*After the game, Flyers captain Sean Couturier said one thing that hockey players tend to never say about each other unless they really want to create a spark. He called his team soft. And it was because, well, they were playing soft and not really going into puck battles believing they could win them. Just an overall bad game and their captain called them out. [BSH]

*Now more than ever, Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny’s absences are really catching up to the Flyers. Sure, any team missing two top-six wingers would really feel it, but it’s the small things that they would try to bring each night that have really been lacking during this skid. [BSH]

*Before the game in Washington, Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said some really nice things about Michkov and his big bounce back. He believes in the talent and knew all along this hot streak was inevitable. And now, it proved to be right as he scored against his team for his ninth goal of the season. [BSH]

*Let’s have some fun! It’s Halloween season after all. Steve and Jason jotted down their favorite Halloween-themed episodes of TV and wrote about them all. We’re putting a watchlist together. [BSH]

*Elsewhere, Kirill Kaprizov is off to a roaring tear through the NHL for the Minnesota Wild. And while we want to think of some crazy shooting percentage bender as the reason why he is suddenly scoring as many goals in as many games he has played, the numbers really show that it’s quite sustainable. He might not finish the season with 84 goals, but he could certainly get close enough to it and maybe steal a Hart Trophy, or something. [Daily Faceoff]

*The Seattle Kraken are apparently a wagon, or Sergei Bobrovsky was maybe the worst free-agent signing ever made by the Toronto Maple Leafs. With seconds left, Leafs captain Auston Matthews scored the equalizing goal to make it 4-4 and come back from a multi-goal deficit. All they needed was a save to the head into overtime and at least earn a much-needed point. Bobrovsky then decided he wanted to leave the game early, allowing a brutal goal that just squeaked through him with seconds left on the clock. [Sportsnet]

*Connor McDavid broke an NHL record very casually. He now owns the record for the longest assist streak to open a season in league history, at 13 games. And the Oilers beat the Flames pretty badly in the Battle of Alberta. [NHL.com]

The Capitals took an early lead on an Alex Tuch goal, but the Flyers were able to stem the tide and tie the game back up early in the second period. Unfortunately, the Capitals scored twice more before intermission, and the Flyers’ third-period comeback came up short this time around.

The Flyers now sit at 3-8-4 through their first 15 games of the season, with those three wins being the fewest in the Eastern Conference. In fact, no other team in the East has won fewer than five games.

Wednesday night’s loss in Washington could’ve been chalked up to a bad schedule spot had the Flyers not lost nine straight to start the season. But they did. And that puts every game and every effort under the microscope until they right the ship.

Sean Couturier calls out Flyers’ ‘soft’ effort

Sean Couturier scored his first goal of the season on a deflection in front to tie the game in the second period, and was one of the team’s better players throughout the contest. The captain led the team with an on-ice expected goals share of 58.17% at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick, with the Flyers winning the shot-attempt battle 22-18 in his 14:31 of ice time at 5-on-5.

As the leader on the team, and one of the leaders in this game, Couturier’s voice carries a lot of weight. He’s been more of a lead-by-example type of captain rather than one that gets loud with bulletin board material, but he sure let his voice be heard after Wednesday’s loss.

“At times this year, we’re, you know, soft. I would say not hard on battles, and we lose battles easily. It’s one thing to make mistakes and not win a battle. If you’re in there trying hard and stuff, then it’s different,” Couturier said via PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor.

Soft. It’s a word thrown around by fans and analysts at times, but rarely do you ever see a player use it on the record; especially not a captain. But it’s more than appropriate for how the Flyers have been playing this year.

And he wasn’t the only leader questioning the team’s effort.

Rick Tocchet supports his captain’s claims: ‘He’s not wrong’

Rick Tocchet is certainly feeling the pressure behind the bench with every loss, and he expressed his frustration with the Flyers’ performance on Wednesday night.

“Obviously, we need more battle. I think throughout the year it’s been inconsistent,” he said after the game. “That’s a big team over there; we expected that, but I thought we got a little shy at certain parts of the game.”

And when asked specifically about Couturier calling the team “soft,” Tocchet didn’t disagree.

“I’ve been on teams before, too, and leadership — sometimes players will do that. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Tocchet said. “There are parts of the year we have — whether it’s stick first, not body position. Yeah, there’s been times of that, for sure….

“He’s not wrong. There are certain parts of the game where we need a little bit more dig. I know we’re a little of a smaller team, but that still doesn’t make you an excuse for not getting a loose puck.”

Tocchet lamented that some of the players have been playing what he deemed “pause hockey.”

“You can’t play pause hockey. You know the puck’s going to go somewhere, and you just got to outrace your guy to go get that puck. When you wait a second or two, let that guy go first, then you go; that’s pausing a little bit,” he explained. “I don’t know whatever word you want to call it. It’s not good enough.”

Ultimately, Tocchet hasn’t been happy with how his team is defending this season.

“I just don’t think we’re defending hard enough. I really don’t. I think last year we had a bit of an identity; we were a pretty good defending team. This year, not so much,” he said. “I know we got some veterans out and stuff, but I don’t think we’re defending hard enough. I don’t think we value the defending part of the game.”

And he’s right.

Last season, the Flyers had the league’s third-best expected goals against per 60 minutes at 2.38. They’re now at a 2.85 xGA/60, the 10th-worst in the league.

Missing guys like Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, and Rasmus Ristolainen is going to cause a trickle-down effect throughout the lineup. But that’s not an excuse for a soft effort.

The Flyers now have their longest break of the season so far after their back-to-back divisional losses to the Blue Jackets and Capitals. They’ll have three days off to practice and prepare before returning to the ice on Sunday afternoon against the Utah Mammoth.

We’ll see what changes Tocchet makes at practice in the coming days, and if there are any changes from above, with Danny Briere and Keith Jones feeling the pressure as well.

