The Flyers were in Ottawa on Thursday night looking for their first victory of the new season. Needless to say the search continues. The Senators beat the Flyers 2-1 in a down to the wire contest that was arguably Philly’s best effort so far.

The Senators were coming off a loss to Detroit on Tuesday night. This game against the Flyers was their season home opener. The place was packed and the Senators were obviously looking to show them a good time.

Spark

The Orange and Black did come out with a renewed vigor in this contest. Much has been said about the “lack of compete” in this group. This game was hard hitting, fast moving, and played with intensity until the final horn.

Goaltending

Both netminders deserve credit for playing an outstanding game. Linus Ullmark was virtually unbeatable in the Senators net giving up just one goal which could have easily been erased by a quicker whistle from the referee.

This was the third start in the Flyers net for new comer Joseph Woll who had another fine performance between the pipes. Woll stopped 24 of 26 Senators shots and made some challenging saves throughout the contest. He handles the puck well. His positioning and reaction time was on point. He’s been holding it together and proving himself to be a fine addition to the team.

Woll had an aggressive poke check on a Drake Batherson attempt from in close. He stopped Michael Amadio on a breakaway at a point where another Senators goal would have pushed the game out of reach. Bright spots have been few and far between so far this season, Woll has definitely been one of them.

Shots on Goal

Shots on goal should not be one of your biggest takeaways night after night. But in a season such as this one it most certainly is. Opponents have been regularly doubling the Flyers production in this area.

Tonight the Flyers outshot their opponent for the first time this season. The Flyers topped the Sens 29 to 26. Before this the most shots the Flyers have registered in a game was 25. They have been averaging 19.

The Flyers were outshooting the Senators 6-1 early. They were intentionally going for the net and taking every shot possible. They were also hitting everything and anything that moved. The momentum was definitely in the Flyers favor until they started racking up the penalty minutes. They took four consecutive penalties only seconds apart from each other.

Goals

The Flyers notched but one goal in this contest and it was a bit of a fluker. Trevor Zegras fired a shot from the top of the circle that hit Ullmark in the bread basket. He looked to have the puck pinched off. There was no whistle and the puck slowly piddled out behind him from between his legs. Matvei Michkov was camped out at the edge of the crease. He helped the dribbling puck over the goal line for the Flyers first power-play goal of the season. The Flyers have a total of 6 goals in their 5 games so far this season.

Nick Cousins scored for the Senators in the 1st period. It was a perfect redirection right in front leaving Woll without a chance. The game winning goal was scored by Carter Yakemchuk. It was a rocket from the top of the slot blocker side off a beautiful pass from Claude Giroux.

Up Next

The Flyers are in Boston next to face the Bruins on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM. The Bruins are currently 3-2-0. Every game is an uphill battle for Philly right now but this is probably their best chance of the weekend. They come home and play the mighty Carolina Hurricanes at 7 PM on Sunday night. This will be the second half of a back to back at the end of a road trip against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.

You gotta play the games to see what happens. As they say, anything can happen on any given night. But in this scenario if the Flyers don’t earn their first win on Saturday in Boston they very well could end up on Monday morning having gone seven games into the new season without a victory. At that point you would have to wonder what their next move may be.

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The Flyers were in Tampa Bay on Monday night to face the Lightning. It’s been a bumpy ride so far for the Orange and Black and every game is a chance to turn that around. Tampa is always a tall order for the Flyers and this game would be no exception.

Risto is out Barkey is in. It was Vladar vs Vasilevskiy. This was Vladar’s 1st appearance in the Flyers net since opening night when he allowed 7 goals on 38 shots which is out of character for last season’s MVP. Here’s a quick recap then some thoughts on the situation.

Philly vs Tampa

The Flyers came out looking sharp going stride for stride with the Lightning keeping Tampa from registering a shot on goal for the first seven minutes. If you been following the plot you already know that is a huge departure from how things have been going.

Vladar was soon tested. Things turned around in the second half of the period. The Flyers had to kill two penalties, they stopped shooting the puck, and Vladar was called on to make several challenging saves.

The Flyers netminder stood up to the test for the most part. His adept lateral movement came in handy as Tampa was moving the puck well side to side especially on the man advantage.

With 3:55 remaining in the first Tampa scored off a faceoff in the Flyers end. A wrist shot from the slot was deflected in front by Brayden Point giving the Lightning the 1-0 lead going into the 1st intermission.

