10 Things We Learned from the Flyers’ Playoff Run

The Philadelphia Flyers’ season and run for a Stanley Cup came to an end on Saturday night at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes in a four-game sweep in the second round.

When any season ends, there’s always things to analyze and learn from. There was plenty learned about this Flyers team as the book closes on the 2025-26 season and the offseason awaits.

1. The Flyers have a goaltender.

So many times, the reason for the Flyers’ struggles in a season without playoffs or in a playoff exit is goaltending. Dan Vladar answered the question about the Flyers’ goaltending affirmatively. The Flyers could continue to rely on him to the end, getting several quality performances in the playoffs that showed his durability as a starter.

2. Sean Couturier finds his place.

Sean Couturier very quickly went from looking like a player with no future role in this lineup to one that fits him like a glove. At this stage of his career, playing the fourth-line grinding minutes and being a face-off specialist open the door for younger and more skilled players to be at the top of the lineup and gave the Flyers an effective fourth line.

3. The power play is the most glaring issue.

The power play is the biggest area for improvement. And it’s really not even close. I’ll have more on this later, but the Flyers’ power play has been last in the NHL in four of the last five seasons, and the one exception was a 30th place finish out of 32 teams. All areas of it need to be evaluated: personnel, structure, system, philosophy. Everything should be on the table.

4. Nobody needs a clean slate more than Matvei Michkov.

No one needed this season to end more than Matvei Michkov, just to close the book on a sophomore season filled with more drama than anyone wanted. Of course, that had one more chapter to it when Michkov was a healthy scratch for Game 4 as the Flyers season ended. It may sound like a broken record, but starting training camp out of shape set the tone for the whole season. Question Michkov’s usage by Rick Tocchet – and the criticism there is fair – Michkov can really put this to bed by returning for camp in 2026-27 in better shape and starting off strong right out of the gate. One way or another, that’s a storyline of the offseason, and the resolution to it is important.

5. Getting quality backup goaltending mattered to this run.

While Vladar was a steadying presence in goal, the Flyers can’t lean on him too much in future seasons. They need more consistency from the backup goalie. Give Sam Ersson credit for a great post-Olympic run. It very well may have helped the Flyers make the playoffs as much as Vladar’s steady play did. But the Flyers need to evaluate that position and have it improve next season.

6. Travis Sanheim proves he can handle big playoff minutes.

There should be no question about what Travis Sanheim means to this Flyers’ blue line. The defenseman continues to rise among his peers at the position, and the league has taken notice. Sanheim didn’t make Team Canada’s 4Nations roster or Olympic roster for no reason, and it seems like during this playoff run, his importance to the Flyers’ roster showed too.

7. Owen Tippett's absence showed the lack of speed the Flyers have.

The same can be said for Owen Tippett, because the Flyers look completely different without his speed in the lineup. Tippett was unable to play in the second round due to injury, and the lack of speed through the neutral zone and on the rush was clearly lacking.

8. The Flyers are still very young, and it showed.

It’s important to remember just how much youth contributed to this run. At the end of the regular season, Porter Martone had nine NHL games under his belt. Alex Bump had 17 games. Denver Barkey had 43. And as was to be expected, they all hit a wall at the same time against a more experienced Cup-contender in the Carolina Hurricanes.

9. The Flyers struggled to finish on their chances.

The Flyers had been a great team off the rush over the last few seasons, but their finishing ability was a noticeable problem. The Flyers had five goals in the series against Carolina over four games. They also hit the post at least four times over the final two games and had a shot get behind Frederik Andersen that was swept off the goal line by Jaccob Slavin. It’s a game of inches, and when it came down to it, the Flyers were on the wrong side of being able to finish. It’s another area for improvement in the future.

10. The city of Philadelphia got back into hockey again.

Finally, the city still cares deeply about hockey and lives for the playoffs. The defining moments of this run – the playoff clincher, the first home game of the playoffs that was charged with emotion, the overtime win over Pittsburgh to advance to the second round – were electric. The fans are what make the playoffs great, and this is hopefully only scratching the surface for what is to come.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.