3 Takeaways From Flyers’ Embarrassing 7-0 Loss to Penguins

The last time the Philadelphia Flyers took the ice in front of fans for a home opener following a playoff run, they allowed eight goals. At least by that putrid measure, Wednesday night’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins was a step in the right direction.

Of course, by any reasonable expectation, night one of a big year two in the Rick Tocchet era and year four under Daniel Brière couldn’t have gone any worse. After an even first few shifts, the Penguins grabbed the lead early in the first period and never looked back. By the second, the breakdowns were coming fast and furious.

The Penguins, who averaged under two goals in their playoff series against the Flyers last spring, had two in the first and five before the end of the second. When the dust mercifully settled, they wound up handing the Flyers a loss one goal worse than the one they suffered eight years ago, about six weeks before firing their general manager and another four before making a change at head coach.

One game does not make a season, especially one that’s now two games longer. But for a Flyers team that has shown promise but truly failed to launch so many times over the last 15 years, it was certainly a scarring start to the 2026-27 season. If the complacency Brière was worried about entering the season was present on Wednesday, a loss this humiliating should very much remind the Flyers that in this new season, last year’s success guarantees nothing.

Vladař Struggles

No one was more responsible for the Flyers’ success last season than Dan Vladař. And while he certainly wasn’t the only, or even necessarily the main, culprit for Wednesday’s disaster, he also wasn’t at his sharpest.

Pittsburgh’s second goal was a breakaway finish by Ville Koivunen, which obviously isn’t Vladař’s fault. And their third came on a blistering one-timer by Evgeni Malkin on the power play in the slot, a tough shot for any netminder to face.

However, the opening tally was a crafty but stoppable deflection by Nicholas Robertson near the side of the net. And Vladař was rarely beaten straight up the way he was on the fourth goal, especially by a player like Hendrix Lapierre, who had just 13 goals in 158 career games entering this season.

Vladař did make a nice save right before the Penguins’ fifth tally but was unable to cover the puck up before Filip Hallander banged it home. The sixth goal may have been his ugliest allowed as a Flyer, literally kicking a loose puck into his own net on a carom off the end boards.

Vladař only allowed five goals or more four times last season, and it was about a month into the season before it happened for the first time. Even a locked-in Vladař probably wouldn’t have been enough to change the outcome, but he wasn’t able to bail the Flyers out like he did countless times last season.

Offense Lacking

One of the biggest questions facing the Flyers was if they could generate more offense this season. While the power play has gotten consistent, deserved scrutiny for the last half-decade, the Flyers weren’t a very dangerous 5-on-5 team last season, either. In 2025-26, the Flyers were 30th in shot attempts per 60, 27th in expected goals per 60, 18th in high-danger chances per 60, and 27th in goals per 60 at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick.

Missing Denver Barkey due to a preseason injury doesn’t excuse the lack of pressure the Flyers put on Artūrs Šilovs, a decent but not spectacular goaltender. The Flyers didn’t have a shot on goal for the final 12:25 of the first period. They were outshot 26-12 through the first 40 minutes, and most of the shots they did get weren’t threatening ones. Their final negative 19-shot differential (38-19) was worse than any regular season game they played in 2025-26.

Unlike the Penguins, the Flyers just couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities they found early. Trevor Zegras and Noah Cates couldn’t hit Porter Martone and Matvei Michkov, respectively, for what would’ve been clear breakaways. Twice the Flyers passed up a good chance to try and give Tyson Foerster a great one, but Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak failed to hit him both times.

As for the power play, their performance on three opportunities (all coming after the game was already out of hand) had some decent moments. The top unit had some decent looks on the first try, and Konecny was robbed at the net-front on the second. But they also gave up a couple of dangerous shorthanded rushes on the second attempt, and while the shorthanded goal they surrendered on the third was on Vladař, the rush doesn’t happen with better puck management in the offensive zone.

An Undisciplined Start

The game really got away from the Flyers when Malkin’s power-play goal hit the back of the net early in the second, kicking off a three-goal blitz in a 5:20 span to turn the game into a laugher. But the power play itself was completely avoidable, coming on a post-whistle cross-checking call against Martone.

It wasn’t the only after-the-whistle penalty the Flyers would take, either, as Nick Seeler received a nearly identical roughing call later in the period. It wasn’t just penalties where the Flyers lacked discipline, though. The sound defensive structure they cultivated last season was missing for almost the entire night.

That was especially evident on Pittsburgh’s first two goals. The opener came a few seconds after a crushing hit by Rasmus Ristolainen on Sidney Crosby, and not an unnecessary one, as Crosby had the puck cutting toward the slot. But the Flyers never settled back into their proper positions, allowing Robertson to sneak free down low. Then the team was caught flat-footed at the blue line, with Koivunen sneaking between Trevor Zegras and Foerster as the defense was changing to get one-on-one with Vladař.

You can put some blame on the shorter training camp if you want, but the reality is every team was dealing with that condensed schedule. The Penguins clearly came out of it more ready to play than the Flyers did, and it showed throughout the contest.

What’s Next

For better or worse, the Flyers will have a quick turnaround, heading to the Prudential Center for the New Jersey Devils’ season opener on Thursday night. Expect a couple of lineup changes after such a lopsided defeat, likely including David Jiříček for Simon Benoit and Joseph Woll’s Flyers debut in goal. Perhaps Nikita Grebenkin replaces Carl Grundström for the all-former Toronto Maple Leafs lineup infusion (although Grundström is a former Leaf, too).

The Devils had a pretty busy offseason, adding a lot to their forward core and trusting their internal goaltending options after trading Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers. Like the Flyers (and the Penguins), they have a lot riding on making the playoffs this season. Those are still a long way off, but every game counts the same when the season ends.