2nd Period

Seventeen seconds into the 2nd period Tampa broke into the Flyers zone with the puck. Vladar’s glove looked a bit frozen as Pontus Holmberg fired a wrist shot top shelf from the right circle. That quick it was 2-0 in Tampa’s favor and they’re confidence was really starting to show.

Tyson Foerster scored his first goal of the season at 7:22. Foerster fired a puck through traffic. It hit somebody out front and deflected into the net. The goal was as greasy as they get but they all look the same on the scoreboard. 2-1 Tampa.

The Flyers got their first man advantage of the night after a scrum at 10:03. Tampa’s aggressive penalty kill allowed the Flyers no time or space to get anything started. They did not register a single shot on the power play.

The Flyers got their second man advantage with 1:33 remaining in the period. They created a couple good chances on this one but to no avail.

3rd Period

Things were wild and loose at the top of the third. There was a fight. Then a waived off Tampa goal for goaltender interference that left Vladar flat on his back. Then a Michkov high sticking penalty that put the Lightning back on the power-play. This was all in the first four minutes.

Play was up and down back and forth, both teams attacking offensively. Trevor Zegras had a double doink off the crossbar and post that refused to go in. Denver Barkey looked good in his return. You can’t attempt to dump and chase without players like Barkey who get to the puck fast and relentlessly dig for it.

Porter Martone took a shoulder to the dome that sparked an elbowing penalty. Martone was pulled up the tunnel by the spotter for a check-up. He did eventually return.

The Flyers were totally in this game dispite being outshot 33-13 with three minutes left and somehow only down by a goal. Tampa caught Vladar scrambling after Jiricek got deeked out of his shorts and Ilya Mikheyev put the puck in the net. 3-1 Tampa.

The Flyers pulled the goaltender for the extra attacker with 2:00 remaining in regulation. Martone returned for the final minute. The Flyers were working it but could not get the puck to the net. The Lightning scored an empty netter with seven seconds left on the clock. 4-1 final.

Thoughts

You don’t even need to count the preseason anymore to say that the Flyers have definitely fallen into a pattern. When you do count the preseason and view the entire situation as a big picture it’s even more substantial. This is not going to fixed with a couple tweaks or a guys night out.

This is pretty much the same line-up that made it to the second round of the playoffs last season. In fact there’s been a few upgrades. They look disjointed and unprepared. The power-play went 0-for-3 tonight and that’s almost not worth mentioning at this point.

Aside from game 1 their goaltending has been really strong. It’s been the only reason they’ve even had a chance in these games. Vladar made many difficult saves in Tampa. He faced 36 shots in this game. Joseph Woll played really well in his two starts. He faced a total of 84 shots over two nights. And took the opponent to overtime both games.

Now combine that with the fact that the Flyers totaled 14 shots on goal in this contest. That’s their lowest total so far but in these first four regular season games they are averaging under twenty shots per game. Meanwhile they are giving up an average just under forty shots per game, 39.25 to be exact. The goalies have been making these games look a lot closer than they actually are.

Shots on goal can’t tell you everything about a game but in this case it can tell you a hole lot. The Flyers offence is lacking, the defense is ineffective, and the goalies have been standing on their heads.

If the Flyers were skimping on defense to create chances you might expect them to be giving up this many shots on goal.

With such low shot totals you would expect to see a defensive mindset that is keeping the other team at bay. And you’re not. Not even close. They are not trading one for the other. They are failing at both ends of the ice. If there are systems in place nobody’s following them.

After the game Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet had this to say, “There’s not enough compete in this group right now and that’s on me.” “It starts with me, this team is way too comfortable.”

Next Up: Thursday night the Flyers are in Ottawa to face the Senators.

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The NHL 2026-27 season is just getting underway. It’s been a very rocky start for the Flyers so far to say the least. Goaltender Joseph Woll has already become a key part of the storyline.

Context

It’s standard not to allow preseason games to hold much weight when forming opinions about a team. Before this week you could write off the Flyers preseason shortcomings as just being part of the process. Things were just getting started, they were getting a look at the team’s young prospects, and it wasn’t the final product.

Now that the Flyers have three regular season games under their belt the preseason has become even more relevant. That’s because things haven’t really changed all that much. Those games weren’t and outlier, they were the beginning of a trend.

