Flyers Fall Flat vs. Kraken to Drop 3rd Straight Game, 4-1
Mar 8, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Seattle Kraken right wing Kaapo Kakko (84) passes the puck against Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler (24) in the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
A new-look Flyers team took the ice for some Saturday hockey for the first time since yesterday’s deadline.
Despite the Flyers’ struggles, they went into the game sitting just 5 points behind the final wildcard spot for the East. As a result, hopes were high that they could capitalize off facing an uninspiring Kraken team to help gain ground in the race. Instead, the team seemingly forgot you have to show up for all 3 periods rather than just the first, being outscored 4-0 after the first 20 minutes.
The most reasonable power play in years still stinks
The power play has been one of the if not the biggest weakness for the Flyers for the past 4 years. They have boasted the worst unit in the league for 3 straight seasons and sit at 28th this season.
Rocky Thompson masterclass this season ?? pic.twitter.com/QMuEFTj7fo
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) March 8, 2025
Today these struggles are put on full display. The Flyers had 5 opportunities with the man advantage today, 3 in the first period alone. Seattle managed to kill every single one of these power plays. You’d have to assume that the Krakens PK unit is pretty good until you realize that they have the 9th worst PK unit in hockey.
If the Flyers want to try and make a push for the wild card these kinds of nights can’t happen. You’d hope for a sense of urgency not only with a chance at the playoffs on the line but also with John Tortorella and the rest of the coaching staff’s jobs possibly on the line.
In good news, Matvei Michkov and Owen Tippett are still killing it. The first and only goal of the evening came off of Tippett’s stick thanks to a good feed from Michkov late in the first. The Michkov-Sean Couturier-Tippett line continues to be the best in the league since the 4 nations break.
Got to find somebody who can make a save
Let me start by saying I like Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov. Both have a lot of potential to become studs in this league. Neither one of them is even close to that right now, however. Ersson has been the best goalie on the team this year and still is 36th in GA/G this year.
To be fair to Ersson 2 of the goals today there wasn’t much he could’ve done. Chandler Stephenson got lucky Rasmus Ristolainen made a bad pass and got a 1 on 1 chance, that’s not Ersson’s fault. The other goal I cut him slack for was Brandon Montour. Montour’s shot was an absolute rocket and Ersson couldn’t see it.
The Rocky Thompson PP has been scored on…
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) March 8, 2025
3-1 SEA. pic.twitter.com/A4lxF9hHre
Like I said I like both Ersson and Fedotov but that doesn’t change the fact that the Flyers have one of the worst goalie rooms in the league. They’ve allowed the 5th most goals and the 6th most goals allowed per game.
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Ethan Whitney
Ethan is a writer for Philly Sports Reports and a Color Commentator for Rally Sports Network. He has been a massive fan of all Philly Sports for as long as he can remember and wants to share that passion with the world. He is looking for a long career in the sports media sphere.
