air and into the net for his first goal of the season. This was just a brief moment of positivity, though, as Nikita Kucherov was able to regain the lead for the Bolts and made Sam Ersson 0-2 on saves early on. Hathaway was able to keep up his own momentum and drop the gloves against Declan Carlile, winning the fight and earning himself 2 thirds of a Gordie Howe hat trick. The rest of the period was uneventful, with the Bolts successfully killing off Philadelphia’s first powerplay and the Flyers killing one for the Bolts sending them into the second period. 

The Flyers started things off in the second with frequent line changes, seemingly changing shift-by-shift. The ripple effect of losing some key guys was starting to show, yet Michkov and Grebenkin were able to continue their individual upward momentum and make some serious chances during their first shifts of the period. This kicked things off for the Flyers in what could have been a comeback, as they truly seemed to be the dominant team for quite a chunk of the second period. Hathaway had a serious shot for his second goal of the night at 11:01, yet it went wide to maintain the 2-1 lead for Tampa Bay. 

In a messy, 3-shot sequence for Tampa Bay, Nick Paul was able to secure a rebound in the back of the net for a 3-1 lead for Tampa. 

Despite a horrifyingly poor performance in the first period, it didn’t hold a candle to the lack of effort in the 3rd. Goncalves and Hagel earned two unanswered goals for Tampa, who held a brief 5-1 lead. Goncalves then went off for high-sticking, where Owen Tippett was able to secure one in the back of the net to make the Flyers 1-for-2 on powerplays for the evening. Unfortunately, Yanni Gourde and Goncalves again were able to score two minutes apart to give Tampa their final 2 nails on the coffin for the 7-2 win. 

Not only was there below-average goal tending against a talented team, but Philadelphia played sloppily at some key points. They came out giving up far too much possession, and ended the night the same. Some of the early minutes could be chalked up to new pairings given our injuries, yet they were able to pull things together for the second when Tampa only had a 3-1 lead. Had they played consistently, they could’ve caught up and at least sent things to overtime. Instead, they fell apart in the third to give Tampa 4 goals on 8 shots. Although Tampa Bay is a great team, the Flyers need to be able to at least have a fighting shot if they want to continue to be a serious playoff contender. 

Monday: 5-1 Loss

There isn’t much different to say about this one. Konecny was able to return, yet that wasn’t enough stability for Philadelphia. 

Shockingly, besides an early goal for Tampa Bay at only 01:10, the Flyers started out much stronger than Saturday’s appearance. Late in the first, both Couturier and Zegras had serious chances, yet it wasn’t enough to get past Jonas Johansson. Despite Tampa Bay securing the lead, the Flyers played a physical first period and greatly improved their possession of the puck, winning 12 faceoffs compared to Tampa’s 4. 

Although the Flyers continued to dominate the faceoffs 11-2 in the second, a strong challenge for them on Saturday, they continued to give up too many turnovers and played defenseless against Tampa’s takeaways. Jake Guentzel was able to deflect a shot into Philadelphia’s goal at only 33 seconds in. Just a few minutes later, Rodrigo Abols went off for tripping, giving Brayden Point the setup for a powerplay goal to give the Lightning a 3-0 lead. Point did need help off the ice after Sanheim landed on his leg, just a month before he is expected to play in the Olympics. 

After a scrum between Sanheim and Bjorkstrand caused for two minutes of 4-on-4, Dvorak took an odd-man breakaway for an unassisted wrist shot to give the Flyers their lone goal of the night. 

On a delayed penalty, the Flyers generated many good chances, getting the crowd pumped as they went into a powerplay. In true Flyers fashion, they failed to generate any shots on net and Tampa Bay easily killed the powerplay.

After a series of penalties for both teams, a call against Nick Seeler for interference gave Brandon Hagel the perfect opportunity from the left circle, advancing Tampa’s lead to 4-1.

The physicality kept up in the third, as both Abols and Grebenkin instigated two parallel fights, with Grebenkin’s being secondary to Abols. Grebenkin and his opponent, Nick Paul, received game misconducts. These were just some of Philadelphia’s 46 penalty minutes from the night. Both Hathaway and Konecny served minor penalties throughout the third.