The Flyers were outscored by the Penguins in the Season Opener 7-0. But if you add the four preseason games to that total they had been outscored 22-4 at that point. In the three regular season games they’ve been outscored 13-4. There are some patterns forming here and this one is so simple it seems silly to even point it out.

Philly vs Carolina

The Flyers are currently 0-1-2 after losing 3-2 in OT to the Carolina Hurricanes in Philadelphia on Saturday night. They lost by that exact same score in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Carolina is the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. They’re also the team that swept the Flyers out of the playoffs in the second round. They are a formidable opponent and it’s commendable that the Flyers pushed them to overtime. The main reason the Flyers were able to hang past regulation with both the Devils and the Canes has been the outstanding play of goaltender Joseph Woll.

Woll has started the last two games and his workload has been substantial. Tonight the Hurricanes outshot the Flyers 40-18. Thursday night the Devils outshot the Flyers 44-25. Woll has faced a total of 84 shots in the two overtime losses. He is currently posting a .932 SV%.

He was the starting goaltender in the only preseason game where the Flyers allowed less than five goals. He recorded a 2-0 shut-out against the Boston Bruins. Woll has been the bright spot during this rocky start and is the reason they earned a point in each of their last two games.

Last season you may remember the sell out crowd in Philly giving the Flyers a standing ovation in appreciation of their effort after losing game four to Carolina. Saturday night the booing started when Sebastian Aho scored the Canes first goal just 10 seconds into the match.

Owen Tippett scored the first goal this season by a Flyers forward 8:03 into the opening period. It was the finishing touch of a great shift that created a number of chances. Trevor Zegras fed the puck from the corner to Tippett in the slot. Tippett fired a blast that hit Canes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov in the bread basket and bounced right back out front. It was Zegras, again, with a touch pass to Tippett who fired a wrister top shelf glove side to tie the score at one.

This shift for Tippett, Zegras, and Carl Grundstrom was a reminder that this Flyers squad is basically the same line-up that made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs just a few months ago. In fact there has been improvements made Joseph Woll being one of them. Something just isn’t clicking. They’ve looked disjointed and unprepared and it’s very frustrating for everyone involved.

The Flyers took the lead 7:20 into the 2nd period. Travis Konecny gave the puck away, stole it right back, and fed it to Matvei Michkov who was in the slot all alone. Michkov fired high blocker side to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

The Flyers lead held up until 4:59 into the third period. It was Aho again, this time on the power-play. A pin-point set up, from behind the net to the dot to the slot for the shot. For the second straight game the Flyers were headed to overtime.

Haunted by a Ghost

Thanks to another outstanding performance by their goaltender the Flyers were still in this game despite the ice being tilted in the direction of their net all night long. 1:35 into the overtime Owen Tippett was given a two minute penalty for slashing Sebastian Aho. It was a questionable call especially in overtime.

On the man advantage the Hurricanes were passing the puck crisply back and forth in the Flyers zone before Nikolaj Ehlers cut across the crease to set up the screen. The puck went back to talented power-play quarterback Shayne Gostisbehere who fired a blast from the point that beat Woll high glove side ending the game.

The Flyers went o-for-4 on the power-play which just makes it harder to watch a former teammate make it look so easy.

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The Flyers were right back in action Thursday night playing a back-to-back one day after their discouraging season opener in Philly. They hit the road to faceoff against the Devils in New Jersey.

Philly vs New Jersey

Jersey came right out of the gate aggressively firing pucks at the Flyers net. The Flyers were doing a great job of keeping pucks from reaching the net, yet their goaltender Joseph Woll was still a very busy man. That would continue to be the running theme all night long.

The Flyers did continue their pattern of getting outshot by double in the opening period 13-6. But shot attempts were even more lopsided with the Devils outpacing the Flyers 31 to 9 in the first period alone.

Nick Seeler absorbed a Nico Hischier slapper to the side of the knee. He stopped a second one before finding a chance to hobble his way to the bench.

On the scoreboard, where it counts, the Flyers scored the only 1st period goal. On a delayed penalty call Rasmus Ristolainen set up camp in the Devils crease and deflected a Travis Sanheim slapper past Jake Allen 11:12 into the period.

2nd Period

Jersey was relentless in the middle period throwing a ton of pucks at the Flyers net. The Flyers remained committed to assisting their goaltender as much as possible but Woll’s workload was heavy.