The basics

First period: 1:50- Alex Tuch (Dylan Strome, Jack St. Ivany)
Second period: 4:36- Sean Couturier (Nick Seeler), 7:14- Jordan Kyrou (Dylan Strome, Jakob Chychrun), 16:47- Aliaksei Protas (Matt Roy, Pierre-Luc Dubois)
Third period: 9:44- Matvei Michkov (Denver Barkey, Trevor Zegras) (PPG), 12:51- Jordan Kyrou (Dylan Strome, Jack St. Ivany), 17:36- Alex Tuch (Pierre-Luc Dubois) (ENG)
SOG: 25 (PHI) – 30 (WAS)

Some takeaways

Better start? No

The Flyers got off to a terrible start Tuesday night against the Blue Jackets. They eked out a point, but considering they had a 28-6 shot advantage the latter half of the game, any semblance of an effort in the first half would’ve resulted in a probable two points. “You can’t start the game with your toe in the water, you got to dive in head first,” head coach Rick Tocchet said prior to the game against Washington. Now, on the second half of a back-to-back, and on the road against a Capitals team that played just one game the previous seven days, Philadelphia had to at least show some fight to start.

Well, against the physically imposing Caps, the Flyers bent quickly. And then broke. Alex Tuch got a rebound and buried it behind Joseph Woll before the game was two minutes old. It was probably the worst case scenario, especially after what happened Tuesday night. Philadelphia got their real chance on a Cole Knuble shot which was stopped rather easily. Knuble was one of the bright spots in the opening twenty minutes. He drove play, and drove the puck into those hard areas, particularly against such a big bunch of guys on the other side. The Flyers nearly tied it up to end the first period, mainly due to Knuble’s fearless mindset. Knuble’s metrics heading into the second period were head and shoulders above any Flyer forward, with an expected goals for percentage of 94.13, and a Corsi For percentage of 80 per cent.

Couturier gets his first

Sean Couturier is one of the few longtime veterans not out with injury when it comes to the forwards. Playing limited minutes in a fourth-line role, Couturier spent the first few shifts trying to throw some checks. He set up Tyson Foerster about seven minutes in that went for not. But generally he was keeping the puck away from goaltender Joseph Woll, while trying to help Philadelphia’s other three lines build on those good positives. He also had a chance on Logan Thompson thanks to a nifty backhand pass by Foerster, the eighth shot for Philadelphia to Washington’s four halfway through period one.

Couturier was also one of the few Flyers who seemingly weren’t afraid of hearing the footsteps of the oncoming burly Capital forwards like Tom Wilson. A few times in the first Flyer players quickly got rid of the puck but didn’t make the necessary play. Couturier, meanwhile, knocked Wilson on his backside at one point. His biggest play was four minutes into the second when he deflected what looked like a nothing shot by Nick Seeler. Couturier got a great tip on the puck to put it past Thompson to tie things up 1-1. The captain’s first of the year was a big one.

SEAN COUTURIER SCORED AN NHL GOAL!!!

1-1! pic.twitter.com/dXCb4g6RFn

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) October 29, 2026

Acciari dinged up but okay

Flyers forward Noel Acciari went down heavily and looked to be in some discomfort eight minutes into the first period. Acciari was in the corner when he fell forward. Unfortunately, another Capitals player was coming at him and seemed to crunch Acciari’s upper body. The Flyer stayed down for some time before heading down the hallway. Considering the injuries the Flyers are dealing with already, even a bottom six forward (not to mention center and penalty killer) being out for any length of time is not great. Fortunately, Acciari returned to the game in the closing minutes of the opening frame.

Woll as good as you could ask for

Joseph Woll didn’t have much of a chance on the opening goal early, but held Philadelphia in it for the remainder of the first. The Flyers defensive coverage was hit-and-miss, and often saw them backing up much too easily. This gave Washington the blueline without much hassle. Woll also made a key stop early in the second. With Cam York essentially useless with no stick, a clearing attempt wasn’t deep enough to get a good change, resulting in Washington having a good rush. Woll was able to make the stop and swallow the puck.

It appeared to be the type of game that Woll would have to make a handful of strong saves, and not allow and weak ones in order to give Philadelphia a chance at a win. Sadly, with the Flyers still just a shot away from tying the game, Washington got a good bounce when Aliaksei Protas had the puck deflect off his glove and by Woll to make it a 3-1 lead.

🚨#ALLCAPS GOAL: BIG PRO GETS HIS FIRST OF THE YEAR pic.twitter.com/2cBrOf3OBP

— Capitals Replays (@CapitalsReplays) October 29, 2026

Considering just how difficult it is for Philadelphia to score, the insurance marker might as well have felt like a three-goal or four-goal lead. The Flyers made it 3-2 with roughly ten minutes to go in the third, but a pinball-like shot deflecting off two players saw Jordan Kyrou get his second of the evening. Woll stopped 25 of 29 shots on the night. But when your teammates can’t score more than two most nights, you need to be nearly perfect.

Power play a mixed bag

Matvei Michkov’s expected goals for in the first was 1.92 per cent. Not good. Noah Cates? Not much better. Nonetheless, the Russian winger found himself on the top unit when Philadelphia had its first power play chance early in the second. The entries weren’t too bad, but once in the Flyers did nothing at all. The second unit fared better. But not enough to result in a goal.

On the other side of the coin, Washington didn’t take long to capitalize (pardon the pun) on their chance. Woll’s initial stop on a shot went to Jordan Kyrou who wasted no time to score. The goal made it 2-1 Washington, and put Philadelphia on their heels for a few shifts. A tripping call on Porter Martone negated a possible three-on-one. Instead, the Flyers found themselves on the penalty kill. Finally, with the Caps up two, Martone took a punch and drew a penalty. Eight seconds later, the puck was in the Washington net, with Denver Barkey in the slot passing it to a wide open Michkov to make it a one-goal game.

