The Philadelphia Flyers are off to their worst start in franchise history, and it’s even worse when one takes a deeper look.
Philadelphia is full of issues, whether it’s injuries to star players or sheltering rookies who should transform into major contributors. Those help explain the team’s 0-5-2 start, but they also barely scratch the surface.
Overall youth is still a factor, and per Hockey-Reference, the Flyers’ average age is 27.9. That’s nearly a full year under the NHL’s average of 28.8. Still, it doesn’t explain how a team that won a playoff series against a cross-state rival six months ago takes a sudden nosedive.
It could be early-season issues that the Flyers may smooth out over time. That happens a lot over an 84-game (formerly 82-game) season. But the Flyers’ issues have become extraordinary.
Philadelphia Flyers’ Overall Numbers Are Historically Bad
Philadelphia is 31st in the NHL with eight goals scored and 28 goals allowed. That’s a minus-20 goal differential, and it puts the Flyers on an 84-game pace to find the net just 96 times. Now, things even out, even with horrific stretches, so it’s highly unlikely the Flyers are this stale offensively year-round. Still, it’s worth pointing out.
Likewise, they are on pace to watch 336 goals go into their own net. Again, there’s little chance that Philadelphia will have allowed 336 goals once the regular season ends in April. But at the rate they are going, it wouldn’t surprise anybody if they allowed 300.
The Flyers have only posted more than 25 shots on goal in just one game. That came when they landed 29 against the Ottawa Senators. They have only allowed fewer than 30 shots on goal just once. Ironically, that also came against Ottawa.
Philadelphia has scored on just 5.7 percent of its shots on goal. At 5-on-5, that number is even worse, as the Flyers have converted just 4.6 percent of the time. Their Corsi For Percentage is a paltry 38.0, and their power play percentage sits at just 9.52.
Defensively, the Flyers have been just as bad. They have allowed 246 shots on goal, an average of 35.1 per game. Opponents are scoring on them 11.4 percent of the time, and 9.1 percent at 5-on-5.
Flyers Have Nowhere To Go But Up In 2026-27
If there is a silver lining, it’s that the Flyers are no strangers to bad starts. Even if this one is the worst in franchise history, ESPN.com noted that “The Flyers had twice before, in 1999-00 and 2008-09, gone six straight winless games to open a season. Both of those teams rebounded to make the playoffs.”
The current winless streak is at seven, but there is still time.
Despite the historically bad start for Philadelphia, history is at least on their side. But they have to start digging themselves out of this mess now if they want any real hope of turning their season around. It’s still early, but a few more awful showings may set the stage for the rest of the season. Especially if this kind of play trickles into November.
The Philadelphia Flyers will get their next crack at turning things around when they host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. Seattle has posted respectable offensive numbers, so this will be an opportunity for the Flyers to keep pace with them.
Philadelphia Flyers’ Historically Bad Start Reaches Unprecedented Territory