With just over two minutes remaining in the period Dougie Hamilton was successful with a wrister from the top of the circle through heavy traffic. It was the Devils 30th shot on goal of the contest. Conversely the Flyers had registered only 11 at that point.

• You hear people say you can’t judge a game by the number of shots on goal. Sure there are a ton of variables but no matter what the score SOG will give you an idea of how much offensive pressure is being applied. It will also fill in a lot of info on how the goalies are holding up under the pressure or lack thereof. It doesn’t tell the whole story but it will tell you a ton.

3rd Period

The Devils applied major pressure on a power-play early in the final period. Joseph Wolls was dialed in and made several key saves. His best was a side to side pad stop on a shot that looked like a done deal.

At 5:33 Sean Couturier pulled a puck off the side wall in the Devils zone and dished a pass to Travis Sanheim at the top of the slot. Sanheim unleashed a blast that rang decisively off the far post and into the net.

The go ahead goal gave the Flyer a renewed confidence offensively and they started racking up some dangerous chances. Unfortunately the defense sagged just enough for the Devils to find Luke Hughes all alone on the left hand side with enough time and space to pick his corner and beat Woll high blocker side to tie the game with 10:16 remaining.

Overtime

The Devils pressured early in the 3-on-3 and Joseph Woll continued to be solid. The Flyers also put together some strong chances. Jake Allen robbed Trevor Zegras in close.

But it was the Devils who put together a highlight reel goal at 3:23 of the overtime period. Jack Hughes went coast to coast with the puck. He avoided a valiant effort by Travis Konecny to complete a pass to Jesper Bratt. Bratt immediately sent it right across the front of the net to Hughes for the dunk. All of this took place very quickly on the rush. Unfortunately for the Flyers it was just a beautiful goal, and good luck stopping it.

Takeaways

This was a much better effort on the part of the Flyers. They had to suppress a ton of attempts by their talented opponent. Joseph Woll had a very solid night between the pipes. If he can string together more efforts like this one he could have a huge impact.

Woll kept them in this game time and time again. The overtime game winner came on the Devils 44th shot of the night. It was an onslaught, the Flyers blocked an additional 32 attempts. New Jersey was relentless offensively.

The Flyers deserve credit for their effort in this game. They stuck to their game, they never gave up, and they skated away with their first point of the new season.

Extra Credit: Rasmus Ristolainen may have been the Flyers most dangerous offensive asset on the ice tonight. And that is not a slight on anyone else on the team. Sanheim was a close second.

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I won’t drag this out or sugar coat it, the Flyers home opener was a disaster. You could always check out the box scores if you wanted to know the gruesome details on all seven unanswered Pittsburgh goals, which you probably don’t.

Flyers Fans packed the Xfinity Mobile Arena Wednesday night hoping to see the same type of intensity they saw in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

The last time these two teams saw each other was in the handshake line after the Flyers sent the Pens packing in six games. Tonight dejected fans poured out of the building without even finding out what the goal song is this season.

The conversation in the press box after the horn was “how do you even start to wrap up a game like this?” Then on my way home it hit me. You can’t write a concise and focused piece on this game or you wouldn’t be accurately describing what we all just witnessed. There was nothing concise or focused about it.

Takeaways

The Penguins do deserve credit. They played a solid game. They came out aggressively forechecking in the the Flyers end. They kept knocking pucks loose and regaining control. They were snagging rebounds and snatching pucks away from Dan Vladar before he had a chance to get on top of them. The Penguins were relentless.

Pittsburgh was out-shooting the Flyers at a ratio of 2-to-1 the entire game. It started in the 1st period when the shots were 11-5 and continued till time ran out with the Penguins finishing the game with a 38-19 shot advantage.

When it rains it pours

The Flyers power-play continues to suffer. They went 0-for-3 on the night. They also gave up and incredibly bizarre short-handed goal. The Penguins sixth goal of the game came 11:52 into the final period. Nick Robertson was coming in down the left side. Jamie Drysdale was racing back and got his stick in front of Robertson’s shot. The puck deflected off Drysdale’s stick and went wide. The shot came off of the back dasher and hit Vladar’s skate as he was backing into his net guiding the puck across the goal line.

The Pens capped off the scoring with a power-play goal. It was their second of the night. The Flyers could not pull it together. They were clearly outmatched. Their passing was off. They failed to make clears when they needed them the most. And they plagued themselves with giveaways. You name it, it was happening. One too many passes instead of taking the shot. All of the things that can drive you crazy, all at the same time, all night long.