Vladar was pulled with plenty of time left in the third with the hope Philadelphia could regain some traction and earn a quick few goals, yet it only resulted in a goal by Nikita Kucherov to give Tampa the 5-1 win.

While there were certainly some improvements from Saturday’s game, the Flyers were still unable to close on nearly any of their chances, as they simply failed to generate many legitimate opportunities. More than anything, their powerplay suffered nearly worse than ever, going 0-2 and barely generating any chances even with the man advantage. They truly were outplayed by Tampa Bay, something they need to be able to at least fight against if they’re looking towards a playoff run. 

The Flyers are back on the road tonight as they face the Buffalo Sabres (24-16-4) at 7:30. The Flyers will have to generate more chances for themselves, which could be a struggle hitting the road for back-to-back games in separate cities, yet they’ll have to adjust to it to continue being playoff contenders. Vladar will likely get another start as Jamie Drysdale looks to return. There hasn’t been much talk about Bobby Brink, but I would expect to see him back for tonight or tomorrow night’s showing against Pittsburgh.

After a roaring evening at the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Tuesday night’s 5-2 win, the Flyers came out slow and sloppy in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Things started slowly for both teams. Philadelphia wasn’t generating chances to start the first, something I had hoped to see following the momentum of the two prior 5-2 wins. After some painful turnovers from Philadelphia, Toronto had some should’ve been goals as Philadelphia’s defense came out slow, yet gave up any serious chances on some bad shots.

Early in the period, Cam York took a puck to the face and finished the shift before heading down the tunnel. He returned to play shortly after.

Travis Konecny earned his 14th goal of the year for the Flyers not even a minute into the second period, with Dvorak finding TK in the slot for the leading goal. Beyond this, there was little excitement in the second period. The Flyers killed off two penalties, one against Emil Andrae for holding and another against Konecny for slashing. Late in the period, the Flyers seemed to come together more for some respectable hockey, both by our skaters and with some solid saves from Dan Vladar. They were able to keep up with the faceoffs after only winning 3 of 15 in the first period. 

After an upper body injury late in the second period,Travis Konecny did not return for the third period after scoring the lone goal in the second period. The Flyers are now without Konecny, Brink, and Drysdale for upper body injuries. There have been no further comments on the status of any of them. 

The first half of the third period was uneventful for both teams. The Flyers did earn a 5-on-3 after Matthew Knies was sent to the box for slashing against Denver Barkey and Troy Stecher for tripping Owen Tippett. During the 52 seconds of a 2 man advantage, Zegras had a shot after a messy moment in front of the net, of which he was certain went in given his reaction below.

Alas, the goalie was blocking the cameras from all angles, and the goal was not awarded. Rather, Scott Laughton scored against his former team for a shorthanded goal to tie the game and send it to overtime. Both teams had sufficient chances early on, including a breakaway from Zegras. Yet neither were able to send one to the net until Easton Cowan’s wrist shot for the Leafs at 2:48.

With the overtime loss, the Flyers have now earned 5 points in their last 3 games and sit at #3 in the Metropolitan division. They continue their homestand, likely still absent of Brink, Drysdale, and potentially Konecny, on Saturday night at 7:00pm against the Tampa Bay Lighting. Tampa Bay comes in 8-2 in their last 10 games, compared to Philadelphia’s 5-3-2 record.

The Flyers welcomed former 5th overall draft pick Cutter Gauthier and the Anaheim Ducks to Philadelphia in the first home game of 2026. Between Gauthier’s abrupt exit from Philadelphia and Zegras’ impending career-high season, these two teams in orange are very quickly becoming a heated rivalry. 

The Ducks enraged Flyers fans early, setting the tone for a loud barn and pushing the Flyers’ to a physical, gritty game. Just 2:32 into the game, Jansen Harkins had a dirty collision with Bobby Brink, who was pulled from the rest of the game with worries of a concussion. His linemate, Noah Cates, stepped in and fought Harkins, earning a 10-minute instigating misconduct. Despite the large loss early on and Gauthier opening scoring, Philadelphia, both the fans and the team, kept the energy up and plowed through the early adversity. 

