Photo Credits: FNG’s Rob Windfelder
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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