The Philadelphia Flyers needed this one. Or, at the very least, they needed to show signs that they were trending in the right direction after a stretch of frustrating losses. And while the effort was certainly there against the New Jersey Devils, the results still weren’t.
A 3-1 loss to a divisional rival doesn’t sting any less just because the process looked better. At this point in the season, points are what matter most, and the Flyers are watching valuable ones slip away.
It wasn’t an outright poor performance—far from it. They were more structured than in some of their recent defeats, and they didn’t let the game get away from them the way they have in past matchups.
But the same nagging issues lingered: an inability to finish their chances, stretches of disconnected play, and just not enough offensive punch when it mattered.
1. The Finishing Touch Still Isn’t There
The Flyers and Devils remained fairly even on shots throughout the entire game. They had their fair share of dangerous looks. But once again, the lack of finishing ability came back to bite them.
This isn’t new—go back through their recent losses, and the story is largely the same. The effort is there, the zone time is often there, but the final execution? Missing. They had chances to turn this game in their favor, but too many shots either missed the net, got blocked, or went right into the pads of Devils goaltender Jake Allen.
It’s not like the Flyers don’t have offensive talent. The Tippett-Couturier-Michkov and Foerster-Cates-Brink lines have both been playing well in terms of chance generation, and Jamie Drysdale’s goal definitely provided a spark in the last few minutes.
But at some point, “creating chances” has to turn into actual goals. That’s the missing ingredient right now.
This team has found ways to win this season even without an elite goal-scorer, but in tight games like this, they need someone to step up and bury those key moments. The Devils weren’t overwhelmingly better, but they were clinical in their finishing. That was the difference.
2. Matvei Michkov’s First-Period Benching Wasn’t Just About One Play
When John Tortorella shortened his bench after the Devils’ first goal, sitting Matvei Michkov for the remainder of the first period, it sparked immediate reaction. The 20-year-old has been one of the Flyers’ most dynamic offensive players lately, and the team’s scoring struggles make it hard to justify keeping a player with his talent on the bench for long.
After the game, Tortorella clarified that it wasn’t just about the goal but about a series of plays leading up to the decision. This is in line with how he’s coached all year—no one is above accountability, and if he doesn’t like what he’s seeing, he has no problem making a statement.
“There are a number of things that come into play,” Tortorella emphasized. “It’s not just one specific play…There are so many things that go on with me trying to develop that player, and I’m gonna continue to do it the way I think it should be done.”
“There’s so many things that go on with me trying to develop that player. There are a number of other things that go [into benching Michkov]…It’s not just the one play.”
—John Tortorella on sitting Matvei Michkov after the Devils’ first goal #LetsGoFlyers
— Siobhan Nolan (@SGNolan) March 9, 2025
The good news? Michkov wasn’t benched for the rest of the game. He returned for the second and third periods, and his energy level was solid. The reality is that, while Michkov has been an offensive spark plug, he’s still a young player adjusting to the NHL. Defensive lapses and missed assignments will happen, and Tortorella is going to make sure he learns from them.
It’s frustrating in the moment, especially when the team is struggling to score. But this is a long-term play. Michkov is a star in the making, and Tortorella’s tough love approach isn’t about punishing him—it’s about molding him into the kind of player who can be relied upon in every situation.
3. An Improved Effort Only Counts for So Much
No one could say the Flyers weren’t engaged in this game. The compete level was there, and this was a better showing than some of their recent losses. But at this point in the season, “better effort” isn’t enough of a consolation.
“Believe me, it sucks for us,” Drysdale said postgame. “I know it sucks for [the fans].”
There are no moral victories in a playoff race. The Flyers can’t afford to take positives from another loss without also recognizing that they need actual results. And the frustrating part is that this was a winnable game. The Devils didn’t dominate. The Flyers had their moments. But that final bit of execution, that killer instinct, was missing.
Final Thoughts
It’s another frustrating night for the Flyers, another game where they did a lot of things well but still couldn’t find a way to win. The defensive structure was better. The fight was there. But the same issues—scoring struggles, brief lapses in execution, and inconsistency in finishing plays—held them back.
The good news is that they aren’t rolling over. This isn’t a team that quits. But they need to turn this energy into wins—quickly. Otherwise, all the effort in the world won’t mean much if they’re watching the playoffs from home.