Fans booed Gauthier to no end while former Duck, Trevor Zegras, trucked past the early lead for Anaheim. Midway through the first, Dvorak fed the puck to Zegras, who gave it a one-timer from the deep left side of the net to tie the game. With nearly the same play and a feed from Cam York, Zegras earned the Flyers their first lead of the night just minutes later. While 2 goals early on could have been enough to stick it to the Ducks, it was Zegras’ phone call celebration and explanation after the first goal that really seemed to stir the pot. After recording 2 goals and earning first star honors, Zegras explained to Scott Hartnell after the game that his brief enactment of a phone call and abrupt hanging up was about how long his phone call with his former team was upon his trade. The legendary post-game interview not only cemented Zegras as a 110% Philly guy, but very likely sealed the deal on a new rivalry of orange. 

Cam York and Noah Cates also earned two points on the evening, as York kicked off scoring in the second period with an assist from Cates. A long-range snapshot from behind the faceoff zone gave the Flyers a 2-goal lead barely a minute into the second period. Shortly after, Ross Johnston had a dirty hit with an elbow against the blindsided Jamie Drysdale. After laying face down on the ice for some time and a stretcher being brought out, Drysdale was able to skate off the ice. Johnston earned a misconduct and Drysdale did not return to play against his former team.

Noah Cates earned his second point of the night at 14:40 in the second period, earning the sole assist on Sanheim’s rip of a slapshot to give the Flyers a 3-goal lead.

Despite Anaheim earning a powerplay goal early in the second, Nikita Grebenkin regained the 3-goal lead for Philadelphia with a late empty net goal. 

This was an overall great night of Philadelphia hockey. The Flyers played physical, the arena was sold out and loud, and the Flyers came back with a big win for the second game in a row. 

The Flyers continue this homestand tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is likely that Michkov will draw back into the lineup after missing Tuesday’s game with a minor foot injury, while Drysdale and Brink will come out on concussion protocol and miss tonight’s 7:00pm puck drop.

Closing out their first west coast roadtrip, the Flyers traveled to Edmonton to face the Oilers in an exciting 5-2 win, seemingly making a swift recovery from New Year’s Eve’s 5-1 loss against the Flames. As Dan Vladar remarked in his post-game comments, Philadelphia simply “outgrinded” Edmonton, playing strong defense and generating vital chances for themselves. 

Things kicked off in the first with an exciting milestone for our team’s future, as Denver Barkey scored his first NHL goal at 7:16. Despite his small size, Barkey holds his own and maintains possession of the puck exceptionally well, as seen in his 2-point NHL debut on December 20th. Sanheim went on to earn his first of 2 points of the afternoon and grow the Flyers’ lead to 2-0, as he took a rebound and sent it to the back of the net unassisted. Sanheim has had a potentially career-best season, already earning 19 points compared to 30 in the 2024-2025 season. He was recently honored with a spot on Team Canada’s Olympic roster. 

Matvei Michkov continues to pick up speed on his sophomore season, earning his 5th assist in his last 7 games on Bobby Brink’s goal, deflected off his skate from Cam York’s initial shot. Connor McDavid closed the Flyers’ lead to 3-1 with a breakaway slapshot heading into the 2nd period. 

After an offensively productive first period, the Flyers’ defense played a vital role in maintaining the advantage against a team of some of the league’s top scorers. Edmonton was only able to get 5 shots in the period, yet were able to close on a powerplay goal. 

Despite only having a 1-goal lead midway through the second, Philadelphia regained their offensive momentum in the third, even though it came from a defenseman. Nick Seeler earned his first goal of the year and first point of the period with a wrist shot from behind the faceoff circle to regain the Flyers’ 2-goal lead. Owen Tippett earned an empty net goal late in the third to solidify the Flyers’ 5-2 win, with Nick Seeler earning his second point of the night with an assist. 