Matvei Michkov on the power play! The Flyers pull within one 👀 pic.twitter.com/RssN7N3aOn

— SleeperNHL (@SleeperNHL) October 29, 2026

As if that wasn’t enough, Washington’s Matt Roy got lippy with the officials leaving the sin bin. And found himself right back in with another minor. The gift-wrapped power play didn’t do a lot in the first half, but Tocchet called a time out to give the first unit a breather. It was one of the few times Tocchet used the time out without it being late in regulation with Vladar or Woll pulled. They nearly scored, but Zegras was robbed by Thompson’s glove. Another late power play saw Sanheim hit the post before Washington put the game away.

Bonk and McDonald with growing pains

The Flyers third defensive pairing featured the two relative newbies in Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald. McDonald. Bonk led all Flyers with 8:11 of ice time in the opening period (seven seconds more than Sanheim), while McDonald’s 6:36 showed they were not being truly sheltered all that much. McDonald’s knack for hitting didn’t materialize all that much. Bonk’s bumper role on the power play also didn’t amount to much.

The pair are still learning, as McDonald’s passes exiting the defensive zone were terribly telegraphed, and easily intercepted for a transition chance by Washington. As for any fisticuffs, McDonald wasn’t involved. Alex Bump was destroyed on a hard, but clean hit by Anthony Beauvillier, leading to Jacob Gaucher dropping the gloves with the Cap. Not a lot happened, except for the Flyers getting the extra minor.

The duo had an almost identical amount of ice time after two periods (Bonk with 12:31, McDonald with 12:38). And while Bonk was able to generally get off the ice without an extended shift, McDonald had some problems in the middle frame with the long shift. A 1:41 shift was followed up by a 1:52 shift, with neither lung-burning stint leading to a Washington goal.

Michkov avoids injury after hack

Speaking of Michkov, he was involved in a play where he took a wicked slash from a Capitals forward early in the third period. The stick caught him in a vulnerable spot, and caused the winger to bend over in agony. He was left favoring his left arm but got to the bench under his own steam. No penalty was called on the play. As for Michkov, he took his next regular shift. Crisis averted.

Stats courtesy of NHL.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.

Puck drop: 7:30 p.m.
How to watch/listen:
📺: TNT, NBCSP+
📻: 93.3 WMMR

Pregame reading

• This team cannot manage to bring a consistent 60-minute effort and it is driving us insane. And the team insane. But mostly us insane. [BSH]
• And for as much as they also struggled early in the season, it is really beginning to feel like the Flyers are missing Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett in a big way. [BSH]
• Hey, Matvei Michkov’s getting some love from the other side of this matchup. [BSH]

Pregame watching

Projected lineups

Philadelphia Flyers

Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Cole Knuble
Porter Martone — Noah Cates — Matvei Michkov
Alex Bump — Denver Barkey — Tyson Foerster
Michael Bunting — Sean Couturier — Noel Acciari

Travis Sanheim — Oliver Bonk
Cam York — Jamie Drysdale
Hunter McDonald — Nick Seeler

Joseph Woll
(Dan Vladar)

Washington Capitals

Alex Tuch — Dylan Strome — Jordan Kyrou
Aliaksei Protas — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Tom Wilson
Alex Ovechkin — Ilya Protas — Anthony Beauvillier
Boone Jenner — Justin Sourdif — Ryan Leonard

Jakob Chychrun — Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary — Timoth Liljegren
Cole Hutson — Jack St. Ivany

Logan Thompson
(Charlie Lindgren)

Storylines to watch

A rebound for Woll

After Dan Vladar got the start for the Flyers last night against the Blue Jackets, the safe bet is that they’ll now go right back to Joseph Woll for the start in this one, giving him the chance to make it a quick bounce back from a tough showing against the Ducks on Saturday — one in which his main takeaway was that “I thought we played well enough to win the game. I don’t think I played well enough to win the game and sometimes it goes like that. It’s disappointing.”

All in all, it’s hard to be too down on him even after that showing — any goalie is going to have night here and there where he just doesn’t have it, and he’s been so good throughout this early part of the season that he’s bought himself a lot of goodwill. There’s every reason to believe that he can get the ball rolling well again, it’s just a matter of executing on that and avoiding letting anything snowball on him. There’s some serious shooting talent on this Capitals team that he’ll have to contend with, and that’s going to make for a big challenge, and we’ll see soon just how up for it he is.

A rebound for… everyone else

Of course, whatever Woll does or how he responds in this game is, truly, the least of the Flyers’ concerns right now. We’ve dug into it already, but last night’s performance against Columbus was another really rough one to watch unfold, frustrating not because they couldn’t do anything at all throughout the whole course of the game, but because they were able to do just enough to battle back and look dominant at times, but they let a win slip away from them because for whatever reason, they cannot bring high energy and attention to detail across the entirety of a game. There are no mysteries left in the way that the team will need to play if they want to start winning again, and we saw not long ago just how effective they can look when they’re playing focused and uptempo hockey, but last night was a major backslide for them.

With another key divisional matchup on deck, this feels like a critical moment for the team. They’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work, and as all professionals, they should know by now the level of engagement that they need to bring to find success at this level. We’ve seen it, we know that they’re capable, but the biggest challenge here is to actually execute and not let themselves get sucked too much into the low they’re sitting in right now. If there was ever a test of emotional resilience in front of them, this is it.

Although it’s no excuse, and all teams have them, the Flyers have had a handful of injuries this season. Denver Barkey was out for a bit. Rasmus Ristolainen was out, played most of a game, and is now out again for roughly two weeks. Cam York was gone for almost three weeks as well before returning. And, last but not least, the Flyers have gone a span of time without their leading point-getter from 2025-26 in Travis Konecny, as well as one of the team’s proverbial snipers in Owen Tippett.

