Photo: Rob Windfelder | Flyers Nitty Gritty
The Philadelphia Flyers are struggling mightily. Lots of talk about “looks” on Tuesday night. Sharp new 3rd jerseys and a slew of missed opportunities as the Flyers fell to the Wild 4-2. It’s November, the Flyers are 17 games into the 2026-27 season, and they have just 4 wins to show for it.
Chasing the Game
Less than five minutes into this match the Wild were up by two goals and the Flyers were chasing the game from that point on. Minnesota looked fast. Their passing was crisp, zipping pucks back and forth across the Flyers zone. They set the tone in this tilt right out of the gate.
The Wild made it 3-0 just 42 seconds into the 2nd period. Tyson Foerster scored at the end of the 2nd period and Denver Barkey scored a power-play goal to start the 3rd. The Flyers were in this game down by just a goal until Minnesota scored on the empty net with just 1:24 remaining to set the final score at 4-2 in favor of the Wild.
Starting from Scratch
The Flyers did do a lot of things right in this game. They battled back. They were creating opportunities but over and over again they left those chances on the table. “Lots of good looks” (that expression has outlived its purpose).
The plays were there, the setups were there, however over and over again they failed to hit the net with shots. Missed opportunities were piling up as pucks were whistling way wide with no chance of deflections or rebounds.
After the game Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet made mention of 23 missed shots. There were positives. Some things are heading in the right direction but at some point you have to wonder, why is this team starting from scratch after making it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. Something’s not right.
If anything the Flyers line-up has improved since last season. The goaltending has been relatively solid. The addition of Joseph Woll has been a huge upgrade. The power-play has been showing some signs of life. Michkov’s mission has been paying off. The return of Travis Konecny has made an impact. Yet the team is stuck talking about the most basic of hockey fundamentals night after night.
“They gotta cover the slot, they need to get pucks on net. They need to win board battles and keep their feet moving. They need to compete”. Everyone who’s even remotely familiar with the sport already knows all of these things.
Frustration
The organization has chosen to stay the course for now and give things a chance to straighten out. At this pace that may be quite a long process. The endless search for silver linings and moral victories is wearing thin for everybody involved.
In all honesty, Tuesday night’s loss to the Wild looks a lot closer on paper than the game actually was. Confidence is key in this sport, and right now in Philly it’s an asset that’s really hard to come by. Something’s gotta give.
Next Up: The Flyers are in NYC on Thursday to face the Rangers 7:00 PM.
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