Through 18 games, the Flyers find themselves with 19 points. They’re at least even in games played with everyone in the Eastern Conference and will have a few games in hand on some by Thursday night when they take on the Blues. They have had some bright spots, they’ve had some problems. Yet they find themselves within reach of a wildcard spot. Not buried behind seven or eight teams, nor are they trailblazing in the Metropolitan Division. If the Flyers were part of an episode of The Simpsons, they would be the epitome of “frogurt.” See below.
So, with that being said, there are different things that could go right or wrong for the Flyers in the remaining 64 games. Here then are three things that would bode well for Philadelphia getting themselves into one of the two wildcard spots. And, on the flip side, three things that could see them plummet down the standings and end up looking for more lottery balls in April.
Flyers land wild card spot if…
Michkov takes off
Matvei Michkov had an off-season he’d like to forget. A car accident in Dubai, an injury to his ankle that impeded his training and conditioning, and coming into camp not in shape hasn’t helped him in the first 18 games of the season. He has been getting better and shaking the rust off the last few games, but the expectations entering camp was for him to be the team’s leading point-getter. Or at least near the top. Instead, he’s eighth (tied with Bobby Brink) with nine points (four goals, five helpers).
Head coach Rick Tocchet isn’t putting Michkov in the doghouse yet. But he has a tighter leash on him than many thought he would. He’s averaged just under 15 minutes a game thus far. And he’s been glued to the bench at times in close games late in regulation. He’s starting to win Tocchet’s trust, albeit slowly. But his play away from the puck at times (like some of his linemates) leaves a little bit to be desired. He’s going to need to continue to score and produce offensively if he wants to get himself out of the muck.
A sophomore slump happens to a lot of players. Should Michkov avoid that and end up with a strong three-quarters of a season, that will certainly go a long, long way in helping the Flyers stay in playoff contention. And possibly get into one of the wildcard spots.
Dan keeps dominating
If anyone would’ve believed Dan Vladar was one of the saviors for Philadelphia nearly 20 games in, that’s a bet nobody would’ve put good money (or any money) on. Vladar was originally thought to be Sam Ersson’s support, and Ersson would see around 50 games, Vladar would see the rest. That still might happen, but 18 games in, Vladar has nearly two-thirds of the starts so far, with a .909 save percentage. And has kept the Flyers in a lot of games, stoning opponents more often than not in overtime and the shootouts.
Vladar is going to have to keep that high level of play going for the Flyers to stay in the hunt. They’re not scoring a lot of goals, so the run support the average National Hockey League goaltender would get isn’t something Vladar can depend on. It’s not there, making the line for error very thin. The goalie has played well but has come back down to earth somewhat, as the .930 save percentage he had to begin the year has dipped. The Flyers should be over the moon that it’s almost American Thanksgiving and a goaltender has a save percentage over .900. That standard has to continue. If Vladar — who played only 30 games last year — begins to have Ersson-esque games (.850 or lower save percentages) once a week, that’s going to make the playoffs extremely difficult if not impossible.
Power play keeps chugging
Flyer fans have to reflect quite a few years ago to remember an effective power play. Otherwise there’s no comparison to put this current 2025-26 Philadelphia power play into context. Prior to Tuesday’s games the Flyers are seventeenth in the league (19.6 per cent). To see this special team actually look competent is tear-inducing at times. They’re not great, but to see them essentially in the middle of the league is a step up from being in the cellar most of last year.
The power play might still be horrid if not for the arrival of Trevor Zegras. He’s been in on a huge chunk of their power play goals. If Michkov can begin to find his game and gain more confidence, that could extend into the other non-Zegras unit. One unit still looks like last year’s, one looks vastly new and improved. And for a team that is still scratching and clawing to score goals five-on-five, it’s vital they are able to do a bit of damage with the man advantage.
Flyers gain lottery balls if…
Injuries
Every team has them. Montreal is suffering mightily because of them (or will be soon). The Flyers thus far have avoided major ones. Yet if the Flyers suffer one long-term injury to one of probably three key players then the playoffs or dream of a wildcard spot will be off the table. The Flyers need to have Trevor Zegras healthy, Dan Vladar healthy, and Travis Sanheim healthy for nearly all of the 82-game slate if Philadelphia has any hope. An injury to any of them will significantly hamper their chances.
If Vladar went down, the Flyers are left with Ersson and Kolosov. We know how that went down in 2024-25. Or, barring a call up of Carson Bjarnason, they’d have to try and find something off the waiver wire heap as a stopgap. Meanwhile a Zegras injury (even for a few weeks) could be enough to stall the Flyers’ power play and end up losing most of the shootouts. As for Sanheim, trying to find someone to adequately munch up between 24 to 26 minutes a night as the top blueliner would be next to impossible.
That’s not to say the Flyers would roll over and die if one of these things happened. It would be extremely difficult to logically believe they could overcome an injury to one of these three. It would probably mean the Flyers being sellers yet again at the trade deadline despite what general manager Danny Briere hoped for last summer. And their record being one of the worst in the league.
Schedule strength
The Flyers are up against it regarding their schedule and the strength of it. Some have them as having the worst schedule remaining in the league while others have them with the fifth or sixth-hardest the rest of the way. It’s not going to be easy. They’ve had just a pair of back-to-back games this year, losing the second game of both rather miserably. They have 12 more of those this year. And after going 1-12-2 in the latter of the two games since the start of 2024-25, Philadelphia has to improve dramatically on that record. They don’t have to sweep every back-to-back, but a .500 record is probably the goal to stay afloat in the playoff chase. If they only have one win this year in those second games it’s going to be a slow but steady drop in the standings.
The schedule gets much tougher the rest of the way, as the Olympics means squeezing a lot of games in on either side of the break. And the Flyers played a lot at home so far, so that will mean more travel and less practice time. Philadelphia have their work cut out for them. If they’re unable to win on the road, and win games where they don’t have their legs or “A” game, the Flyers could be in a world of hurt much sooner than later.
5-on-5 goals remain needles in haystacks
Philadelphia has just 31 even-strength goals this year, which puts them twenty-eighth in the league heading into Tuesday’s games. That’s 1.72 goals a game. Not a lot. Only Calgary, Nashville, Minnesota, and Seattle are tied with them or beneath them. The Flyers need to find a way to generate offense at even strength. The longer this scarcity of goals continues, the worse things are going to get. It will put more pressure on the goaltenders, more pressure on the defensive side to be near perfect, and a lot more stress on the power play to compensate for the lack of scoring five-on-five. That doesn’t include the pressure on the forwards having to finish nearly all of the handful of great chances they can muster each game. That’s a recipe for eventually far more losses than wins, and far greater chances of tumbling down the standings into the Gavin McKenna (or Alberts Smits) sweepstakes.
Tocchet isn’t a fan of putting up a less substantive high volume of shots, he wants quality. But if you can’t get quality shots, and avoiding quantity, then you’re not taking any shots in his system. That’s not good. Hopefully the Flyers start heading towards the land of even-strength goals soon. Otherwise it’s going to be a thorn in the side of a team that wants to distance itself from the draft lottery, not end up hoping for balls to fall the right way next May.