PHILADELPHIA — Travis Sanheim called it “a little bit of a relief,” and after the start the Philadelphia Flyers had endured, the phrase fits. They beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Saturday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena for their first win of the 2026-27 season.
Nine straight losses to open a season is the longest such streak in franchise history, and Philadelphia was outscored 32-11 across them, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. Three of the nine came past regulation, going by the 1-6-3 record NHL.com lists. Sanheim said that in a hole like that, “it feels like you’re never going to get out of it.”
The result mattered beyond the standings. NHL.com reported that it kept Philadelphia from becoming the 11th team in NHL history to lose its first 10 games of a season. It was also the first time this season the Flyers scored more than two goals. They had managed 11 in their first nine games.
Ottawa struck first. Drake Batherson scored at 5:55 of the second period, finishing a 2-on-1 rush with Claude Giroux, NHL.com reported, the eighth time in 10 games the Flyers had allowed the opening goal. Their answer took 3 minutes, 8 seconds. Porter Martone poked the puck away from Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot, Matvei Michkov reached it first, and his shot-pass went off Martone’s stick and past Linus Ullmark at 9:03.
Matvei Michkov then put Philadelphia in front with a power-play goal at 18:33 of the period, tapping in a rebound after Martone’s shot hit Ullmark’s pad and Michael Bunting in front of the net. It was Michkov’s 50th NHL goal. Trevor Zegras added an empty-netter at 19:46 of the third, and Dan Vladar made 25 saves.
Philadelphia did it without four key players. Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York all missed the game, NBC Sports Philadelphia reported, and NHL.com listed Tippett’s injury as upper-body and day to day. Martone and Michkov were the first Flyers forwards with a multipoint game this season.
Coach Rick Tocchet called it “a gutsy effort.” Michkov, who said he felt the Calder Trophy hype as a rookie, spoke about the 19-year-old Martone. “He needs support,” Michkov said. “I’ll support him every time.”
What one win cannot show is whether three goals was a start or a single good night. Tocchet’s own outlook was hedged: “Hopefully, we can carry it on.”
