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Philadelphia Flyers · Rick Tocchet · Detroit Red Wings

Tocchet says the Flyers rush. Ten goals in eight games say he is right

By the Data Desk · ·

Rick Tocchet counted the moments himself: four or five times in Tuesday's shootout loss, he says, a Flyers defenceman jumped into the play too early and turned a Grade A chance into a blocked shot. That is his explanation for the worst start in franchise history, 0-5-3 and ten goals in eight games, and he takes it to Detroit tonight.

  • Philadelphia are the NHL's last winless team at 0-5-3, with 10 goals, the fewest in the league, and one goal or none in five of their eight games (NHL).
  • Tocchet, after Wednesday's practice: "If we just waited just an extra two seconds", the Flyers would have had better looks instead of blocked shots (Broad Street Hockey).
  • Tonight they play at Detroit (1-3-2) at 7:30 pm ET; Daniil Tarasov, who stopped all 30 shots he faced in his only game, is confirmed in the Red Wings' net.
Why it mattersAP called the seventh straight loss to open the season a franchise record, and fans chanted "Fire Tocchet" during Sunday's 4-1 defeat to Carolina. Every game without a win now adds to a record nobody in Philadelphia wants.

Tocchet was asked about "scooter skating", a phrase Trevor Zegras used after the 3-2 shootout loss to Seattle, and his answer was about timing. "You have to just slow your skating down. The delay comes and then you scoot your skating, so you time it right, and then you get your shot," he said, adding that his defence was "getting in too close" and running into the opponents' forwards. Before that he reached for a word he admitted he probably should not use on camera, and then used it anyway, Broad Street Hockey reports.

The numbers back the coach's point about chances turning into nothing. Philadelphia were shut out 7-0 by Pittsburgh on opening night, then lost 4-1, 2-1, 5-1 and 4-1 in regulation, and their three overtime or shootout defeats all ended 3-2 (NHL). Nobody on the roster has more than three points, Christian Dvorak leads with two goals, and Travis Konecny, with three assists and no goals, went on injured reserve with a lower-body injury on 11 October (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Behind the scenes, the pressure has moved from the stands to the coach's office quickly. Tocchet is only in his second season in Philadelphia, and after the Carolina game general manager Danny Briere said it was not the time to panic over a bad stretch, AP reported. Rasmus Ristolainen is on injured reserve and Cam York did not travel to Detroit, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports, so the defence Tocchet wants to slow down is also short of bodies.

Detroit are hardly a fortress. They are 1-3-2, lost 5-4 in overtime to New Jersey on Tuesday and have just given Alex DeBrincat a seven-year extension worth $13 million a year from 2027-28; he leads them with four goals. What happens next: puck drop at Little Caesars Arena is 23:30 UTC, and Joseph Woll is the Flyers' projected, unconfirmed starter.

Our take

Patience, not panic, is the Flyers' missing skill

Our editorial team agrees with Tocchet's diagnosis: a team that scores 1.25 goals a game while the coach counts four or five lost Grade A chances a night has a timing problem before it has an effort problem. Detroit, at 1-3-2 and without Compher, Appleton and Kasper, is as good a chance to fix it as the schedule offers. If the Flyers cannot score twice tonight, the conversation in Philadelphia moves from how the defence skates to who picks the team.

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Updates

  1. Confirmed Detroit 2, Philadelphia 1. Matvei Michkov scored his third goal of the season in the first period, Anton Johansson equalised with his first NHL goal and Andrew Copp won it at 15:22 of the third (NHL). The Flyers were outshot 26-18 and are now 0-6-3 with 11 goals in nine games and 33 against. Our take said that if they could not score twice in Detroit, the conversation would move from how the defence skates to who picks the team; they scored once, so that is where it is now. Next: Ottawa visit on Saturday, 17 October, at 23:00 UTC, with Linus Ullmark 6-0 this season and the Senators already 2-1 winners over Philadelphia on 8 October.
  2. Philadelphia 3, Ottawa 1 on Saturday: the Flyers' first win of the season at the tenth attempt, ending a 0-6-3 start, the worst in club history. Porter Martone tied it in the second period, Matvei Michkov scored the winner on the power play at 18:33 of the second, his fourth of the season and 50th in the NHL, and Trevor Zegras added an empty-netter, while Dan Vladar stopped 25 of 26 shots and handed Linus Ullmark (25 saves) his first loss in seven starts (NHL). Tocchet called it "a gutsy effort"; the Flyers are 1-6-3 and Colorado visit on Monday at 23:00 UTC.
  3. Before Monday's home game against Colorado (23:00 UTC), Sean Couturier and Tyson Foerster are game-time decisions after neither practised on Sunday, Owen Tippett (upper body) may miss time, and Travis Konecny, Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York are on injured reserve (NHL Status Report). Tocchet: "We're in that stretch right now where we're getting injuries." The Flyers are 1-6-3 with 14 goals in 10 games.
  4. Philadelphia 3, Colorado 2 on Monday: a second straight win after the 0-6-3 start. Matvei Michkov scored twice, on the power play at 7:41 of the first period and at 12:23 of the second, and now has six of the Flyers' 17 goals in 11 games; Noel Acciari added the third, his first as a Flyer, while Martin Necas and T.J. Hughes scored for Colorado (NHL). Joseph Woll made 24 saves for his first win with Philadelphia, and Cole Knuble made his NHL debut (AP). Our take asked for two goals a night; they have scored three in each of the last two games. The Flyers are 2-6-3 and play at Buffalo on Wednesday, 21 October, at 23:30 UTC.
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