Dan Vladar earned first star of the night honors with 23 saves on 25 shots, bringing his season average to a .910 SV%. Despite both Nick Seeler and Travis Sanheim earning 2 points on the night, Denver Barkey’s first goal earned him 3rd star honors, following Connor McDavid’s 2 points earning him second star honors. 

This game was the grit and energy, both offensively and defensively, that was completely lacking against Calgary. Despite facing some of the best played in the league, the Flyers played consistently both ways and excelled. It’s become obvious that the Flyers are a playoff team, and a competitive one at that with performances like this.

The Flyers played their first back-to-back west coast road trip of the year, facing the Canucks again on Tuesday night and the Calgary Flames on New Year’s Eve. A roaring 6-3 victory to sweep the series against the Canucks was stomped by a 5-1 loss to the Flames the next day.

Tuesday vs. Canucks

A much more respectable performance from the Canucks compared to the previous week’s 5-2 win for the Flyers still wasn’t enough to stop the Flyers from sweeping the series. Despite a slow first period as the Flyers are accustomed to, they were able to stake their claim in the second and keep momentum going for a 6-3 win.

Despite an early first period goal for the Canucks to give them their only lead of the night, their momentum slowed early. All Vancouver’s 10 shots on goal in the first were recorded in the first 12 minutes of play, while Noah Cates earned his 10th goal of the season on only the Flyers’ 2nd shot of the night. After receiving a pass from Michkov and gliding into the circle to send a wrist shot into the net, the game was tied 1-1 at 12:02 in the first.

The energy of the late first period propelled the Flyers forward in the second period as the Flyers made excess chances for themselves and prevented the Canucks from doing the same. The Flyers recorded 19 shots on goal, closing on 2 of them throughout the period while the Canucks were unsuccessful on all 9 shots. Carl Grundstrum continued to shine, earning his 7th goal in 12 games this season to start the second. Grundstrum took the puck in a wrist shot across the net for a top corner goal to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. After acquiring Grundstrum in the trade sending Ryan Ellis to San Jose, the Flyers’ bottom 2 lines have been making some big impacts the past few weeks, particularly Grundstrum and his linemates Grebenkin and Abols. This is shaping out to be another successful deal from Danny Briere. 

While former Anaheim teammates Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras earned assist points, Travis Konecny earned his 12th goal of the season as he dove for Drysdale’s rebound. Not the prettiest, but certainly a smart play that worked out well for the Flyers, giving them a 3-1 lead heading into the third period. 

Although Vancouver significantly outshot Philadelphia in the final period, 16-9, Dan Vladar stayed solid after facing only 9 shots in the second period. Despite the Flyers slowing down for the final 20 minutes of play, they were able to record 3 goals in the period to combat Vancouver’s 2. Drew O’Connor got Vancouver in a 1-goal reach of the Flyers as he secured a loose puck across the net, throwing Vladar off to make it a 3-2 game just over a minute into the first. Their efforts were trumped again when Bobby Brink earned his second point of the night (1G, 1A) and his 10th goal of the season as he crashed the net and closed the deal on Michkov’s shot. Michkov’s second assist of the night earned him second star of the night honors. 

After a slow back-and-forth for some time throughout the third, Carl Grundstrum was sent to the box for holding, while Owen Tippett took the short-handed opportunity to make the game 5-2 as Vancouver pulled their goalie. Some commotion in front of the net gave Vancouver’s Tom Willander the opportunity to shrink the Flyers’ 3-goal lead 5-3, yet Christian Dvorak was able to regain the lead on another empty netter with less than a minute remaining in the third. 

The Lows: New Year’s Eve Against Calgary

There isn’t much to say about this one at all. There were certainly some positive moments of mostly gritty play, yet Calgary earned much more sufficient opportunities as seen in their 5 goals on only 26 shots. On top of that, the Flyers gave up far too many power plays for Calgary, who earned 2 PPGs on only 2 power plays.

Calgary’s Mikael Backlund was able to get a slapshot past Sam Ersson in the first period, who faced only 4 shots in the first period. 

