Another night, another L for the Flyers, and this time it was a tough 2-1 defeat to the Ottawa Senators. Despite cranking up their compete level and even bagging a power play goal, they ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard Thursday night. That winless streak just hit five brutal games, and you can feel the desperation brewing.
Lines in a Blender: Philly’s Desperate Shuffle
Head coach Rick Tocchet and his staff really threw the forward lines into a blender trying to spark something, anything, against Ottawa. It was wild. Sean Couturier, who’d been a bright spot on the fourth line in limited minutes, suddenly found himself bumped all the way up to the second line, centering Porter Martone and Travis Konecny. And they weren’t done there. Noah Cates moved down to the fourth line, playing between newbie Michael Bunting and Noel Acciari. Maybe the most intriguing mix was that second line of Tyson Foerster, Denver Barkey, and Matvei Michkov. Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak were paired up, with Zegras on the wing, and Owen Tippett was rounding out the top line.
This wasn’t just tinkering, folks. This was Philadelphia pulling out every conceivable stop to try and stop this absolutely horrid start to the 2026-27 season. And you know what? To start the game, it actually looked a bit more cohesive. The first real chance saw Couturier dishing a pass for a rushing Travis Sanheim. Not spectacular, no, but after the low bar they’ve set so far this season, it felt like a baby step. Four minutes in, the Flyers had four shots to Ottawa’s one. By the end of the first period, their Corsi For percentage was the highest of the season at a whopping 70.59 per cent (12-5). But here’s the gut punch: while they looked better, the same old problems reared their ugly heads. A constant parade to the penalty box, including a super untimely one in the third period, just killed them. They did everything but score late in the third, but it wasn’t enough.
Martone’s Oomph: A Glimmer of Hope
Even though he’s still waiting for his first goal of the season, Porter Martone was a different player on Monday night. After Tyson Foerster got credited for one in the Tampa loss, Martone is still searching, but his engagement against Ottawa was the best it’s been all season. That’s a good sign, especially when you think about how this team needs anyone to step up. Thankfully, he even dodged a blatant elbow from Brandon Hagel, which could have been nasty.
Martone showed serious oomph and passion from start to finish. That’s the version of Martone the Flyers absolutely need if they’re going to crawl out of this mess. He had a quiet first period, mainly because Philadelphia kept taking penalties, but he still set up a good chance late in the first, impressively avoiding a collision with Ottawa’s Thomas Chabot. Like a lot of his teammates, Martone had a much better second period, winning puck battles five-on-five and generating some real offensive zone time. They nearly tied it up, but “nearly” doesn’t get you off a five-game winless streak. They need to find a way to bottle that Martone energy and make it contagious.
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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