Those two wingers are not the sole reason for Philadelphia having a 3-7-4 record heading into Washington Wednesday night. On the other hand, maybe having them back in the lineup couldn’t hurt, giving the Flyers a bit more of a veteran presence and overall depth. Konecny has been through 10-game losing streaks (and 10-game winning streaks). Meanwhile, Tippett is no longer consider a youngster, and has gone through the hot and cold streaks, both from a team perspective and his individual play.

But can Konecny and Tippett help Philadelphia better prepare their teammates to start the game on time when the opening faceoff begins? It wasn’t a huge issue under Tocchet last year. The team, on most nights, were more than ready to hit the ground running. They weren’t waiting to see what the other team was going to do and react. They were going to try to take it to the opposition, and let the chips fall where they may. Generally, regardless of the talent level the Flyers had, they punched the clock on time and were ready to play. Sadly, with one-sixth of the season now in the can, Philadelphia might have been ready for battle on maybe four or five occasions through 14 games. Again, for a team that isn’t teeming with McDavids, Kucherovs, or Makars, the only way this club can survive, and achieve and level of success, is to be ready to go. And not wait to take the first punch.

What Konecny and Tippett’s absences have meant

In his five games this year, Konecny didn’t score but had three assists. He was averaging 16:48 per game, and had a helper on a power play goal. Philadelphia was 0-3-2 when he was injured. They’ve gone 3-4-2 without him in the lineup. As for Tippett, he too didn’t set the world on fire starting the season, scoring once and assisting once for two points in nine games. Tippett was averaging almost as much time as Konecny (16:26), and, like Konency found himself in the top six. Philadelphia’s record was 0-6-3 with Tippett dressed, and 3-1-1 since he’s been out.

While having that amount of production and experience out of the lineup results in the team losing some obvious intangibles (Tippett’s speed and physicality, Konecny’s pesty nature and work habits), the Flyers had to switch some lines up. This has meant that a lot of youngsters (Denver Barkey, Jacob Gaucher, Alex Bump, Cole Knuble) taking on possibly more than they might be capable of at this stage in their respective careers. It’s the type of situation that might make these youngsters shine in the short-term. But over an extended period of time, that shine begins to wear off a bit, and reality may be starting rear its ugly head. Simply put, they don’t have the experience yet to perhaps get them over the humps and hurdles that come with a full regular season at the National Hockey League level.

This might have been exemplified in the three-game winning streak the Flyers put together last week. Sure, the goaltending was an integral part of those victories, yet the youngsters (not to mention Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone) provided an offensive spark at times that got Philadelphia off the mat. Those same youngsters can’t be expected to lead the club out of the doldrums, at least not for the remaining 70 games. So, as much as some people might have been hoping Flyers general manager Danny Briere pulled the trigger and saw a more established player (like Konecny or Tippett) traded for a center or youth, Philadelphia is clearly missing Tippett and Konecny.

What their returns could mean

It will help. We’re not sure when one or either of Konecny or Tippett will be back in the lineup, but clearly seeing two top-six wingers return should be quite beneficial. As streaky as these players can be at times, you never want to be without a possible 30-goal sniper, and your leading point-getter. A team can stay afloat for a little while without them, but as days become weeks, their absences are going to be felt. And that might be just what Philadelphia — who fell flat on their faces to start the season — are feeling a bit now. Winning three games was a start, but they’re going to need a handful of five-game or six-game winning streaks (and most of them regulation wins) to mount a reasonable attempt at a playoff spot.

Another factor is special teams. It would be questionable to put either or both of Konecny and Tippett back into Philadelphia’s top power play unit. The youth — at least in this circumstance — appears to be creating some chemistry, and working much better than it has at any point in recent memory. Adding these two to the second unit could give the Flyers a more balanced power play attack, where this duo could excel against conceivably the second-best penalty killers opponents have.

As well, the leadership Konecny brings could be enough to prevent Philadelphia from looking as badly as they did against Columbus. That’s not to say he’s a raving lunatic on the bench, or chewing out his teammates on the bench. But perhaps a vocal presence in the room during intermissions to give his opinion, or say what needs to be said, could not hurt at this point. Tippett, who comes across as a little less wild or vocal as Konecny, can turn a game on a shift, whether using his speed to create a rush, his shot to get a much-needed goal, or a hit to alter the momentum. Maybe he leads more by example. Either way works. The point is they bring a level of experience that this already rather young team is missing.

Of course, the two players have started games looking like they were half asleep, and have been part of comebacks like the one against Columbus that was as perplexing as they were annoying to witness. It’s a trait of this club now that seemed the exception last season, and during most of the run under John Tortorella, but is surfacing again. Philadelphia can’t afford to give any team any kind of head start. Or think they can get by with just a 30-minute effort and escape with two points. That mental toughness or consistency is hard to develop in rookies, sophomores, or players in their third years in the NHL. It only comes from going through it, coming out the other side, and learning how to avoid those pitfalls moving forward.

But right now, outside of an injury to one of the goaltenders, Travis Sanheim, Michkov, or Zegras, the Flyers are missing Konecny and Tippett much more with each passing game. Hopefully Philadelphia manages to stack a few more wins together between now and their returns. Otherwise this season, which still has a lot of hockey left in it, is going to slowly but steadily start sliding down a slippery slope. In addition, any more lackadaisical efforts (even if it’s the opening 15 minutes of play) like the first half against Columbus will only hasten that downward spiral. There’s hardly much wiggle room for a team giving 100 per cent with the record and position Philadelphia find themselves in. Giving half that effort is a recipe for failure.

But now, we can look back on those miserable months and understand that it might have just been a bump in the road. A season where we think it was a weird anomaly and not something worrying. Michkov is off to a red-hot start and is really the only player on the Flyers right now that can say he has been consistently providing an above-average level of offense in all 14 of their games.

