NEWARK — Well, it wasn’t quite as bad as the season opener. But 24 hours later, the Philadelphia Flyers again found themselves on the losing end of the scoreboard against a division rival.
Despite the New Jersey Devils controlling the bulk of the possession battle and outshooting the Flyers 41 – 22, the Flyers jumped out to leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but could not hold either, ultimately falling 3-2 in overtime courtesy of a Jack Hughes gamewinner — the final exclamation point on a standout performance for the Devils star.
The Flyers, on the other hand, continue to lack anything close to standout performances, at least by their skaters. Joseph Woll was fantastic in his Flyers debut, making 38 saves and holding down the fort even as the skaters were pinned in their own zone for multi-minute stretches. Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen scored for the Flyers, who fell to 0-1-1 and are still searching for their first victory of the 2026-27 season.
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9 Comments (8 conversations)
yoni
Thanks Charlie.
superunoriginal
It’s only two games, but this is an extension of the preseason, and this team is extremely disconnected. Same problems where they simply cannot move the puck consistently or complete but a few passes before losing control and turning it over. Sloppy. It’s something that gets cleaned up in the preseason and it didn’t happen, and as Charlie pointed out, Tocchet not knowing why is a red flag.
If you don’t know the problem, you don’t know how to fix the problem. Obviously practice is key–develop the familiarity, but that there’s no sign it’s actually worked (going back to training camp) is alarming. Then you start throwing things against the wall to see what sticks. Tocchet’s next move might be to punish young players. Negative reinforcement on a young team. That’s not going to go over well.
Anthony Pozzi
When you can’t execute a 6 foot pass there are bigger problems , but low key thought to one problem. MM seems surprisingy good at faceoffs when he has to step in . 1st pp unit it would help to win a draw to start the pp
Marc
The Pens and Devils sure looked like they practiced more than “5 or 6” times. With this starting schedule (4 games in 6 days, including the Canes and Lightning coming), the way they are playing right now (they look completely unprepared and totally out of synch) is inexcusable. And Tocchet sounds like he doesn’t know what to do or how to fix it.
Richard
Tocchet seems incapable of implementing a system that allows for creativity in the offensive zone. That and a disappointing lack of talent up top makes it appear that the Flyers may struggle to score 3 gpg all year.
Brian Kenny
On the plus side Matvei looked noticeably more assertive and strong than much of the last season.
ifollowcharlieo
I didn’t actually count, but I’d be surprised if the tapes don’t show that at least five beautiful #39 passes were flubbed by teammates so far.
Steven Mindlin
Two games. Two goals. None by a forward.
David LaVeck
Marginally better but still a long ways to go. Besides Woll, who is such a good signing and upgrade, and the top defensive tandem of Sanheim & Risto, the rest of the players just aren’t bringing it. The forwards need to step up, improve traffic in front of the net like Risto did and pass better. Also, they need to possess and hang onto the pick above all else. This will help limit the shots against which are too high to start the season.