The Flyers were good in the faceoff circle. There were a few really satisfying hits. Ristolinen creamed Crosby with a clean one. Noel Acciari had a few stand out plays, …there were not a whole lot of positives. The scoreboard matched the game.

In contrast the Penguins were consistent and unrelenting. They had a game plan, they were disciplined and they stayed with it. The Flyers looked haphazard and unprepared.

After the final game last season the Flyers were given a standing ovation by the home town crowd after being swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs. Tonight the crowd that showed up to the much anticipated Season Opener was booing by the end of the 1st period and it continued throughout the night. As I’ve already said, it was a disaster.

Gut Check

The Flyers gave up five goals in 3 out of their 4 pre-season games. You write that off. It’s only the preseason, that was not the final lineup, etc. But something has not gelled yet for this team. They just got spanked 7-0 in the regular season opener. Counting the preseason they’ve been outscored 22-4 in their last 5 games.

This is basically the same crew that shocked the hockey world just last Spring. They need to find themselves and they need to do it quickly.

Next Up: Flyers vs Devils in NJ Thursday night at 7 PM.

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The Flyers 2026-27 season officially gets under way Wednesday night in Philadelphia with a much anticipated visit from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The last time these two teams saw each other was in the handshake line.

The Flyers defeated the Pens in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. The hard hitting series was competitive, contentious, and chock full of memorable moments. Flyers vs Penguins in Philly for the season opener seems the perfect way to kick off the next chapter.

If we learned anything from last year’s dramatic run up to the off season it’s this. You gotta let the season play out one game at a time. This is a preview, not a projection nor a prediction. One of the things that makes ice hockey such an exciting sport to watch is the fact that anything can happen on any given night. That’s why they play the games.

The Flyers proved a ton of experts wrong last year. We all remember the now infamous odds of March 18th 2026, “3.8% chance of making the playoffs”. That prediction of impending doom was a challenge that turned into a battle cry for a team that refused to stop believing in each other.

All that being said, here’s a few things that could be key factors in this upcoming Flyers season.

Goaltending

Last season starting goaltender Dan Vladar was voted team MVP of the regular season and for good reason. Vladar was key to the Flyers success and their return to the playoffs. Hands down, no doubt about it, Dan was the difference. He was able to be “the difference” because many key pieces were already in place.

It’s important when judging the quality of this Flyers roster that you consider just how much the goaltending was cutting into their potential before Vladar arrived. These two stats really lay it out.

In the final season before Vladar joined the team, 2024-25, the Flyers had the worst combined save percentage in the entire league. Let that sink in for a second, the worst. Now combine that with the fact that only three NHL teams allowed fewer shots on goal than the Flyers that same season. Even with those goaltending numbers the team was not eliminated from playoff contention until April 5th.

The previous year they were not eliminated until game 82. They got that close with the forth worst goaltending in the league that season. A little help between the pipes would have went a long way towards ending the Flyers playoff drought much sooner.

Although Samuel Ersson did finish last season with a winning record his 3.12 GGA was ranked 46th in the league. His .870 SV% was ranked 59th over all. Ersson is a great guy and a fantastic teammate and hopefully things work out for him in his new surroundings. But it was time to move on.

The addition of Joseph Woll could prove to have an impact. If he has a solid season as Vladar’s back-up it could make things a lot easier on everyone involved. We only got to see Woll play one game in the preseason and he recorded a shutout. That was also the only preseason game where the Flyers allowed less than 5 goals.

Vladar was injured during the 1st period of his only preseason outing. The Flyers goaltending is in better shape than the preseason might lead you to believe. At least as far as your top two netminders are concerned.

Michkov

Much has already been said about the reinvigorated Matvei Michkov. Watching him at camp I can tell you first hand all the talk is not unwarranted. He’s a different player than the one that showed up to camp last year. The difference is not minor or hard to spot. He reinvented himself during the off-season.

Michkov started preparing for this season immediately following the end of the Carolina series. Like literally the next day. He was on the ice skating while the “break-down day” interviews were taking place upstairs at the Flyers Training Center. He started working the morning after the season ended and he never stopped. He showed up to camp leaner, meaner, and totally focused.

