3 Takeaways From Flyers’ Historic 4-1 Loss to Hurricanes

When the Carolina Hurricanes came to Philadelphia last week and beat the Flyers, you could easily make the case against outright panic. Yes, the Flyers hadn’t won any of their first three games, but they had picked up a point in two straight. Surely there would be some resurgence before the defending champions returned to Philadelphia eight days later, or at least maybe a fluky win to get something going.

Even fluking into success feels daunting for the Flyers to find right now. Their performance against the Hurricanes was no longer good enough. When they had lost six straight games to begin the 2026-27 season, they could at least take comfort that the franchise made the playoffs the only other times they did so (1999-00, 2008-09). But there is no company to be had at seven straight defeats, just a quickly growing gap between them and the rest of the NHL.

Leaving the Backdoor Open

When Rick Tocchet arrived as head coach of the Flyers last season, one of the major proponents of his system was the dedication to denying backdoor chances. There are definitely drawbacks to it, which fans saw almost as much all of last season as they have to start year two. But that defensive improvement was a huge reason the Flyers took such a big step forward in 2025-26.

The failure to execute it is one of the biggest reasons the team has floundered so much through its first seven games. After the Canes took a 1-0 lead just past the halfway point, Shayne Gostisbehere delivered a sinking second goal when Aho found him open through Oliver Bonk at the near post, with Joseph Woll having no chance to save the shot and respect Aho as a shooter down the middle.

Lightning struck twice later in the period. Carolina won a puck battle in the neutral zone (one of many on the night), which William Carrier carried into the offensive zone with speed. Aho swooped behind Sean Couturier, one of the team’s best defensive forwards, and slid a one-timer past a sprawling Woll for his sixth goal in seven games this season.

And it wasn’t just the goals that were the problem, too. Aho nearly scored again just seconds into the third period when he drifted to a wide-open spot on the right flank, ripping a one-timer off the outside of the net. After playing a tighter game against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, the Flyers have been as loose as ever with their defensive coverage the last two games, and they’ve paid for it dearly.

Bonk Is Back

With Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York still out with injuries and Helge Grans not impressing in his call-up on Saturday, the Flyers made another roster move, promoting their top American Hockey League (AHL) prospect, Oliver Bonk. Sunday was Bonk’s third career NHL game and second against the Hurricanes after dressing for the last game of their playoff series in May.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go well. Bonk was whistled for two penalties in the first period, and while his teammates picked him up by killing both, the 21-year-old was part of why Carolina gained a 2-0 lead in the second period. Tocchet made the bold choice to play Bonk with Travis Sanheim, the Flyers’ top defenseman, with Jamie Drysdale off to a rough start (like almost everyone else).

In fairness to Tocchet, there wasn’t really any other option other than trying Drysdale again. Nick Seeler can hold his own defensively, but his limited puck skills would’ve likely been exploited by Carolina’s relentlessness in an elevated role. Simon Benoti’s greater limitations and David Jiříček’s inconsistency made them basically impossible to consider in such a high role.

But Bonk didn’t look capable of handling the heat, finishing with an unimpressive 38.51% expected goal share (actually slightly above the team average) and 0-3 goal share, per Natural Stat Trick. To be clear, he isn’t a bad player. You could easily make an argument for him playing over Benoit or Jiříček (although sitting him for the former would leave the Flyers with four right-shot defenders). But plugging him into such an important role straight out of the AHL felt a bit desperate, and it didn’t work out.

Coming Undone

Two moments stand out as an essence of where the Flyers are as a group right now. The first was early in the second period when Jordan Martinook and Tyson Foerster got tangled up inside the Flyers’ blue line, only for Martinook to take multiple shots at Foerster’s head. It was an egregious non-call by the officials, absolutely, but it also stood out that no one on the ice came to Foerster’s defense, at least not physically.

The other came later in the period after Christian Dvorak scored his first goal seven games into a five-year, $25.75 million contract. The Flyers had life in a rare period against Carolina in which they weren’t being bombarded in the shot department (finishing with a 9-7 deficit). And, like following the Martinook scrum, they immediately conceded a goal, restoring a two-goal deficit that feels almost insurmountable against Carolina even when the Flyers are playing well.

It’s easy to play amateur psychologist and impossible to actually get inside the players’ heads, but it’s fair to be concerned about the team’s fragility right now. Perhaps they didn’t attack Martinook for fear of another penalty and a goal to a Carolina power play that scored twice in this building eight days ago. Maybe they could’ve delivered a bigger surge following Dvorak’s goal if every red light didn’t feel like an oasis in the offensive desert.

The Flyers have to be desperate for some kind of validation that last year’s playoff team remains inside a group that saw minimal turnover during the summer. But teams aren’t going to hand it over to them. And earning it certainly feels like an uphill battle right now.

What’s Next

After spending last week on the road, the Flyers have some home cooking to enjoy ahead. More importantly, they have two easier games up next. They host the Seattle Kraken Tuesday before heading to Little Caesars Arena to face the Detroit Red Wings. A visit from the Senators follows that on Saturday, the one team the Flyers have played well against.

If the Flyers can benefit from that dip in opposition quality, they can finally start to move in the right direction. If not, their season could be close to falling completely off the rails.