Flyers lay an egg in opener, get booed off the ice after 7-0 loss to the Penguins
The Flyers, who entered the season with increased expectations, were quickly humbled in front of the Xfinity Mobile Arena crowd. The defeat equalled their largest ever in a season opener.
It didn’t feel like 144 days had passed.
The roars were the same as that spring day in May when the Flyers’ season came to an end. The fan appreciation as they left the ice following a sweeping loss to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes was still palpable, especially when coach Rick Tocchet and players like Denver Barkey (who is injured), Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Trevor Zegras, and Dan Vladař were introduced.
But that was about the only time the hometown faithful were happy, as the Flyers were thumped 7-0 by the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Flyers ended the Penguins’ season last year on Cam York’s overtime winner in Game 6. Pittsburgh played like a group looking for revenge and handed the Flyers a loss so lopsided that it equalled the worst opening night loss in the team’s history. The Flyers were also handed a 7-0 loss by the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 21, 1971, at The Spectrum.
Nick Robertson quieted the crowd less than 8 minutes into the opening frame with his first as a Penguin, scoring on a nifty redirect of a pass by Kris Letang near the right post. Sidney Crosby got the secondary assist, and the crowd, of course, booed mercilessly as he registered his 140th point against the Flyers, the most in NHL history.
Later in the first, as the Flyers were changing, Ville Koivunen received a stretch pass from Sam Girard, got behind the Orange and Black’s defense, and out-deked Vladař to score five-hole. The boo birds came out after the first period — and after the second too, with the Penguins adding three more in the middle frame.
Evgeni Malkin made it 3-0 on a give-and-go with Hendrix Lapierre during a Penguins power play. The future Hall of Famer passed the puck to Lapierre at the left flank and rotated down from the point into the bumper, opening up his body for the quick strike.
Lapierre added his own tally 2:23 later, scooping up the puck in the neutral zone, catching Carl Grundström flat-footed as he blew past him, and scoring short-side on a late-developing two-on-one. And Filip Hållander made it a handful of goals with just his second career marker, scoring on his second swipe atop the crease as everyone crashed down.
In the third period, Robertson added a sixth tally during a Flyers power play when his missed shot went off the end board, off Vladař’s skate, and in. Egor Chinakhov wrapped up the scoring with a power-play tip-in off of a shot from Erik Karlsson to make it 7-0.
» READ MORE: The Flyers’ Achilles heel has long been their last-ranked power play. Turning the tide in 2026-27 is imperative.
Yep, a Flyers power play that ranked dead last last season (15.7%) and tied for the fourth-most short-handed goals allowed has picked up right where it left off. According to Natural Stat Trick, the man advantage had 14 shot attempts, seven shots on goal, and seven scoring chances. It still went 0-for-3, allowed two scoring chances, and that goal.
But the power play, while still anemic, wasn’t the worst element of the Flyers’ performance on the night. They allowed Pittsburgh to breeze through the middle, drive to the net, and pile 38 shots on goal compared to their 19.
Breakaways
Malkin became the sixth player in NHL history to notch 100 or more points against the Flyers, joining Crosby (140), Mario Lemieux (124), Jaromír Jágr (120), Bryan Trottier (117), and Wayne Gretzky (100).
Up next
The Flyers get right back to action on Thursday, taking on the Devils in New Jersey (7 p.m., ESPN+, Hulu, Disney+).
