PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Flyers' awful start hit a historic low Sunday as the Carolina Hurricanes earned a 4-1 win in Philadelphia, dropping Philadelphia to 0-5-2 and marking the first winless opening seven-game stretch in franchise history as faint "Fire Tocchet" chants rang out while the arena emptied.
The loss was not close despite the two overtime defeats on the record, with New Jersey and Carolina having outplayed Philadelphia in those games, and only a 2-1 loss to Ottawa on Thursday offering any resistance. Matvei Michkov remains the only Flyer with multiple goals this season, the power play went 0-for-3 against Carolina after David Jiricek had sparked man-advantage goals in two straight games, and Joseph Woll was in net for all four Hurricanes goals with no other bright spots through seven games.
Personnel decisions drew scrutiny. Prospect defenseman Oliver Bonk, who played Saturday for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, was called up and immediately placed on the top pairing next to Travis Sanheim, where the duo was on the ice for three of Carolina's four goals and Bonk took two penalties in the first period. Helge Grans remained on the roster, making the rushed deployment widely viewed as unnecessary even if the organization believes Bonk deserves NHL games going forward.
Effort and "compete" have become constant talking points for the players, head coach Rick Tocchet and general manager Danny Briere just two weeks into the season, a stark contrast to last season when Philadelphia reached the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The front office also signed Michael Bunting, who is averaging 11:39 of ice time, a move that has taken NHL reps from prospect Alex Bump, who has two goals and an assist in two games since returning to the Phantoms.
With scoring and shot suppression virtually non-existent, blame is falling on both the players and the coaching staff and front office. The pressure for a significant, meaningful change is growing beyond the brief chants heard Sunday, as continuing on this path risks subjecting veterans and youngsters to another losing, meaningless season with downstream effects on any future Stanley Cup ambitions.