Ugh, another one. The Philadelphia Flyers cranked up their compete level and even netted a power play goal, but still ended up on the losing side Thursday night, falling 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators. That’s five straight losses now, which is a brutal way to kick off the 2026-27 season. They looked better, sure, but “better” clearly isn’t “good enough” right now.
Lines in a Blender, Still No Wins
You could tell the coaching staff was pulling out all the stops to try and stop this horrid start. Head coach Rick Tocchet and his crew drastically shuffled all four forward lines against Ottawa. Sean Couturier, who’d been a bright spot in limited minutes on the fourth line, suddenly found himself on the second line between Porter Martone and Travis Konecny. Noah Cates got bumped to the fourth line with newbie Michael Bunting and Noel Acciari. And get this: the “most potential-riddled line” was supposed to be Tyson Foerster, Denver Barkey, and Matvei Michkov. Trevor Zegras was on the wing, paired with Christian Dvorak, and Owen Tippett was rounding out the top line.
All those changes, and what happened? To start the game, the Flyers did look a bit more cohesive. They even had four shots to Ottawa’s one just four minutes in. By the end of the first period, their Corsi For percentage was their highest of the season, clocking in at 70.59 percent (12-5). Couturier even set up a decent chance for Travis Sanheim. But despite all that, the ugly parts of their game still reared their heads. A parade to the penalty box, including a super untimely one in the third, proved fatal. Ottawa capitalized, with Nick Cousins scoring in the first, and then Carter Yakemchuk getting a power play goal in the third. Matvei Michkov’s power play goal in the second was awesome, but it wasn’t enough. They fired 29 shots to Ottawa’s 26, and even did “everything but scoring” late in the third, but the scoreboard doesn’t lie. Five games, zero wins.
Martone Showing Oomph, But Needs Help
Amidst the losing streak, Porter Martone is showing signs of life, and that’s something. He’s still looking for his first goal of the season (Tyson Foerster got one credited in the Tampa loss), but Martone was way more engaged on Thursday night than at any other point this year. Remember that blatant elbow from Brandon Hagel he thankfully avoided? Yeah, that didn’t stop him. He played with serious oomph and passion from start to finish.
Martone’s first period was quiet, mainly because the Flyers were short-handed with four power plays against them. But he set up a good chance late in the period, even while dodging a collision with Ottawa’s Thomas Chabot. He, like a lot of his teammates, came out better in the second, winning puck battles five-on-five and creating some offensive zone time. Philadelphia nearly tied it up with his efforts, and they desperately need more of that version of Martone if they’re gonna climb out of this mess. They’ve gotta turn that individual passion into team wins, and fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Broad Street Hockey.
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