John Tortorella spoke to the media after the Flyers’ 6-3 loss to the Capitals.
In the short term, the record and result are bad. The Flyers fell to 1-5-1 after losing their sixth straight game Wednesday night with a 6-3 decision to the Capitals at Capital One Arena.
But in the big picture of this 2024-25 season, the Flyers saw an important breakthrough offensively, something they could potentially build on as they try to shake these early troubles.
After falling behind 4-0 before the midway mark of the game, the Flyers finally found themselves and actually outplayed Washington the rest of the way. The offensive life was desperately needed for the Flyers.
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They nearly tied the game at 4-4 with 7:39 minutes left in the third period but Morgan Frost couldn't bury a great look at a wraparound attempt. Almost five and a half minutes later, the Capitals scored their first of two empty-net goals to finish off John Tortorella's club.
The Flyers had a glaring miscue on Washington's dagger. With their net emptied for the extra attacker, Egor Zamula went to make a line change as Jamie Drysdale sent a pass his way. It directly resulted in a turnover and Pierre-Luc Dubois' empty-netter to make it 5-3. Future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin scored the second on the abandoned net.
Drysdale (two assists), Matvei Michkov (one goal, one assist) and Owen Tippett (one goal, one assist) had multi-point performances for the Flyers, who had scored just one goal over their previous two games.
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This skid matches the Flyers' longest losing streak in the first 10 games of a season since 2008-09, when the team dropped its opening six games (0-3-3). That club went on to still make the playoffs with 99 points.
Since March 24 of last season, the Flyers have gone through losing streaks of eight and six games. In that span, they've lost 15 of their last 18 games (3-12-3) and been outscored 76-40.
The Capitals (5-1-0) swept the home-and-home back-to-back set from the Flyers by a combined score of 10-4.
• Travis Konecny got the Flyers on the board with a power play marker 4:48 minutes after Washington ballooned its lead to 4-0.
The goal from the team's best player seemed to relieve some pressure off the Flyers' shoulders. Tippett then scored his first off the season a little over four minutes later. And Michkov made it a one-goal game 6:36 minutes into the third period with a 4-on-3 power play snipe.
Sean Couturier was very good, providing screens on the goals by Tippett and Michkov. He also won 14 of 19 faceoffs.
So the fact that the Flyers prevented the game from going totally off the rails and had key guys find a spark scoring-wise was a huge swing for them. But they still need to carry it over and produce a win to stop this spiral.
• Making his third start of the season, Ivan Fedotov struggled again with tracking the puck at times. He finished with 20 saves on 24 shots after settling in a bit to give the Flyers a chance at a comeback attempt.
Taylor Raddysh and Connor McMichael beat Fedotov with impressive redirections. Nic Dowd, though, scored on a shot through Fedotov's five-hole, an area that has been a weakness for the 6-foot-7 netminder.
Fedotov has surrendered 14 goals over his three outings. His finish to Wednesday night's game was a positive for the Flyers, but they're likely monitoring the backup situation pretty closely.
Capitals goalie Logan Thompson stopped 26 of the Flyers' 29 shots. He faced only three in the first period but the Flyers put 26 on him in the final two periods.
• The Flyers' power play went 2 for 4 and is now 7 for 29 on the season.
Michkov has seven points (three goals, four assists) in seven games, with six of them coming on the man advantage.
The Flyers' penalty kill continued to hum, going 3 for 3. Ryan Poehling had two painful blocked shots on the PK.
• Jett Luchanko sat for both games against Washington. The Flyers don't seem in any rush — one way or the other — with the 18-year-old center. He has played in four games and can play up to nine before they have to make a decision on the first year of his entry-level contract.
You have to imagine Luchanko will get another look this weekend.
"He makes some really good plays, he has made a lot of really good plays on his backhand," Tortorella said Monday. "Good plays, struggles at times. Makes some really good defensive plays, struggles at times. He's 18, you know? But I still like what he brings and we're going to keep on evaluating him and see where we go from there."
Staying on the lineup, Tyson Foerster was back in it Wednesday night for Bobby Brink. Joel Farabee played only 8:58 minutes and Nicolas Deslauriers 6:52 as Tortorella shortened his bench to make a push.
• The Flyers are off Thursday and practice Friday before hosting a back-to-back set when they welcome the Wild on Saturday (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP) and Canadiens on Sunday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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