Flyers

Rick Tocchet Says Flyers Should Have Been Up 3-0 on Columbus in the 1st Period

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 25th, 2026 · 10:00 AM EDT

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The Flyers did not defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets. Big game at the X and they lost 3-2 in regulation, which should pretty much do it for their playoff chances barring a minor miracle.

They played a great 1st period and took a 1-0 lead despite Jet Greaves transforming into prime Martin Brodeur right in front of our eyes, but Rick Tocchet says they should have put a Ted Nugent-styled stranglehold on the game at that point:

“That was a hell of a first period. I thought (Columbus) had about five minutes (in the beginning of the second) and the game was even after that. Execution? Should have been up three-nothing, at least. Then a couple of mistakes by a couple of guys, a breakaway, (Zach) Werenski goes down the pipe, you know, a couple of mistakes by a couple of guys and now you’re chasing the game. But the first period was great, should have been three-nothing.

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You take the positives, for the most part I thought we played a good game. Execution is something we talked about all year, we gotta keep working on (it). You can still work on that stuff. Obviously you have to have talent, but also wall work – they’re a bigger team and in the second period we lost a couple of more wall battles and these types of games you have to be at least 50/50. I thought we didn’t get the puck out on one of their goals. Things like that. That’s the playoff stuff. That’s why they’re (learning it now), which is great. That’s the stuff you’re gonna have to do. But for the most part our guys worked really hard.”

Can’t really disagree with Tocchet on any of that. At least he didn’t come out and say the boys were “nervous,” which was a post game press conference improvement. They really had a lot of JAM in the first period and couldn’t put away some great chances. Then they were bit by some bad minutes to start the 2nd period and couldn’t claw their way back. But they didn’t exactly get run off the ice; you just saw a better team with some better players make more plays when it mattered.

The thing that’s particularly annoying is that they go on the road and rip off three wins a row to keep this thing afloat. Then they come back to play in front of the home fans and can’t get the job done. Their record is not good this season in the first home game after a multi-game road trip, which could mean anything. Maybe there’s some freedom playing on the road. They do have more road wins than home wins this year. Could be some pressure doing it in front of the home crowd, or higher expectations. It’s been a Sisyphean kind of run recently, where they push the boulder up the hill and get closer to the top, then they lose grip of the boulder and it rolls back down.

FWIW, if/when the Flyers miss the playoffs, it will be six years in a row, setting a new franchise record. The Sabres are going to snap their 14-year drought this season and the other teams at the top of the list are the Red Wings, Ducks, Sharks, Blackhawks, and Blue Jackets. So by the time the dust settles, it could be Sharks/Blackhawks/Flyers as the top 3 NHL teams that are starving for playoff hockey. Detroit could remain in the mix, too.