The Philadelphia Flyers (6-5-1) have now dropped two straight games at home. This time to the Calgary Flames in a sleepy 2-1 final. It was a low-event, low-effort hockey game that was easily their worst game of the season so far.
What on earth happened this game? Not much. The Flyers had 9 shots on goal through two periods compared to the Flames’ 17. The only Flyers deserving of recognition are Aleksei Kolosov and, to a lesser extent, Travis Konecny. Kolosov gave up 2 goals on 21 shots and finished with a .905 SV%. Konecny, who certainly is a part of this shooting problem, did in fact score a goal late in the third period. Aside from that, not much else happened. It was one of those games where the play was so bad, head coach Rick Tocchet felt like the fans were owed an apology.
“It was an ugly game. I feel bad for the fans. It wasn’t a fun game to watch.” – Rick Tocchet; 11/2/2025
It does beg the question, why did this happen? The Flyers know they need to shoot the puck more. Over the last week, Tocchet has spent a lot of time advocating for more pucks on the net. Yet, here we are in another game that required getting to the third period for double digit shots on goal.
“We had a good record two games ago, and the will wasn’t there the last two games. We just didn’t have the will.” – Rick Tocchet; 11/2/2025
Tocchet elaborated on where the will is being lost, noting that guys are not finding the harder areas of the ice. Who exactly is he speaking about though? It is the entire team, or just a select group of skaters? Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Flyers asked Tocchet if the issue lies more on the forwards than defensemen, noting that this is what Konecny thought of the Flyers’ struggles.
“I thought we had four or five blocked shots. I think our ‘D’ could do a better job of changing lanes, but yeah, he’s right. We just got to do it. We got to stop telling the press that we got to get to the net. We got to do it. Action, right?” – Rick Tocchet; 11/2/2025
The blocked shots were a major issue in this game as well. For example, the Flyers shot the puck 15 times in the first period. Of those 15 shots, 8 were blocked, 4 missed the net, which leaves you with just 3 shots on goal through 15 shooting attempts. It’s abysmal. Tocchet acknowledged that the forwards need to do a much better job of getting these pucks on net.
“I think deception. When you go down to fake it, usually the guy will go down on the other team and you just go around and you just change an angle. I think when you lose your confidence you rush your shot. If we start getting some, maybe it’ll loosen some people up, but that’s what I see. You got to really put some heat on them, nobody wants to block hard shots. Changing the angle is big, that’s deception, and we need people to get in front.” – Rick Tocchet; 11/2/2025
FIRST PERIOD
PHI PP: 0/0
PHI PK: 1/1
SOG: 9-3,CGY
FO%: 52-48, CGY
Score: 0-0
The Flyers came out with a lot of energy and puck control through the first 4 minutes of the game. It seemed like all four forward lines were rolling. Trevor Zegras and Konecny made good work along the wall and set up Nick Seeler, who was driving from the point and rang one off the post.
However, from that point on, the Flyers began to sag back, and the Flames would control play. Things would continue to descend, where Bobby Brink got caught with his stick on a guy, and was sent to the box for hooking. Despite this mess of a game, the one area that continues to be sound is their defense and, more specifically, their penalty kill. Calgary would soon find themselves in the box as well towards the end of the period, and some scrums ensued.
The way the period closed, it felt like the Flyers found some life in themselves again. The penalty kill was good, Calgary took a penalty, and they were basically starting the second period on a power play. It felt like a great chance to get back into this game.
SECOND PERIOD
PHI PP: 0/1
PHI PK: 2/2
SOG: 17-9,CGY
FO%: 51.2-48.8, CGY
Score: 1-0, CGY
About 20 seconds into the second stanza, the Flyers would go on the power play for about 1:40. In that time, they were able to get set up, but failed again to get shots on net.
Then, the Flames scored just seconds after the power play expired. Jonathan Huberdeau scored his third of the season, assisted by Yegor Sharangovich and Brayden Pachal. Kolosov may have been screened on the play, but a lot of observers noticed that he shrunk a bit in net. Regardless, he played well enough. After all, he did only give up 2 goals. With that being said, this is definitely a save he can learn to make as he continues to grow with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Then came the moment where it felt like it was all but confirmed the Flyers were losing this game. With a chance to shoot the puck from a high-danger area, Konecny elected to pass the puck backwards to Egor Zamula. It was a good pass, and Zamula got the puck on net. The problem is the Flyers’ plus shooter is passing the puck out of a high-danger area to a defensemen who does not posses the same or anything close to a good shot. For those who missed it, check out below. It was that bad.
Zegras, who may have been the only Flyers forward who resembled a player with offensive talent, made a nice move through the nuetral zone, sent a streaking Travis Sanheim to the net, but could not handle the puck
Owen Tippett, who had another quiet night, went to the box for slashing. Fortunately, the penalty kill was able to kill off the Flames powerplay, but barely. Calgary center Nazem Kadri did hit iron, but Philadelphia survived.
Sanheim and Zegras would connect again for a scoring opportunity. Sanheim flew down from the right circle, tossing a backhand through the crease. Zegras had a couple stabs at it, but Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf was able to smother the puck.
THIRD PERIOD
PHI PP: 0/1
PHI PK: 2/2
SOG: 21-16,CGY
FO%: 52.6-47.4, CGY
Final Score: 2-1, CGY
To no one’s surprise, Tocchet put the top nine forwards in a blender, and started the period with a new look.
They would create some chances, to be sure, but it all felt too little, too late. And it was, because the Flames would go on to score again off of a double screen and deflection just past the 13:00 minute mark. Now it was 2-0 Flames.
Konecny, shockingly, was the Flyer to score. After all of the drama in the first 40 minutes of the game, Konecny would shoot and score right off of the faceoff won by Noah Cates.
Disappointingly, this was it. The Flyers pulled Kolosov for the extra attacker and created a chance. Sean Couturier was set up for a one-timer, but had no bodies in front, and delivered the puck right into Wolf’s chest. All of a sudden, the Flyers went from earning a 3-game winning streak to being on the verge of following that up with 3 straight losses.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will hit the road and visit the Montréal Canadiens on Tuesday at Bell Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm ET.
