One game after their most impressive (and mildly historic) offensive performance of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers suffered their first shutout loss, falling 3-0 to the Lightning in Tampa Bay in what was a sloppy team performance. They’ve reached the quarter-point of the 2025-26 regular season with a respectable, if unremarkable, 11-7-3 record.
Here’s what we’ve learned so far.
Offseason additions fit right in
Where would the Flyers be without the guys they brought in over the summer?
Goalie Dan Vladar and forward Trevor Zegras have been the Flyers’ two most important players. Vladar continues to provide outstanding goaltending, sitting seventh in the NHL in save percentage (.912) and eighth in goals-against average (2.42) headed into Monday night’s games. His 8.5 goals saved above expected mark, according to Moneypuck, is 12th. Remember when Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said he originally wanted to sign Vladar (or any free-agent goalie) to just a one-year deal? Instead, Vladar’s two-year, $3.35 million AAV through next season could end up being an absolute steal.
We’ll see how he holds up physically — Vladar has never started more than 29 games in a single season, and he’s already at 13 — but he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, including a sneaky good performance in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Zegras continues to plug along at a point-per-game pace, with seven goals, 14 assists in 21 games. He’s given a huge jolt to the previously anemic power play, too, with a team-leading eight points there. While the Zegras at center experiment didn’t last long, leaving the Flyers with the same long-term concerns about how the heck they’ll unearth at least one high-end center, extending the pending restricted free agent at some point already feels like a foregone conclusion.
Don’t forget Christian Dvorak, either. Coach Rick Tocchet has leaned more on Dvorak as the season has moved along — he’s currently skating between Zegras and Owen Tippett — and with 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists), the center is outperforming expectations. You’re likely going to hear Dvorak’s name in trade speculation around the league as we get closer to the March trade deadline, but make no mistake: the Flyers aren’t interested in moving him as long as they’re in, or within striking distance of, a playoff spot. That was true when they signed him, and remains true today.
Christian Dvorak has earned more trust from Rick Tocchet as the season progresses. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
Michkov still working his way back
Yes, there have been more promising signs lately. Michkov posted goals in three straight games from Nov. 6-12, and his breakaway conversion on Saturday against the Devils sparked the historic offensive outburst. He had the puck on his stick a fair amount Monday in Tampa, but his turnovers led to rushes the other way twice and he was also on the ice for both Lightning goals before an empty-netter.
Michkov is still working his way back physically. That was reiterated to me by a team source last week. The Flyers are cognizant that while Michkov is getting his legs and lungs again, he’s also been perpetually behind the eight ball, as players who arrived at their respective training camps in prime condition are also still ramping up (something we touched on here last week). That, along with still figuring out the intricacies of Tocchet’s offensive systems, could mean it’s another couple of weeks at least before Michkov finds any consistency. We’ll just have to stay tuned on this one.
I do have one plea, though. Can we wait a little longer before jumping to broad, outlandish conclusions about a player that’s not even 21 years old yet, and is still just in his second full year living and playing in North America?
Resiliency is impressive, but not sustainable
Make it eight straight games that the Flyers have surrendered the first goal, as Brandon Hagel made it 1-0 Lightning on Monday with his first-period redirection.
The Flyers couldn’t come back this time, but what they’ve done so far in terms of erasing deficits has been impressive. They are 8-5-2 when the opponent scores first, 4-3-2 when trailing after one period and 4-6-2 when trailing after two. It’s a sign of a sturdy culture, something the Flyers have prioritized even more than most clubs since the time Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones took over. Teams that don’t play for one another simply don’t come from behind as routinely as the Flyers have shown an ability to do.
But they’ll need to start playing with more leads. The Flyers have led games for just 269:59, the second-lowest sum in the league. Conversely, after Monday night, they have now trailed for a league-leading 571:22. It’s a wonder they’ve banked as many points as they have, although going 4-0 in the shootout has helped.
Still, this isn’t a recipe for long-term success. To put the Flyers’ come-from-behind success into context, they currently have a points percentage of .600 when allowing the first goal, and .417 when trailing after two. The league average for teams that don’t score first is .416, while it’s .217 for teams that trail after two. At some point, the Flyers will doubtlessly start to regress towards the mean.
Depth still questionable
Rodrigo Abols finally scored, helping the Flyers come from behind against the St. Louis Blues Thursday to win 3-2 in overtime. But it only came after he was moved up in the lineup. The Flyers’ fourth-liners still don’t have a single goal this season. Garnet Hathaway in particular looks like he’s lost a step compared to years past when he was routinely a physical force that could also pop in a goal from time to time: 10 last season, and seven in 2023-24.
On defense, Travis Sanheim, Cam York and Jamie Drysdale have all been generally strong. Emil Andrae has forced his way into a spot in the top four, lately skating with Drysdale. Monday aside, Andrae has given the Flyers a jolt in their ability to move the puck out of the defensive zone and through the neutral zone. It does, however, leave the club with an undersized group. That shows up when the Flyers are in their own zone in particular, as opponents have a little more space to freely roam around while looking to make plays — like Hagel outmuscling Andrae in front of the net on Tampa Bay’s first goal.
Another player, along with Hathaway, who’s struggling to have the kind of impact as under John Tortorella is defenseman Nick Seeler. Andrae has, for now, pushed Seeler down to the third pair, resulting in Seeler’s minutes dropping compared to the early part of the season. A player whose bread and butter under Tortorella was blocking shots suddenly isn’t being asked to do that as much under Tocchet.
Then there’s Samuel Ersson, who didn’t really help or hurt his cause on Monday, making 15 saves on 17 Lightning shots and falling to 3-2-2. Ersson’s numbers are again near the bottom of the league, but it’s also evident he has some rope from management to get his game in order. He also hasn’t been as bad as his numbers (.850 save percentage, 3.30 goals-against average) would suggest.
Samuel Ersson’s play this season has been better than his stats would suggest. (Kim Klement Neitzel / Imagn Images)
The captain cools off
It started off so well. Flyers captain Sean Couturier recorded eight points (two goals, six assists) in his first seven games, including a two-goal, two-assist performance in the home-opening win over the Florida Panthers on Oct. 13. Couturier even declared that he felt healthier this season than he did before back issues temporarily derailed his career.
But he’s hit a wall lately. Couturier hasn’t scored a goal since that game against the Panthers, making it 17 straight without one. While he’s still chipped in offensively from time to time, including on Saturday against the Devils when he had two primary helpers, Couturier has seen some of his earlier minutes taken by Dvorak and Noah Cates. If it keeps trending this way, the Flyers might have to figure out sooner rather than later what they’re going to do with the four remaining years on Couturier’s contract.
Foerster reaching another level
Now the Flyers’ co-leader with Zegras with seven goals, it’s probably safe to say Foerster has reached untouchable status when it comes to any future trade discussions. The 23-year-old seems more willing to use his shot this season and he’s playing key roles on both special-teams units, too. His chemistry with Cates, especially, has become a vital part of the Flyers’ two-way game.
The Mark Stone comparisons are only going to grow louder if Foerster keeps playing like this. He’s only getting better.