After experiencing a sophomore slump that many NHL players would kill for (20-G 31-A) this could be the Michkov we’ve all been waiting for. He’s on a mission and he could prove to be a very dangerous offensive asset for the Flyers this season. He’s definitely committed, he’s already proven that.

Big Picture

Overall the line-up has not drastically changed from when we last saw these guys. It almost did. Remember the weekend when Leo Carlssson and Claude Giroux were both on their way to Philly?

This is a refined not redesigned version of last year’s team. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Flyers locked in some key players over the off-season. Drysdale, Foerster, Vladar, Zegras, all signed extensions over the Summer. It will be exciting to see what Porter Martone does with his “rookie season”. He strolled into the line-up like a seasoned pro at the end of last season.

The rebuilding Flyers are starting to solidify as a team. You could make the argument that this is not a new development. If the goaltending holds up this could be a very interesting year.

Thanks!

This will be my 5th season with the Flyers Nitty Gritty and I’m still really excited and grateful to be here. Many thanks to all of you. I really enjoy seeing you folks out and about and breaking things down with you here. And of course, thanks to Jamey Baskow and all the great folks here at the Nitty Gritty. It’s been a blast so far, and the best is yet to come. LET’S GO!

…and just for fun, here’s a new video.

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Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder

It may be more accurate to say, Flyers goaltender Aleksei Kolosov desperately needed a big game with the Flyers last night. In a shortened four game preseason schedule the Flyers went 1-3-0. Thursday night’s 2-0 win against the Bruins proved to be the outlier, as well as the only game where the Flyers gave up less than 5 goals.

Aleksei Kolosov

Kolosov’s personal stats improved in Lehigh Valley last season although his most recent call-ups to the Flyers have not gone well for him.

Back in April of 2025 the Flyers beat the Rangers 8-5. Kolosov secured the win but allowed 5 goals on 29 shots.

He hadn’t had back to back solid games at that point since October of 2024 where he had 2 games in a row where he allowed only 2 goals on 27 shots back-to-back.

Last season Kolosov had two solid appearances in November, stopping 7-of-7 then allowing 2 goals on 21 shots the following game. Then the era of Dan Vladar started to kick in and Kolosov spent his season with the struggling Phantoms.

Currently Kolosov’s all time record with the Flyers is 5-11-1. He holds a career GGA of 3.64 with a .863 SV%. But it was his last two regular season appearances with the Flyers that he needed to overcome this pre-season.

Calling Card

Last season when the Flyers were experiencing their post holiday meltdown Kolosov had two starts. January 15th against the Penguins he allowed 3 goals on just 16 shots and was pulled. The Flyers went on to lose that game 6-3.

He was given the start again just two days later against the Rangers and allowed 3 goals on 3 shots before being yanked. This was the last time we saw Aleksei Kolosov between the pipes for the Flyers.

In the “what have you done for me lately” world of professional ice hockey Kolosov obviously had something to prove at Flyers Training Camp 2026. Better yet, he had something to disprove. This preseason would be a chance for him to put some distance on the calling card he left last January.

Dan Vladar started the preseason game on September 22nd in Boston and was injured 13:31 into the first period. Aleksei Kolosov took over in the net with the Flyers down by the score of 1-0. He did not allow any goals for the rest of the first period and all of the second. He made some challenging saves and was playing some solid hockey. This was exactly what he needed to do.

The Flyers went into the 3rd period with the score tied at one. Kolosov allowed four unanswered goals in the final period and the Flyers lost 5-1. This game was not out of character for the Flyers who disappeared in the 3rd period in all but one of their preseason games. But Kolosov really needed that not to happen on his watch.

Golden Opportunity

Saturday night Vladar and Joseph Woll were both unavailable for the Flyers. Vladar is still injured (but looking promising for opening night). Joseph Woll had already reached his allowed max time (while posting a shutout) for the pre-season.

So Saturday night against the Caps in Philly was Kolosov’s last chance to leave a different impression before most likely heading down to Lehigh Valley to start his season with the Phantoms.

The Flyers signed Yaniv Perets to a Professional Tryout Agreement so that they could have a backup goalie on the bench insuring that Kolosov would get his shot for all three periods.

The Flyers had pretty much their starting line-up for the season opener on the ice to face a super majority of prospects on the Washington squad. This was a golden opportunity for the Flyers netminder. Kolosov allowed 5 goals on 24 shots.

