Flyers fall 5-1 to Penguins on Monday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena as Tyson Foerster exits with an upper‑body injury. The loss snaps a three‑game winning streak and leaves the team with a key player sidelined.
Game Recap
The Flyers were rolled by the Penguins, 5-1, at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The first goal came on the Flyers’ second 5‑on‑3 power play, but the Penguins quickly answered with power‑play goals from Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, giving Pittsburgh control in the middle stanza. A third power‑play goal from Tommy Novak and a fifth‑goal from Kevin Hayes sealed the win.
The Flyers’ fourth‑ranked penalty kill was 1 for 4, and Dan Vladar made 22 saves on 27 shots. Pittsburgh’s netminder Tristan Jarry stopped 28 of the Flyers’ 29 shots.
Injury Impact
Foerster exited in a 1‑1 game during the second period and did not return. He suffered an upper‑body injury while unloading a shot on the Flyers’ second 5‑on‑3 power play.
“That’s tough,” Travis Konecny said. “He’s such a big part of the team, the locker room, everything. It’s definitely difficult; we’ll see where that’s at.”
The injury comes at a time when the Flyers are playing their fifth game in eight days.
Coach Rick Tocchet’s Assessment
After the loss, head coach Rick Tocchet said, “All year long we’ve responded well after losses, bad efforts,” and added, “We’ve got to forget about this one and move on.”
Tocchet also noted, “We had a chunk of guys that, I don’t know, just weren’t in it tonight. It’s a learning lesson. I’m going to give them the day off tomorrow, hopefully they can reset after this road trip. We’ve had a pretty good run here. We just can’t be reading our press clippings, too. I think we got a little bit too comfortable at the start, got a little bit too cute and I think that we’ve got to be careful.”
Player Reactions
Noah Cates described the game as, “It just kind of felt like a sleepy effort from us,” adding, “Not a lot of focus, not a lot of jam to our game.”
Matvei Michkov, who was the first player on the ice Monday at the Flyers’ morning skate, was working on the down‑low stuff, the backdoor, getting the puck up. Tocchet said, “He wanted to work on the down‑low stuff, the backdoor, getting the puck up,” and added, “It’s funny, he was getting mad at himself, but that’s him, he wants to look at other avenues of scoring. And that’s one of them he can be really good at.”
Michkov battled around the net on Foerster’s goal and, although he didn’t have a point that night, he has looked more like himself over the last three and a half weeks.
Statistical Highlights
- Flyers record: 14‑8‑3.
- Flyers have not won four in a row since Feb. 6‑12 of the 2023‑24 season.
- Flyers are 1‑1‑0 in their four‑game regular‑season series against the Penguins (13‑7‑5). The first meeting ended in a 3‑2 shootout win for the Flyers.
- Sidney Crosby has 59 regular‑season markers against the Flyers, the most of any player all‑time.
- The Flyers’ fourth‑ranked penalty kill was 1 for 4.
- Dan Vladar made 22 saves on 27 shots.
- Tristan Jarry stopped 28 of the Flyers’ 29 shots.
Looking Ahead
The Flyers will return to action Wednesday when they host the Sabres at 7:30 p.m. ET/TNT. With Foerster sidelined, the team will need to adjust its lineup and focus on improving its penalty kill and defensive play.
Key Takeaways
- Flyers lose 5‑1 to Penguins, snapping a three‑game winning streak.
- Tyson Foerster exits with an upper‑body injury during a 5‑on‑3 power play.
- Coach Tocchet calls for a reset after a shaky start to the homestand.
The loss underscores the need for the Flyers to address defensive lapses and rebuild momentum as they prepare for the next stretch of games.
