It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t relaxing, but the Philadelphia Flyers found a way.
In Montreal on Tuesday night, they built a 3–0 lead, squandered it, clawed back, and eventually sealed a 5–4 shootout win — the kind of chaotic, uneven, but strangely satisfying victory that reveals as much about a team’s mindset as its tactics.
After a pair of disappointing losses over the weekend, head coach Rick Tocchet asked for more “will” from his group — more pushback, more buy-in, more refusal to fold when things turn.
Against the Canadiens, he got it.
Lesson 1: The Power Play Is Becoming a Real Weapon
Two first-period power play goals (bringing them to six PPGs in as many games) set the tone, but the significance runs deeper than the scoreline. For years, Philadelphia’s power play has been a liability — static, predictable, and easy to defend. That’s changing.
The new structure under Tocchet emphasizes motion, quick reads, and layered options through the middle. The Flyers aren’t relying on one setup or one shooter; they’re creating from multiple looks. It’s why the puck movement looks sharper, why entries are cleaner, and why opposing penalty kills are starting to respect the threat again.
The unit currently sits 14th in the league — a modest rank, objectively, but for a team that often found themselves at the bottom (or very close to it) in powerplay hierarchy, it's a drastic improvement so far.
What matters more is sustainability. The Flyers are generating consistent high-danger chances with the man advantage, and that’s a foundation you can build an identity on.
If this power play continues to hum, it becomes more than a special-teams quirk; it becomes a lifeline in tight games, the kind of edge that playoff teams use to separate themselves.
Lesson 2: The Defense Is Still Searching for Its Shape
The flip side is that the Flyers still can’t seem to play with a lead. Up 3–0, they loosened, and Montreal pounced — exposing a defensive zone that remains a work in progress.
This wasn’t about effort. It was about cohesion. When Philadelphia’s defensive coverage breaks down, it’s rarely one player’s mistake; it’s a chain reaction. Forwards collapse too deep, defensemen overcommit, and the spacing erodes. Montreal’s speed and offensive prowess made those cracks obvious.
It speaks to something Tocchet’s been wrestling with: this team knows how to compete, but it’s still learning how to manage. There’s a difference between playing hard and playing smart, and Tuesday’s middle frame showed that distinction in real time.
To their credit, the Flyers adjusted and tightened up in the third, but until this team learns to control the rhythm of games — especially with a lead — it will continue to live and die on momentum swings.
Lesson 3: "Rick Tocchet's Flyers Don't Shoot!"
That's been a recurring criticism of this current Flyers team—for whatever reason, they just don't seem to be able to be getting at the net as much as seasons past. With that being said, it's then kind of hilarious that, against the Canadiens, they recorded their current season-high shot tally with 42.
Now, in all fairness, the Flyers, overall, genuinely just have not been shooting as much. Many of their games so far this season can be classed as "low-event," and it's sparked the debate of whether that's just a consequence of Tocchet-style hockey, or if it's indicative of a more deep-rooted issue amongst their current forward group.
Wherever you stand on that issue, one thing is clear—putting away 42 shots is no small feat. But that number didn't guarantee them a regulation win, even against struggling Habs goaltender Sam Montembeault. It's almost like the caliber of the shots should matter more than the sheer number of them—focusing on actual standard of play rather than just constantly throwing pucks on net and hoping one gets by.
Quality over quantity, people. It's a cliche for a reason!
Lesson 4: They’re Learning to Win Ugly — and That Matters
The Flyers have gone to overtime or a shootout more often than Tocchet would probably like. But even if that pattern suggests inconsistency, there’s also growth hidden inside it.
Good teams learn to win cleanly. Developing ones learn to win anyway. The Flyers are still in that second camp — a team figuring out its limits but unwilling to fold within them.
The Canadiens are fast, dangerous, and creative — a team that punishes mistakes. The Flyers didn’t dominate them throughout the entire 60 minutes, but they didn’t bow out either. They took a game that could’ve easily unraveled and willed it to their terms in the end. That’s not luck. That’s buy-in.
Bonus: Nic Deslauriers Takes On Arber Xhekaj
Whether or not you think Deslauriers should be in the Flyers lineup on a given night, you can't deny this his presence always brings the fireworks.
A heavyweight tilt against his Montreal counterpart Arber Xhekaj might not have made the Bell Centre crowd roar, but a good donnybrook never fails to inject some life into a team's bench, and if nothing else, Deslauriers is excellent at that. (Not to mention, he fought Xhekaj's younger brother, Florian, in preseason and won that one, too.)
What to Take Away
The Flyers didn’t play a perfect game. The defensive gaps were real, and they’ll need to be cleaned up as the schedule marches on. But they also didn’t fold — and that’s something Tocchet will value, especially after calling out what he perceived to be a lack of will after Sunday's loss to Calgary.
The early-season theme has been about consistency, and this was another lesson in what happens when the intensity drops. But it was also a reminder that resilience still runs deep in this lineup.
And that powerplay? It’s looking more and more like it's not just a flash in the pan. It’s a sign of evolution — proof that the Flyers are finding ways to score and stay competitive, even when their five-on-five game wobbles.
For now, a road win in Montreal is a solid result. The Flyers fought, regrouped, and finished. That’s what good teams do. And while some may be reluctant to call the Flyers a "good team" as of right now, they're making it harder and harder to deny that they do, in fact, have what it takes to get there.