The Flyers outshot the Capitals 37-24 in the 5-1 loss. To be fair, Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren played an amazing game stopping 32 of 33 shots in the first two periods.

Just to make things worse the Caps rewarded Lindgren with the rest of the night off and put former Flyers Cal Petersen in the net for the final period. The Flyers were shut down by the young Washington squad in the 3rd period and managed just 4 shots against their former netminder.

This certainly was not the Training Camp Kolosov needed. …And what’s up with the Flyers being outscored 15-6 during their 4 preseason games? That’s a subject that deserves it’s own article.

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The Flyers hosted the Boston Bruins for their 2026 pre-season opener. This was the Flyers third and best game so far. The line-up made all the difference with the Flyers suiting up many players expected to take the ice on opening night.

The Difference

The biggest difference between the first two games of the pre-season and this one was the fact that the Flyers played all 60 minutes of this game. They did not break down was the game wore on. During the first two outings the Flyers squad ran out of gas and let the games get away from them in the final period. Also the Bruins did not suit up their best, but just the same the Flyers looked like a completely different team.

The Flyers were doing a fine job breaking into the zone and keeping possession of the puck. The passing all around was vastly improved. Crisp, creative, smart puck movement in the Boston end was creating solid chances all night long. It was fun to watch. It makes you a bit impatient to get this last pre-season match out of the way so we can see what the 2026-27 Flyers will actually have to offer.

Shutout

Recent acquisition Joseph Woll played all three periods and skated away with the 2-0 shutout. His positioning was on point, he handled the puck well, and made some key saves. He made a roll-over glove save on his back with 43 seconds left to preserve the blanking. Rasmus Ristolainen kept the porch swept in the final moments not letting anyone get comfortable around his goaltender.

L

Standouts

Noel Acciari had a solid game, getting pucks on net, and landing some big hits. Simon Benoit dropped the gloves with Brian Halonen. It was a bit of a clumsy scrap but Benoit ended up on top much to the delight of the Philadelphia crowd.

Cole Knuble scored the 2nd Flyers goal. Jett Luchanko was moving the puck well through the Boston zone. He left the puck on the doorstep for Jacob Gaucher who took a whack at it. Knuble scooped up the rebound and sent it home. Knuble has been having a solid camp and that line got stronger as the game progressed.

Michkov Shines

The number one star of the game was Matvei Michkov. His playmaking in this match was something to watch. He was making room for his intended pass receivers before delivering the puck. It was all about his positioning. His ability to pull defenders to himself before dropping the pass into the space he had just created.

Michkov scored what turned out to be the game winning goal just 4:02 into the contest. It was a backhander from the side of the net. The assists went to Porter Martone and Helge Grans. The reinvented Matvei Michkov was a standout all night long in his much anticipated home ice debut.

The best player on the ice for the Boston Bruins was goaltender Michael Dipietro. He actually played a fantastic game for the losing team. He gave up two goals but he was tested more than Woll. The shots on goal were tied at 28 apiece, but it was the quality of the Flyers chances that made his performance stand out. The Flyers also caught iron at least three times but they’re just shots-wide unless the bounce goes the right way.

All and all it was a solid showing for the Flyers. Based on the pre-season line-ups in this match the Flyers should have been the dominant team, and they were.

Next Up: Flyers host the Capitals on Saturday evening at 5:00 PM

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The Flyers were right back on the road again Tuesday to faceoff against the Bruins in Boston. Less than 24 hours after losing to the Washington Capitals by the score of 5-2 the puck dropped at the Garden and it was go time once again.

Both squads featured plenty of prospects with veteran goaltending at either end. Flyers Dan Vladar vs Jeremy Swayman. Things got off to a slow start with both teams feeling each other out for quite some time. Neither team registered a shot on goal until almost four minutes into the contest. By the midway point of the 1st period Boston led the shot total 3-1.

Vladar Injured

Boston was doing a good job of maintaining possession in the Flyers end. However the Flyers were doing an equally good job of keeping them bottled up away from the dangerous areas. At 6:29 Dan Vladar misplayed a rebound and lost his stick reaching for the puck. Somewhere during this scramble Vladar was injured.

Without a stick he did not react to a shot that beat him glove side. He left the puck in the net and skated to the bench, spoke with a trainer, then headed up the tunnel. It is hard to explain how unwelcome this development is. (No further info was available on Vladar’s condition at the time of this writing)

The goal was credited to Michael Eyssimont on a deflection. Aleksei Kolosov took over in the Flyers net. The original plan was for Vladar to play the first 40 minutes.