This season, the 21-year-old winger has scored eight goals and 10 points in those 14 games. His eight goals tie him for eighth in the NHL right now — the same amount of pucks put in the back of the net this season as Connor McDavid, Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and some other All-Star level talents across the league.

That level of elite goal-scoring ability has earned some attention across the league — and a sigh of relief from Flyers fans. Before his Washington Capitals take on Michkov and his visiting Flyers, head coach Spencer Carbery spoke about the young winger and how he could have seen this bounce back coming.

“I watched this morning. He’s getting in and around the net a little bit. I think his skating, like he looks, I don’t know, I could be just throwing this out there and because I don’t watch him close enough but he looks like he’s moving really really well. Puck possession in the offensive zone,” Carbery said before Wednesday’s game.

“It’s only a matter of time with guys like that. Down year, sophomore, whatever it is. They’re going to find ways to score and find ways to figure out the league. They’re that talented. It’s a matter of time before he’s a very very effective goalscorer in the league and I think he’s shown that.”

While Carbery himself admits that he’s not watching every single Flyers game and looking for specific scouting reports on Michkov when the Capitals aren’t playing the Flyers, everything he says is bang on. Michkov is a puckhound while also being purposeful in possession, and is of course making a whole lot of plays in the offensive zone.

While there were concerns from every Flyers fan, the way the Washington coach put it kind of makes us take a step back.

Michkov’s bounce back was obvious

It’s not always the case, but Carbery simply putting Michkov’s current bounceback season as something that was only a matter of time makes us reflect on the times throughout the last 12 or so months where we were so panicked about what if he ends up being nothing special. Times where we were asking ourselves if he turns into just something somewhat ordinary — a top-six winger for sure but someone that just hovers around 70 points and the Flyers still need to find multiple players to play above him to really contend for a regular playoff spot.

Carbery now is basically going “Yeah, duh” and knowing that players who show that level of talent, and at such a young age, rarely ever fully go backwards and stays there. Michkov has too much puckhandling skill, too much vision, is too much of a scoring threat, and simply cares too much to not have this real strong start to his season.

Now, it feels like he can only go forward. We haven’t seen an awful game from Michkov yet where he reminded us of what we watched for a large portion of last season, even if the team is certainly looking so much worse overall.

It’s always nice to hear a voice who isn’t that close to the Flyers give his input, and it be generally positive. Carbery might have even been more complementary and said more nice things about Michkov than his own head coach has this season.

Michkov will get a chance to show off some of that scoring touch in the second half of a back-to-back as the Flyers visit the Capitals on Wednesday night. A game happening immediately after they came out completely flat-footed facing the Columbus Blue Jackets just 24 hours ago. Hopefully Carbery is asked about Michkov after the game too, after he scored a couple goals and added four more points to his season total in a big-time Flyers win.

Jason’s picks

Community, “Introduction to Statistics” (Season 1, Episode 7)

I’m a huge Community stan from the beginning and while most people would cite a lot of the first season as “rough”, I believe it truly started to find its silliness and meta-style humor in this iconic Halloween inspired episode. Jeff finds himself enamored with his Statistics professor (Professor Slater) after being rebuffed by Britta. Pierce agreeingly switches his medication with Star-Burns (one of the best TV side characters of all-time) and slowly succumbs to the drug’s side effects. This is all the while as he is dressed as Beastmaster (from the excellent 80’s films) to whom he’s never seen the film. The highlight of the episode is Abed’s dedication to the Bale-Batman bit, doing the voice, saving everyone from a collapsing fort, and having the iconic voiceover to close the episode.

Steve note: Community is one of the best comedies of the past 25 years and this was the first episode where the show really clicked for me. 

Community, “Epidemiology” (Season 2, Episode 6)

Community’s second attempt at a Halloween episode is even better, riffing on the classic zombie outbreak. Though this isn’t actually a zombie takeover, but rather Dean Pelton (gloriously dressed as Lady Gaga) getting folks sick with a rabies-like condition from tainted army surplus rations at the Halloween party. It’s incredibly funny to see everyone slowly “succumb” to the virus. Favorite costume has to go to Troy and Abed’s Aliens-inspired outfit. Seeing everything play out was delightful as was the randomness of the Shirley/Chang hook-up in the bathroom.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “Who Got Dee Pregnant?” (Season 6, Episode 7)

Low-key the funniest thing about this episode is that they were able to fill the bar for a Halloween costume party. Anywho, this is one of my favorite Always Sunny episodes of all-time as it plays into the unreliable narrator bit with telling the same story but from different points of view in an attempt to decipher which of The Gang has slept with Dee to get her pregnant. This stemming from the cold open where The Gang makes fun of her for constantly eating and not even noticing she is pregnant to which he poses this conundrum to the guys to get them to care. Frank with a very Frank line of “You gotta flush it out” as a reaction to the pregnancy. Highlights include Charlie thinking his Phantom of the Opera costume is a sexy vampire, everyone picturing Dee as different versions of birds instead of Dee herself, and everything involving the McPoyles (and Mac’s coupling with Margaret).

Parks and Recreation, “Meet ‘n’ Greet” (Season 4, Episode 5)

Most Parks and Recreation fans probably will point to “Greg Pikitis” and “Halloween Surprise” as their favorite Halloween episodes of the show, but I think “Meet ‘n’ Greet” was the strongest showing. Great recurring bits here as Ron repeats his pirate costumes again, and when confronted about it simply says “Yes. This is my Halloween costume”. Never change Swanson. Ron also goes around fixing up Andy and April’s house which is a literal death trap including the exposed “shockwire” hanging above the shower. Ron and Ann bond throughout the night as they fix things. Ben, annoyed that Andy/April didn’t tell him about throwing a party as he also lives there, tries to hold in his anger and ignores them the entire night until Andy finally confronts him to be open about his feelings. April also does something very sweet for Jerry in this one where she notices how uncomfortable he is by Chris/Milicent constant affection that she absconds and throws away Chris’ keys so they can’t go back to his place.

