The power play stinks, but you already knew that.
It was always going to be the X-factor heading into the postseason and the Philadelphia Flyers are on the brink of a sweep because of it.
As the rest of the NHL is getting more dangerous with the extra attacker, the Flyers have gone the other way with things. Where other teams are front-loading their top units, utilizing one-timers, and entering the zone with speed and momentum, the Flyers are doing none of it.
Their personnel isn’t anywhere near some of the best teams in the NHL, but they also shouldn’t have finished dead last in 4 of the last 5 years.
2025-26 playoffs: 3/33 – 9.09% – 14th
2025-26: 37/235 for 15.74% – 32nd
2024-25: 32/214 for 14.95% – 30th
2023-24: 31/254 for 12.20% – 32nd
2022-23; 35/225 for 15.56% – 32nd
2021-22: 30/239 for 12.55% – 32nd
In the 3 games against the Carolina Hurricanes this series, the Flyers have gone 1 for 16, including 0/4 in Game 1, 1/7 in Game 2, and then 0/5 in Game 3.
The power play was truly a thorn in Games 2 and 3, despite opening the scoring with the extra attacker in the former. The last 5 attempts barely generated anything offensively in Game 2, and then in last night’s loss, they didn’t record a shot on their first 3 attempts, before giving up a costly shorthanded goal that became the eventual game-winner.
While the Hurricanes deserve a ton of credit for their work on the penalty kill, they’re essentially using the playbook that almost every team in the league has on the Flyers.
Crowd the blue-line to not allow entry into the zone, stay on the players along the walls as they try to enter the zone to take away the pass, and then attack the puck carrier right away if they’re established in the zone.
It’s become such a tiresome and predictable power play scheme. It’s usually Trevor Zegras getting the slingshot pass, the defense will then collapse right in front of their own blue-line, and Zegras will try to make a pass to a player along the wall, but they’re met by a defender.
If the pass is successful and they establish themselves in the zone, the defenders will then rush the puck carriers at the top of the umbrella. Zegras barely has any time to control the pace, the defensemen at the point are hounded immediately, and the puck is usually being rimmed around the boards to no avail.
Perhaps the most frustrating part is how predictable they are. They allow the opposition to pressure them and they don’t adjust. Rasmus Ristolainen is the most guilty culprit, because he’s either too slow with his decision making, or his passes are being read way too easily before it even happens.
Every time Ristolainen gets the puck he’s looking to pass it to either player on the walls. He’s never taking a slap-shot, which is almost the only reason why he’s on the ice in the first place, and any shot attempt he does take is held onto for too long and then into skates or shins.
It’s become a momentum-killing man advantage and that was on display late in the second period with the series essentially hanging in the balance. 1-1 game, Flyers on the power play after killing one themselves, and the puck ends up in the back of their net just 11 seconds later.
They even won the faceoff this time around – which also rarely happens – but a heads up diving play at the blue-line allowed the Hurricanes to go down the ice and score a massive go-ahead goal.
Then 30 seconds later, they find themselves on a 5-on-3, where they wasted most of it just trying to establish the ice. They got a few shots near the end but the Hurricanes managed to survive, rode that momentum into the third, and took the game away early.
Personnel is going to be a problem for the Flyers but they’re also one of the few teams that tries to balance their units. It’s hard to compare them to the likes of Colorado, Minnesota, or Edmonton, but having Sean Couturier out on a 5-on-3 isn’t the move.
The power play should have your most creative weapons on display. Why they haven’t gone with Zegras and Matvei Michkov is beyond comprehension.
There are zero adjustments made in-game and last night was a perfect example of that. No shots or dangerous opportunities were being generated, but they decided to send the same units back onto the ice, and used the same schemes that failed them all game – and all series, all playoffs, all season.
In the third period, Rick Tocchet benched Michkov and Alex Bump replaced him on the power play. Michkov didn’t have an inspiring game at even-strength, but to single him out was a bit strange.
Then came Tocchet’s postgame comments, where he called out certain players that shouldn’t be playing on the power play, but the only one that felt the wrath was Michkov.
This is no longer about his ice-time or even-strength usage. This is about using your players to their strengths, which is something they refuse to do for the Russian sophomore who was second on the team in power play goals and third in power play assists.
Outside of Zegras, he is the only one who can make the right reads in tight on the man advantage. He seemingly always finds a way to get his passes through defenders when he’s forced into a corner, and when in doubt he fires the puck towards the net.
The same can’t be said about Travis Konecny and the other veterans who have found themselves playing a ton of power play minutes.
Ristolainen is another example. If the argument for not having Travis Sanheim on the power play is because they want to preserve his ice-time from even-strength and penalty killing, then Ristolainen should be nowhere near the power play either.
The Finnish Olympian has lost the puck countless times but he’s not the only issue. Konecny has been a no-show, Tyson Foerster hasn’t been dangerous, Christian Dvorak has been invisible, and the only ones you tend to notice are the youngsters like Michkov, Martone, or Denver Barkey at the tail end.
How do you change this? It can be as simple as having Zegras and Michkov on the walls, Konecny as the net-front/behind the net plays, Porter Martone in the bumper, and Jamie Drysdale at the point. Play that unit for 90 seconds.
Enter the zone with speed, establish the walls, and set up one-timers like the opposition does against them while they’re penalty killing.
Second unit can be any combination of the remaining players but the goal is to have your most creative weapons on the ice for the majority of the power play. The Dvoraks, the Ristolainens, and (now) the Sean Couturiers should be parked on the bench – especially on 5-on-3s.
If Owen Tippett can suit up for Game 4, then you can replace Konecny’s net-front spot with Martone and allow Tippett to fire away in the slot.
Will they even entertain the idea? It seems unlikely, but it does sound like changes are on the horizon if Tocchet believes certain players shouldn’t be playing on the power play to begin with.
Adjustments that should be made include getting more pucks on net, entering the zone with speed – not slowing down as we near the blue-line – and get rid of players like Dvorak and Ristolainen on the units.