The Flyers picked up their first power-play of the game with 4:17 left in the opening period. They created chances but could not finish. Very shortly after the man advantage expired Jacob Gaucher went coast to coast with the puck, cut around the defense, and beat Swayman in close to tie the game with 1:52 left in the period. After a slow start the Flyers took a 9-8 shot advantage into the intermission.

2nd Period

Kolosov was tested often at the start of the middle period. He looked sharp making several key saves. Just over seven minutes in a Bruins shot from the point hit a man in front catching Kolosov out of position and David Pastrnak with the puck at the side of the gaping wide open net. Pastrnak teed up a slapper that somehow hit the post.

Both teams were on the attack, creating good chances, and landing some solid checks. Jack Studnicka has been impressive again tonight and Luchanko can really fly when he turns on the jets. Holy cow.

3rd Period

The Flyers started the 3rd leading in SOGs 18-16. With the score tied at one both teams appeared very eager to take the lead. Cole Knuble had a couple nice chances hitting a crossbar with one of them.

The Bruins broke the tie on a power-play goal 5:19 into the third. Morgan Geekie deflected a Pastrnak shot that beat Kolosov. 2-1 Boston.

At 7:43 Frederic Brunet fired shot from the slot. Kolosov made the initial save but the rebound went right to Brian Halonen who fired it home. Suddenly it was starting to feel like Monday night all over again. 3-1 Bruins.

Boston was totally hogging the puck. The Flyers possessions were careless and short. Boston scored their 4th goal of the night on a nice passing play Zacha to Zadorov to Elias Lindholm at 4:49. 4-1 Bruins.

Again, I know, this is just the 2nd pre-season game and this is nowhere near the final line-up. But for the second night in a row the Flyers (with a different squad suited up) fell into the same pattern. When the going got tough they fell off their game plan and allowed the opposing team to run away with the score.

With just 1:13 left in regulation the Flyers were again bottled up in their own zone. A costly give away lead to the Bruins 4th goal of the 3rd period. A weak clearing attempt went right to Dans Locmelis who fed the pass to Michael Eyssimont who beat Kolosov high glove side. Final score 5-1 Boston.

The Flyers went into this 3rd period tied at one and when the tide started to shift their wheels came off and the whole thing broke down again. Kolosov who desperately needed a solid game in the Orange and Black was playing really well up until the dreaded 3rd period.

It’s one thing to get blown out two nights in a row, it’s another when the two games were so very similar. This is the time of year to work out all the bugs. The Flyers will get right back to work first thing tomorrow morning.

Next Up: Flyers Bruins rematch Thursday night in Philly.

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After falling to the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Monday night the Flyers were right back to work on Tuesday morning. To put the Caps game in a quick nutshell. The Flyers allowed a five minute power-play to slide by. And, by the 3rd period the team stopped playing as a unit and started resorting to individual efforts. Spoiler alert: 1-on-5 attacks are rarely successful at any level.

Of course it was the 1st game of the pre-season with lots of prospects in the line-up. Just the same when things started to go against them their game plan crumbled. Washington continued to play as a unit and handily won the match.

Tuesday Morning

First thing this morning in a very quiet Flyers Training Center camp resumed with a game in Boston on the docket for tonight. Two goaltenders, Vladar and Kolosov, were on the ice with a very small crew of players.

The goalies were drilled over and over, side to side, lateral attacks. Different scenarios and distances but always side to side. The entire early session was focused on the netminders’ lateral coverage.

On the same page

The second session of the day seemed to reenforce the takeaways from the previous night. None of the players on the ice for this session will be playing in Boston tonight. That being said game 1 in Washington did highlight areas that needed to be addressed. Big picture items.

The squad focused for quite sometime on breaking into the zone with numbers. Moving the puck from blue line to blue line and entering as a unit. That was one aspect of the game plan that splintered in the 3rd period last night.

The second half of the session was spent working on the power-play. They spent a considerable amount time focused on just that, which I believe every Flyer Fan would approve of. The drills obviously serve two purposes as the penalty-kill is getting worked out at the same time.

So many games over the past few seasons have been decided based on the performance of the special team units. Today was time well spent.

Up Next: Flyers are in Boston to faceoff against the Bruins at 7:00 PM tonight.

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