Boy Meets World, “And Then There Was Shawn” (Season 5, Episode 17)

Perhaps not a “Halloween” episode, but one that parodies the popular slasher films at the time like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Jennifer Love Hewitt even cameos in the episode as a random student. The main cast are stalked by a killer who slowly dispatches them one-by-one until it is just Cory, Topanga and Shawn left. As they unmask the killer it turns out to be another Shawn. Of course all of this was Shawn’s dream while he was in detention. His guilt of him being the reason for Cory and Topanga for having broken up. They of course assure him that he is not. I thought it was a nice experimental episode for a show that didn’t take many leaps such as this. It had some heart while also delivering plenty of laughs, especially the “deaths” of the main cast. The icing on top was Mr. Feeney dreams of a perfectly behaved class only to wake up to the unruly one he is used to.

South Park, “Pinkeye” (Season 1, Episode 7)

Controversial opinion, but I love old South Park much more than the new more socially charged output. Nothing against the new stuff, it’s funny, BUT I feel as though the first 11-12 seasons are easily the best the show has done. Pinkeye is another riff on a zombie outbreak, this out stemming from a recently deceased Kenny (this time from a crashing Mir Space station) getting embalmed with Worcestershire sauce, thus turning him into a zombie. The town slowly gets infected with it being up to the boys and Chef to save the day. This is a particularly gory episode with chainsaws being used to rip through the infected townsfolk, including a zombie Kenny by Kyle. My favorite gags are all the children in class donning Chewbacca masks with Wendy winning despite wearing what everyone else is. Cartman wears a Hitler costume to Kyle’s dismay, but then everyone ragging on Cartman for his mom being a woman of ill-repute.

South Park, “Spookyfish” (Season 2, Episode 15)

Perhaps not a “Halloween episode”, but within the same realm so just go with it. Stan receives an evil “spookyfish” from his Aunt Flo who begins killing folks (including Kenny of course). It’s a funny bit to see Sharon (Stan’s mom) go into a delusional state of disbelief as she slowly loses her mind thinking her son is killing these people. The kids are also confronted with a Nice Cartman, who is sporting a goatee. The group obviously like this Cartman more than their own and figure out Nice Cartman and this killer fish are from a parallel dimension. In the end, the kids want the Evil Stan and Kyle to take their Cartman back instead of the Nice One. They are eventually tricked into giving the Nice Cartman back and are stuck with their own. I believe this is all a riff on an Original Star Trek episode, but it feels very much like a Twilight Zone story.

Salute Your Shorts, “Ghost Story”, (Season 1, Episode 2)

Once again, NOT a “Halloween Episode”, but one that terrified me nonetheless as a seven year old (yes I’m dating myself). This one has Bobby Budnik telling a ghost story that involves “Zeke the Plumber”, a camp custodian who had no sense of smell and didn’t mind cleaning toilets. While digging a hole one day he didn’t smell a gas leak and was killed in a fiery explosion. He now haunts the campers’ dreams to whoever touches his old plunger. Zeke is shown in a terrifying Halloween mask (he wears one because of the burn marks). Between the eye holes, bandaged nose, and terrifying voice it was a wonder how this was allowed on a kids television show. I still have an irrational fear of plungers.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?, “The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float”, (season 5, episode 1)

Mind you, I probably could put about another dozen or so episodes here as Are You Afraid of the Dark? was a show any kid my age could give nightmares to. Each one could be thought of as a Halloween Episode because of the genuine terror it instilled. “Dead Man’s Float” tells of an evil spirit who haunts a high school swimming pool. The pool was shut down in the 50’s when a child was killed by an unknown entity. It then jumps forward to present day when a nerdy kid discovers the pool which had been hidden away for years. He and his new lady friend (who is a swimmer) get the pool reopened, but then discover the reason it was closed in the first place. I was 10 or 11 years old when this one came out and gave me a new fear of the deep-end of a swimming pool (aside from sharks, of course). The monster design was haunting as it was a reddish/brown skeleton covered in what looked like seaweed. In the end the nerd got the girl, so maybe this episode just gave me hope.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?, “The Tale of the Midnight Madness”, (Season 2, Episode 2)

This tale caused me straight nightmares as an 8-year-old for years to come. The story was about a kid who worked at a theater in which a Nosferatu-esque vampire comes through the movie screen to take victims. The costume was about as close to that original Nosferatu design as you could without infringing on any copyrights. This episode also introduces a character that would go on to appear in many more episodes, Dr. Vink…who is creepy in his own right. Though the kids eventually defeat the vampire (by going into his own movie), they are dismayed when they learn that Dr. Vink (who asked the film to be played as he made it), bought the theater and wants it played every day (meaning more victims).

Steve’s picks

Bob’s Burgers, “Full Bars” (Season 3, Episode 2)

Bob’s Burgers is one of my favorite long-running shows at this point and they always crush Halloween episodes. If I had to narrow it down to one episode to write about, it would have to be “Full Bars”. The Belcher children venture out of their usual neighborhood to a rich neighborhood in search of full-sized candy bars. 

It’s one of those episodes where Bob’s Burgers captures the essence of the season so well. The feeling of getting a full-sized candy bar was magical when you were a kid on Halloween. It’s also scary to venture off on your own without your parents and run into an obstacle like bullies. 

The Office, “Halloween” (Season 2, Episode 5)

I thought about throwing “Employee Transfer in here too, because it has the great gag where three different Dunder-Mifflin employees dress up like Heath Ledger’s Joker as well as Pam dressing up like Charlie Chaplin, but ultimately decided to focus on the first and best Office Halloween episode, “Halloween”. 