But this game wasn’t a Sam Ersson issue. Despite both Calgary and Philadelphia earning 26 shots, Philadelphia “earned” only 1 goal compared to Calgary’s 5- an own goal from Calgary. Calgary simply had some good shots coupled with a busy play in front of the net. Meanwhile, Philadelphia lacked solid chances and seemed overall disjointed. 

In the second period alone, Calgary earned 3 goals. 3 solid, well-played goals at that. Philadelphia earned one, awarded to them after deflecting off Kadri’s stick. In the third period, a final goal from Calgary gave the final nail on the coffin. 

This team simply looked exhausted playing the second of a back-to-back. They played sloppily and failed to generate legitimate chances for themselves. Just about a 180° from Tuesday’s game against the Canucks. 

An interesting way to close out 2025 for the Flyers. Hopefully this performance is left behind in the new year.

While Flyers prospects take on the World Juniors, let’s take a look at the Flyers’ back-to-back series going into Christmas break. 

Monday Night: 5-2 Win Against Vancouver

The Flyers put on their holiday spectacular with a certainly spectacular victory over Vancouver. Despite both teams earning no points in the first period, the Flyers were the dominant team all around, with plenty of help from their fourth line. They maintained possession of the puck throughout the period and prevented Vancouver from running away with the game early on, a key point in many of the Flyers’ losses this year.

Nikita Grebenkin earned his first of two points of the evening midway through the second period, being the only one to close on the Flyers’ 28 shots throughout the first two periods. Although the Flyers were able to maintain a lead in the second, Vancouver started to keep up with them. Yet despite looking tired coming into the third as this team often has, they kept the momentum going and earned 4 goals in the third.

For Grebenkin’s second point of the night and first multi-point game of the season, he earned an assist on Carl Grundstrum’s goal early in the third period. After an initial shot from Grebenkin, Grundstrum gave it a shot and was able to pot one on his own rebound to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. In another short burst, both Zegras and Konecny were able to earn their 21st assists of the year. After Zegras acquired the puck from Konecny, his backhand shot deflected off of Demko’s blocker, and Dvorak was able to bat it out of the air as the puck rebounded off the glass to deepen the Flyers’ advantage 3-0. As rumors of extensions for Dvorak begin to appear, the line continues to thrive amongst him, Zegras, and Konecny. Zegras has had a wildly successful year, and brought out the best chemistry between himself, Dvorak, and Konecny. An extension for Dvorak would be a great addition to the team’s security after his short contract signed in the offseason. 

Vancouver’s Max Sasson was able to get a wrist shot past Dan Vladar for the Canucks’ first goal of the night, yet Owen Tippett was able to regain the 3-goal lead in an amazing breakaway in the neutral zone, a play of which went on to become an NHL goal of the week contender. Michkov went on to earn the Flyers their 5th and final goal of the night with less than two minutes to spare in the third period, with yet another empty net goal. This was the sophomore’s 9th goal of the season as he continues to regain his rookie traction after a slow start to the season. 

With 8 seconds left, Vancouver’s Drew O’Connor got a slapshot past Vladar, who had blocked 23 of 25 shots throughout 60 minutes of play. Despite another great performance from him, our bottom forwards of Grebenkin, Abols, and Grundstrum earned player of the game honors respectively as the Flyers broke Vancouver’s 5-game win streak in a physical, high-scoring win to close out the home games of 2025.

Tuesday Night: 3-1 Win Over Chicago

Zegras, Konecny, and Grundstrum continued to have successful performances for Tuesday’s 9:30pm puckdrop in Chicago. 

Zegras extended his point streak to 9 games, joining some impressive company as one of the longest point streaks in a players’ first year with the team. He gave Travis Konecny yet another nifty feed for Konecny’s 11th goal of the season. Zegras sent the puck across the front of the net for Konecny to bury it, a great play displaying Zegras’ awareness of the play and his chemistry with Konecny. For the second game in a row, the Flyers played a dominant first period. 

