Senators Look to Extend Flyers' Nightmare in Battle of Opposite Fortunes

The contrast between the two teams couldn’t be more stark, with the Senators tied for fifth place in the league, and the Flyers one point out of last. Nine games into the NHL season, Philadelphia is still waiting to celebrate its first victory. Ottawa, meanwhile, has already collected six. The pressure will be on the Flyers at the Xfinity Mobile Arena tonight as the Senators arrive with a hot goaltender and a six-game winning streak against them.

The big question for the Flyers is:  with the worst winless opening stretch in their history, when does a slow start become a crisis?

The Senators wouldn’t have had to look far to find excuses to start the season. Their captain of five seasons abandoned them. The team has already lost a cumulative 36 games to injury, including five of their defensive corps. To top it off, their marquee pest, Ridly Greig, was out for a two game suspension.

Instead of struggling, though, they've thrived – matching the third-best eight-game start in franchise history.

 Linus Ullmark has been the difference-maker. He has won all six of his starts, posting an impressive .949 save percentage and 1.20 goals-against average. Thursday’s 2–1 shootout victory over the Islanders was his tenth consecutive regular-season win dating to last season, a Senators franchise record. 

The people in front of Ullmark have also risen to the occasion. With five goals and six assists in eight games, Tim Stützle continues his rise as a true NHL superstar. Batherson, Pinto, Giroux and Amadio have provided the consistent level of excellence every top-tier NHL team needs. Thomas Chabot, meanwhile, has embraced his leadership role while averaging heavy minutes on a defence that has already been forced to improvise.

 Despite Ottawa’s success, there are still a few lingering issues. They rank 24th in the league for goals, averaging only 2.6 per game – half that of the league-leading Avalanche. Their other goaltender, former Flyer Samuel Ersson, has not looked comfortable in his first two games, and there are still injuries to key players, including Sanderson, Matinpalo and Eklund. 

 Coach Rick Tocchet guided the Flyers to a playoff-series victory last spring, but is now trying to find offence with major pieces absent. Top forward Travis Konecny is out, along with Cam York, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Grebenkin.  Trevor Zegras and young guns Michkov and Martone are showing glimmers of hope, but with the team currently at just eleven goals in nine games, hope probably isn’t enough.

 Five of the last six meetings between these two teams have been settled by a single goal, and the Flyers have generally made Ottawa work for its wins. The Senators are coming in with momentum, and the Flyers will be playing with urgency. This should be another close one.