There are a lot of great gags in this episode between the two-headed Michael costume and Dwight as Star Wars’ Emperor Palpatine. The whole episode revolves around the unfortunate situation of Michael having to fire an employee by the end of the month, and, it being Halloween, that will have to be by the end of the day. You know, while people are at work, in-costume. It makes for an incredible juxtaposition of being dressed ridiculously and needing to make one of the worst decisions that you can make as a manager. “Halloween” shows all of the amazing range and awkwardness that Steve Carell brings to the character of Michael Scott.

30 Rock, “Stone Mountain” (Season 4, Episode 3)

30 Rock seems to only have the one Halloween episode, but it’s a good one. The A plot with Liz and Jack focuses on them trying to find a comedian that the “flyover states” can appreciate, which is a good one with some pointed commentary about red vs. blue states and such. It’s the B plot (or maybe C plot?) featuring TGS writers Frank, Toofer, and Lutz trying to find the secret gay Halloween party in order to meet hot girls that we’re here to talk about today. It’s got all of the hallmarks of a great 30 Rock episode – snappy dialogue, a million jokes per minute. “Stone Mountain”’s Halloween plot is all about the joy that can come from a fun Halloween party as an adult. Tracy taking off his shirt to party as the end and shouting, “Tell my wife I went to Philadelphia on business!” is a tremendous ending.

Also, quick shoutout to Werewolf Barmitzvah, which is not implicitly a Halloween thing, but is extremely Halloween coded, as it’s a clearly parody of Thriller. Another great 30 Rock creation.

Happy Endings “Spooky Endings” (Season 2, Episode 5)

Happy Endings got 3 seasons, but it still doesn’t feel like enough. It really was a great hangout sitcom. “Spooky Endings” is all about Halloween, with the A plot focusing on a big Halloween party in the city and the B plot focusing on a city couple enjoying suburban Halloween. It’s a great juxtaposition of how Halloween is for someone in their late 20s / early 30s. 

Alex’s storyline might be a bit yikes, but this is a very fun episode overall. Dave’s Austin Powers costume is so funny. I love how Penny and Max struggle to both hit on people at the party in their joint mom and baby costume. Jane and Brad’s struggles against the “big kids” after running out of candy in the burbs is really funny. Overall, this is a super fun Halloween episode that I love throwing on right before the spookiest day of the year.

Brooklyn 99, Halloween Heist (multiple episodes over the course of the show)

Brooklyn 99 had a very strong Halloween tradition with the Halloween Heist. Essentially, everyone would get dragged into this elaborate heist that started as Jake Peralta trying to prove himself to Captain Holt by stealing an item from him before the clock struck midnight on Halloween. The Heist became an annual tradition on Brooklyn 99, going on to include more and more of the group and different winners each year.

The Halloween Heist became more and more elaborate each year, with twists and turns all over the place. There are a ton of great running gags, like Holt calling a championship belt a cummerbund and the rest of the squad pretending not to understand what Boyle’s elaborate costumes are. The Heist was Brooklyn 99’s signature event to the point that it was used for a (SPOILER) major engagement. It combines silliness, heart, and absurdity in the way that made Brooklyn 99 such a good sitcom for a long time.

The team’s start to this game was about as poor as we’ve seen from them all season — their energy was inconsistent, their puck management and attention to detail was lapsing in big ways on them, and there seemed to be remarkably little cohesion from their skaters in trying to generate chances. In all, it was little surprise to see them hitting the first intermission with three goals allowed, and just two shots on goal generated on their own side.

There’s some credit to be given here for the way that they were able to battle back and look outright dominant through much of the second and third periods, managing to get themselves all the way back on the scoresheet, but that work still ends up sullied by just how poorly their overtime period would go for them. It was a game where the team weathered incredibly dramatic highs and lows, and it is just simply not a winning formula for them.

“Well it’s [what] we’ve been chasing all year,” head coach Rick Tocchet said after the game, “trying to play 60 minutes. We didn’t do the game plan in the first, we decided to do it [in the second and third], and look at the difference. Until we get it in our thick heads that we gotta play a certain way… I think our second period, our recovery was 82 percent, because we were doing the right things. So, good comeback, and then obviously overtime was, the decision making in overtime this year has been mind-boggling from some players. We gotta fix it, quickly.”

It’s an inconsistency that’s grown familiar from the Flyers by this point, and one which has grown increasingly maddening as the season has gone on. The Flyers aren’t in the worst of their losing streak anymore, when there was a good deal of looking around for any answer on how to find some energy and productivity. The Flyers have found those answers, they’ve worked it into their game plan, and we’ve seen them execute on it to great success even just recently, but the inability to tap into that with the necessary quickness or consistency is, to borrow the phrase, mind-boggling.

“I mean, like I said,” Tocchet went on, “if we… the last week or two, if we all buy-in, we can do it for 60 minutes, you know, we can be a pretty good hockey team, but it’s hard, you know, it’s hard to do for 60 minutes right now for some guys.”

It’s true that it’s difficult, for any team in this league, to fire on all cylinders for the full 60 minutes (or more) of a game, but the Flyers’ struggles strike as something distinct from the expected in-game variance of energy. From the players’ side, there’s a feeling that they’ve fallen somehow into riding too much the emotional wave within these games, rather than putting themselves in the driver’s seat to set that tone themselves.

“Yeah, I just think kind of like,” Flyers forward Noah Cates said, “yeah, I was saying the energy, you know, when we’re trying to be positive or something bad goes, something bad happens, you know, you kind of got to be even keel, you know, be positive and, you know, look to you know, generate and do something the next shift. So, yeah, for whatever reason, it seems like our energy is a little little off, our mojo, with, you know, positive or negative things happening to us, you know, it can’t be a poor me mindset. It’s got to be, you know, whether it’s good or bad, you know, let’s get after it the next shift and, you know, turn the tide for for us in our favor.”