Travis Konecny earned his second point of the night as he and Jamie Drysdale each earned assist points on Noah Cates’ second period goal. As Chicago was serving a minor penalty for too many men on the ice, Drysdale was able to pass it to Konecny in front of the net. Despite Konecny being controlled by a Chicago defenseman, he was able to get the puck between his legs towards the net, allowing Cates to close on the play and give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. 

Of 10 shots in the second period, Chicago was only able to earn one goal, their only of the night. Ryan Donato kept possession and moved into the slot, throwing Sam Ersson off and getting a wrist shot past him

Despite letting the previous 5 losses for Chicago get into Philadelphia’s head, they kept momentum going through the third period. Despite only one empty net goal from Grundstrum deep in the third, the Flyers continued to be the dominant team. For once, they actually performed the way they should as a top-10 team playing a bottom-4 team. 

It was a very successful back-to-back series for the Flyers, one of the best appearances of the year, giving the Flyers a promising 4 points heading into the holidays.

Despite some key injuries and roster moves, the Flyers played pretty respectable hockey at certain points in Saturday’s matchup against the New York Rangers. Between two mediocre periods was an explosive second, with the Flyers accumulating all 4 goals within 8 minutes of each other.

First things first, there were a few notable roster moves made as both Dan Vladar and Christian Dvorak came out of the lineup on day-to-day, upper-body injuries. Hathaway was also a healthy scratch as he continues to be seemingly invisible on the ice. Carl Grundstrum took over for Dvorak, playing alongside Zegras after 2 goals in the last 5 games. Denver Barkey made an exciting NHL debut, drawing into the lineup on the second line with Couturier and Konecny.

Speaking of Barkey, he kicked things off in the first period, having an impressive goal attempt on just his second shift in the NHL. He was unable to close, yet it was exactly the type of momentum the Flyers have thrived on this year. Their inconsistency with such an effort has been the true denominator in which games go in their favor, so a guy that’s willing to come out and make those shots is exciting and refreshing to see. 

Despite 13 shots, the Flyers were unable to capitalize on any attempts. They were able to kill off a penalty and outshoot the Rangers, yet another turnover from Travis Sanheim gave the play to Rangers’ Zibanejad, whose feed to Panarin gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 19:24. This is the second game in a row that the Flyers have given up a goal in the final minute of a period. 

The second period began with a powerplay for the Flyers, yet they were unable to score. Sanheim was then able to redeem himself after his fatal turnover in the first period, receiving a pass from Barkey for a top shelf wrist shot to tie the game at 1-1. Just 23 seconds later, Barkey recorded his 2nd NHL point by sending a pass from York to Tippett to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Trevor Zergas went on to score a powerplay goal at 7:05. This extends Zegras’ point streak to a career-high 7 games, the first time a player in their first year with the franchise has had a streak of this length since Jaromir Jagr in the 2011-12 season.

A brief error by Tippett gave the Rangers possession of the puck, where Panarin was able to close the Flyers’ lead 3-2 on an unassisted goal. Just minutes later, Deslauriers was called for a boarding minor and a fighting major, both against Brennan Othmann. When things looked like they could go downhill quickly for the Flyers, Rodrigo Abols scored his second of the year off his skate for the team’s first shorthanded goal of the season. The Flyers were back on top and simply needed to hold on with a 4-2 lead. 

Also in the second period was a squabble on the bench between Matvei Michkov and Rick Tocchet. Sources say Tocchet explained he was simply playing his best skaters, meaning Michkov would be benched for the rest of the game. There has been lots of turmoil over Michkov’s development this year, as his rookie success seems to have morphed into a sort of sophomore slump. Some say he is overcoached, some say he came into the season far too out of shape, yet I’m sure the truth is somewhere in between. I personally am not too worried about Michkov. Curious to see how things go moving forward between him and Philadelphia? Sure. Worried that his career is over as some fans seem to portray? Not quite. It was announced a few weeks back that he would be staying with the team throughout the Olympic break in February, which I’m sure will be a good period of rest and regrouping for the whole team, yet especially Michkov.

