PHILADELPHIA – 'Ignite the Orange' was the Philadelphia Flyers' slogan, but the Carolina Hurricanes wouldn't let it come to fruition in a second-round playoff mismatch.
Carolina became the first team to win its first eight playoff games since the 1985 Edmonton Oilers. The Hurricanes swept the banged-up Flyers, taking a 3-2 overtime decision on Saturday night, wrapping up the series in four games.
Carolina, which swept the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, allowed just five total goals in the four games against the upstart Flyers.
In other words, the Flyers and GM Danny Briere have lots of work to do in the off-season before they can be considered Stanley Cup contenders.
Still, the season was a positive step for Philadelphia.
What Happened To The Flyers?
The Flyers ended a five-year playoff drought and upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1, winning in six hard-fought games.
They also found a No. 1 goalie. Dan Vladar, signed as a free agent in the off-season, was outstanding in the regular season and playoffs. He stopped 37 of 40 shots Saturday and was the only reason the Flyers – who managed just 17 shots – reached overtime against the Hurricanes, who gave a clinic on how to be hard on pucks and how to dominate on the forecheck.
"He came here as a backup, and look what he's done," coach Rick Tocchet said after the season-ending loss. "He wanted to be a No. 1; he worked on it in the summer, and he's just a terrific athlete. I can't say enough about him."
However, despite stellar goaltending from Vladar – who had a 2.18 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage – Philadelphia is still a very young team.
Many of the Flyers' youngsters made strides, and players like Porter Martone, who collected five playoff points, Alex Bump, Denver Barkey and perhaps Oliver Bonk for a full season in 2026-27 should give them a boost, especially since they gained valuable post-season experience this year.
"I saw a lot of growth, a lot of learning," Tocchet said. "Obviously we'll learn a lot from this series. I've been in that situation as a player; it makes you hungry in the summer. It makes you know what I'm going to work on for next year."
In Saturday's loss, the Flyers used nine players 25 or under, including six on their top three forward lines.
Tocchet said he hopes the players, especially the younger ones, learned "what it's going to take to get where we want to go. A perfect example is Bumper."
He was referring to Bump, a 22-year-old left winger, who made a mistake that contributed to Carolina's second goal.
"And then he gets the tying goal. He gets right back out there. That's the stuff you want to see," Tocchet said. "He's not on the bench sulking. He knew he made the mistake, and he goes out there banging at the net."
Philadelphia Flyers (James Lang-Imagn Images)
What's Next For The Flyers?
There is a number of pieces of business that need to be sorted in the off-season. That includes a few holes in the lineup that must be addressed.
A high-end center and a defenseman who can quarterback the power play (UFA Darren Raddysh?) should be high on the Flyers' off-season wish list. The free-agent market is weak on centers, so look for Briere to deal a winger – he has a surplus of them – to get a much-needed man in the middle.
"We want people to want to come here," said right winger Travis Konecny. "I think we did a great job of showing them that we're capable of being a good team."
Flyers centers combined to score just four goals in their 10 playoff games this spring.
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To the team's offensive struggles, the power play was awful in the regular season at 15.7 percent, finishing last in the league for the fourth time in the last five years.
It was even worse in the post-season at 8.3 percent, including a 1-for-19 (5.3 percent) stretch against the Canes. Philly needs a new approach, perhaps a new power-play coach and some new faces.
"We got a year under this staff, and, honestly, this staff is so great," Konecny said. "They communicate; they grind all year. They give us great plans, and we have to execute a little better, obviously. But I'm sure it bothers them just as much as it bothers us, and we're going to go into the summer as a group and make sure we're better next year."
Not having injured Owen Tippett, their leading goal-scorer in the regular season, crippled the Flyers' power play for the Carolina series. But the power play struggled all season, even when Tippett was healthy.
The Flyers are projected to have $38.5 million in salary cap space for next season, according to puckpedia.com. But that will be reduced because they figure to re-sign RFAs Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Emil Andrae and perhaps Sam Ersson.
Another one of the Flyers' biggest off-season needs is for 21-year-old right winger Matvei Michkov to work hard in the summer and revert to his rookie form.
Michkov, benched in two of the 10 playoff games, came into camp out of shape for the 2025-26 campaign and went from 26 goals and 63 points as a rookie to 20 goals and 51 points as a sophomore. He finished strong in the regular season but failed to score a playoff goal.
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After Saturday's defeat, the fans saluted the team with long, thunderous chants of "Let's Go Flyers!" They appreciated how they went 18-7-1 to end the regular season, finished with 98 points in a rebuilding year and made the playoffs despite having only a 3.8 percent chance on March 18, according to moneypuck.com.
Tocchet, who finished his first season as the Flyers' coach, thanked the fans for their roaring appreciation. He and the players said it will help motivate them in the summer.
"I think it was amazing," Tocchet said.
"Maybe it puts us on the map a little bit," he added about getting to the second round and forcing Carolina into overtime in two of the four games. "That's a good thing for the guys to understand this summer, that we've got the fans behind them, and we got this organization back on the map.
"We got a taste, right?"
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