It’s acting versus being acted upon, and the Flyers are right back in that familiar struggle to set a tone, to establish again their identity and play within their structure in order to drive successful play period over period, if not shift over shift. Maybe it’s maturity, maybe it’s preparation, maybe it’s some combination or something else entirely, but the result has remained the same — the team hasn’t been able to keep pushing in the right direction with the consistency needed to pull off these comebacks and wins.

It’s a hard league to win in, it’s a cliche at this point, but the team as a collective still seems to be coming to terms with this, in a lengthier process than one would otherwise like to see.

“Just thought it was gonna be easy,” Tocchet concluded. “Same thing, carryover from a little bit Anaheim. You know we have to, you gotta support pucks, you gotta hold on to pucks, you gotta [be] willing to go to the net, to crosscheck, and play North. I thought the first period, we were playing so slow, taking it back every time, we’re not a team that can take the puck back, we just can’t do it, some guys think they can but they can’t. But when we decided to play North, same thing last year, that’s our identity, so gotta keep pounding their heads.”

After a loss like that one, the team might welcome this quick turnaround, as they’re set to get right back at it on Wednesday night against another division rival in the Capitals. The Flyers have been dealt another reminder of the lessons that they should have been taking to heart all season, and there’s no question left of just what’s required of them to get this whole operation back on track. Maybe, just maybe, this is the time the message sticks.

*Now, the Flyers did show some fight, but ultimately it was just not enough to get them all the way to the win. [NBCSP]

*In fact, it was bad! It was embarrassing! And, says the team, it was unacceptable. [BSH]

*The Flyers got some good news on the Cam York injury front, but also some bad news on the Rasmus Ristolainen injury front. [BSH]

*With York back, though, the Flyers are hoping that he can help keep pulling things in the right direction for them defensively. [Inquirer]

*Matvei Michkov is off to a stellar start to the season (which we personally would probably not lead with being about getting off of instagram, but hey, to each their own). [The Athletic]

*And finally, where in the world is Keith Jones and what in the world is he up to? [BSH]

After that, things turned around a bit for the Orange and Black. Starting in the second period, the Flyers were able to connect some passes together, win some battles, and find their first goal of the game through a leaky Cam Talbot.

That goal came midway through the second period on the team’s seventh shot of the game. It was Porter Martone’s effort to get a clean zone entry and put the puck on net that created the loose-puck opportunity for Noah Cates, who buried his first goal of the season.

But the main thing, and what seems to be a consistent inconsistency for the Flyers, is, well, their consistency.

It took until just over the halfway mark of regulation for the Flyers to finally solve Talbot, who contemplated retirement in the offseason and entered Tuesday’s game with an .891 save percentage. And, as mentioned above, that was just their seventh shot on goal. Seven shots on goal in thirty minutes.

I will give them a bit of credit; five of those shots on goal came in the first 10 minutes of the middle frame, but that’s only noteworthy because of their inexcusable start.

They battled back to earn a point, scoring their latest game-tying goal of the season thanks to Jamie Drysdale driving the net. Unfortunately, despite being sent into overtime with a standing ovation, the team also ducked out early.

Flyers’ mind-boggling overtime decisions lead to crushing loss

Dan Vladar was not at his best against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. He allowed a few weak goals early on, digging the team into a 3-0 hole. And while the Flyers may have considered switching goalies on a regular night, Joseph Woll remained on the bench with a back-to-back in Washington on Wednesday night.

Vladar recovered as the game moved along, and even made a few key saves to keep the Flyers within two, then one, and then to keep the game alive in overtime.

That overtime save came on one of the rarest things you’ll see in hockey: a 2-on-0. Granted, it’s not as rare in 3-on-3 overtime, but you only really ever see one once in a while. You’ll never see two in a game.

*taps earpiece*

Oh.

After Vladar already made that one terrific 2-on-0 save, Matvei Michkov left his man and crashed the net, yielding another two-man attack at the Flyers netminder. This one ended the game.

“The decision making in overtime this year has been mind boggling for some players,” Tocchet said after the game. “We got to fix it. Quickly.”

The Flyers have never been a good overtime team, and they struggled mightily in the shootout until last season. They’ve really been unable to find any truly dangerous combinations in the extra session since the days of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Shayne Gostisbehere.

Last December, I wrote about how Rick Tocchet’s Flyers were one of the most boring 3-on-3 teams in NHL history:

“This season, the Flyers have sunk to another level entirely. They have generated just 29.79 shot attempts per 60 minutes and 2.60 expected goals per 60.

That 29.79 CF/60 mark ranks 296th out of 296 teams with at least 30 minutes of 3-on-3 time since the 2015-16 season, and only last year’s Blackhawks had a lower xGF/60 (2.43).”

The Flyers entered Tuesday night’s game with five shot attempts and four shots on goal in 8:06 of 3-on-3 time this season, per Natural Stat Trick. It’s not too bad, but they had just two high-danger chances in that time, and the loss to Columbus presented an entirely different issue.

“This overtime, some of the guys, I don’t know what they’re doing,” Tocchet said. “We had a meeting about it. We sent them video on it. It’s all puck possession. It’s being smart. We gave them two 2-on-0s. That’s unacceptable”

You can try to put the blame on Tocchet as much as you want, but right there he outlined exactly what he and the coaching staff have done to prepare the players for this situation. It all comes down to execution, and the Flyers weren’t sharp enough against Columbus.

Unfortunately, for as good as he’s been at 5-on-5 and on the power play, it’s easy to guess that Matvei Michkov is one of those players that Tocchet is talking about. He was on the ice for both 2-on-0 chances, and, arguably, was at fault for each.

Michkov’s ice time has been under a watchful eye from the coach, media, and fanbase since last season’s saga. His decisions in overtime against the Blue Jackets will hopefully be a learning experience for not only the next time he’s on the ice at 3-on-3, but on Wednesday night in Washington.