Despite the Flyers denying some serious shots from New York in the early minutes of the third period, they weren’t able to hold on for too long. A shot deflected off of Grebenkin gave the Rangers a 1 goal trail behind Philadelphia at 9:13, yet the Flyers were still in it. It wasn’t until late in the period that New York’s Mika Zibanejad was able to earn his second point of the night and tie things up at 4-4. With just 2 and a half minutes left in the game, it was going past regulation yet again. 

After 2 unsuccessful powerplays in overtime for the Flyers, they were 0-2 in the shootout, while the Rangers went 2-2 to win the game. This is especially worrisome as the Flyers have one of the top shootout guys in the league, and in history if you’re looking at the numbers, yet Zegras has been unable to capitalize in his last few attempts. Furthermore, Ersson’s saving grace has been his ability to thrive in the shootouts under pressure, yet he still gave up both shots in Saturday’s game. But at least the Eagles won, right?

The Flyers are back for a single home game tonight against the Vancouver Canucks for a 7:30pm puckdrop. The game is followed by a 9:00pm puckdrop in Chicago tomorrow before a western roadtrip to take them into the new year.

Despite a 5-game point streak against some top teams in the league, the Flyers fell in an embarrassing 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Despite a dominant first two periods, things fell apart in the third just enough to allow Buffalo the win. 

Although the Sabres won the majority of faceoffs and scored first in the opening period, Noah Cates responded less than a minute after the Sabres’ opening goal to tie things up. Overall, the Flyers played strong hockey, made good plays, and maintained possession of the puck. They were the better team by far, which they should have been  compared to the .515 point % Buffalo Sabres. The second period started much the same, with a fantastic feed from Zegras earned Cam York his second goal of the year, his first since returning from an injury last weekend against the Carolina Hurricanes.

A scrum in front of the net at 11:18 seemed to be the turning point of the game. On a shot by Michkov, he was seemingly cross checked into Sabres and former Flyers goalie Alex Lyon. Despite Michkov ending up face-down on the ice and continuing to be hit in the back, he received a goaltender interference call. It all seemed to be downhill from there for the Flyers. 

Minutes later, a pathetic turnover from Travis Sanheim placed the play directly in the hands of Rasmus Dahlin, who made a between-the-legs pass to Tage Thompson in an undeniably outstanding play for the Sabres. The Sabres tied the game all the while Flyers’ captain Sean Couturier stood at center ice. This move from the Flyers veteran has caused immense frustration amongst fans. It was not a very captain-like move and is the exact opposite of the example this gritty, young team needs. Couturier, who just hit the 900 game milestone on December 7th, has had a slower year and has been known for giving up quite a few plays so far. 

With less than 30 seconds left in the second period, Noah Ostlund sent a slapshot from nearly the blueline past Ersson to give the Sabres their first lead of the game. 

The downhill momentum from the final minutes of the second continued to ring strong in the third. Josh Norris was able to score on a Buffalo powerplay, growing the Sabres’ lead 4-2. Konecny was able to put the Flyers back on the board with yet another late goal, yet it was not another comeback win. Despite the Flyers having the opportunity to return as contenders, they gave up any chances and Ryan McLeod scored with 8 seconds left in an empty netter goal to give the Sabres the final 5-3 lead.

Zegras continued his point streak, now having 8 points (4G, 4A) in the last 6 games. On the other hand, Couturier played a slow game all around and Zergas’ typical partner in crime, Christian Dvorak, earned a -2 on the night. Yet this doesn’t boil down to any 2 players in specific. The most worrisome part of any one player’s performance wasn’t Couturier’s performance; it was his lack of effort and poor example as the captain of a young, developing team. Yet the real issue was the simple lack of effort in the third period. This team seems to need better conditioning, as they are completely unable to play a consistent game. Yes, they typically play hard, yet it never lasts. That’s one thing with the amount of effort it requires a young team to be competitive against top teams such as Carolina, yet it’s a completely different story against bottom-10 teams like the Sabres. While they’ve held on enough at other times to secure points, this was not the case last night.

The Flyers continue their brief road trip on Saturday afternoon for a 12:30pm puckdrop against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.