Flyers Fall to Hurricanes With Worst Start in Franchise History

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, extending their winless start to 0-5-2 and creating the worst opening stretch in franchise history. The game was played in Philadelphia as the Flyers continued to struggle with scoring, injuries and execution.

According to ESPN, the Flyers have been outscored 28-8 this season after previously matching six-game winless starts in 1999-00 and 2008-09. The team is the only winless club in the Eastern Conference.

ESPN reported that Carolina scored shortly after Tyson Foerster's collision with Jordan Martinook in a scoreless game before building its lead. The loss left some remaining Flyers fans chanting for a coaching change.

"Fire Tocchet! Fire Tocchet!" fans chanted, according to ESPN.

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet addressed the team's uneven performances after the loss. Philadelphia has allowed four defeats by three or more goals during its difficult opening run.

"I think we go off the rails at certain points of the game. I don't know if it's experience, pressure, I don't know," Tocchet said.

Tocchet said the team needs to focus on winning its next game rather than looking too far ahead. Philadelphia has lost 13 of its last 14 games since taking a 3-0 first-round playoff series lead against Pittsburgh.

"You start thinking about the long term, then you're really going to be in trouble. You've got to try to win. How you win the next game," Tocchet said.

Flyers captain Sean Couturier said the team cannot rely only on its skill level while dealing with a difficult start. Philadelphia is currently without Travis Konecny, Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen because of injuries.

"There's still a lot of hockey left. Of course, if we don't figure this out soon, we'll be chasing, and it's going to be too late. But yeah, there's no quitting," Couturier said.

Couturier said the Flyers must improve their effort and consistency rather than expecting talent alone to solve the problems. The team signed Trevor Zegras to a four-year, $36.5 million extension after his 26-goal, 67-point season, but he has two points and no goals this season.

"We can't skill our way out of this one. We have a lot of talent, but we can't skill ourselves out of it. We're going to have to work and grind, and it starts the next practice. We better figure it out," Couturier said.

General manager Danny Briere told reporters in Boston that the Flyers should not overreact to the losing stretch. He said the team's performance requires a full-group response rather than relying on one player.

"It's not the time to panic because of a bad stretch," Briere said.

Briere also discussed the expectations surrounding the roster after last season's playoff progress. He said the team does not have a single player expected to carry games alone.

"What happened last year was pretty cool, and maybe you feel like it's just going to keep happening, and you've made it. But the reality is we're a team that needs to have everybody working in the same direction. The way we're built, the full team is important to have everybody. We don't have a superstar that's going to come out and score four or five goals in a game to win a game by himself," Briere said.

Forward Trevor Zegras backed Tocchet after the loss, with ESPN reporting that he said the players remained supportive of their coach. Zegras has not scored this season despite being one of the team's leading performers last year.

"Fully behind," Zegras said, according to ESPN.

The Hurricanes' social media team also highlighted Carolina's recent success in Philadelphia after the victory. The post referenced results involving local Philadelphia teams during the month.

"We've won more games in Philly in the last nine days than the Flyers, Eagles, and Phillies combined this month," the Carolina Hurricanes social media team posted.