The Philadelphia Flyers set a franchise record for the longest winless start to a season on Sunday night, falling 4-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes at Xfinity Mobile Arena to drop to 0-5-2. Head coach Rick Tocchet accepted the blame as fans chanted for his firing.
The defending champion Hurricanes handed Philadelphia its seventh defeat, pushing the club past previous franchise marks of six-game winless starts recorded in 1999-00 and 2008-09. The Flyers are now the only winless team in the Eastern Conference, just five months after a second-round playoff run.
Tocchet Takes Blame for 28-8 Goal Deficit
Philadelphia has been outscored 28-8 through seven games, including four losses by three or more goals. The Flyers Postgame Live crew analyzed the 4-1 loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday night.
“Sure, as a coach or a player, you hate to hear the outside noise, but that’s part of the whole deal. That’s the business we’re in, it comes with the territory. We owe the fans a better product on the ice and we haven’t given it to them yet. When that doesn’t happen, it’s on me, I’ve got to take the blame on that.”
Rick Tocchet, Head Coach
Tocchet admitted his squad tends to lose structure during critical stretches.
Players React to Historic Skid
Captain Sean Couturier said the team is just not winning battles
and out of sync right now.
“It’s frustrating, especially to start the year. We’re out of sync right now, there are not really any excuses, honestly. We’re just not winning battles. We’ve just got to be better overall. I don’t know, it’s still early in the year, obviously we have some catch-up to do.”
Sean Couturier, captain
Christian Dvorak emphasized a day-by-day mindset, explaining that the group is just taking it a day at a time, a game at a time.
Trevor Zegras—who signed a four-year, $36.5 million extension following a 26-goal campaign—voiced strong support for the coaching staff. He’s an amazing person, he’s an amazing coach, he does so many little things for us behind the scenes,
Zegras said of Tocchet, insisting the roster has the talent to reverse course.
Injuries Drain Defensive Depth
Alternate captain Travis Konecny was placed on injured reserve Sunday with a lower-body injury, ruling him out for the week ahead of a potential return Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. Defensemen Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen remain sidelined; York is managing an upper-body injury and Ristolainen is recovering from a hand injury sustained after taking a shot.
The 2023 first-round pick endured a difficult night in top-pair duties alongside Travis Sanheim against Carolina, committing two first-period penalties and landing on the ice for all three Hurricanes goals in the second stanza.
Briere Manages Worst Start in History
Philadelphia has dropped 13 of 14 games since taking a 3-0 lead over Pittsburgh in the first round last season, including a second-round sweep by Carolina. The club had won its first playoff series since 2020 during that run.
Both the 1999-2000 and 2008-09 Flyers teams opened their schedules with six consecutive winless games and recovered to make the postseason.
The Flyers will attempt to secure their first victory of the season when they host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night against a schedule of opponents with a combined record of 22-9-2.