Flyers Fall in Shootout and Set a Record Nobody Wanted

PHILADELPHIA — The Flyers came as close as they have all season to their first win Tuesday night. Then the shootout took it away.

Seattle beat Philadelphia 3-2 at Xfinity Mobile Arena, with Bobby McMann scoring in regulation and again in the fifth round of the shootout. The loss dropped the Flyers to 0-5-3, extending the longest winless start in franchise history to eight games.

For two periods, the familiar problems returned. Seattle led 2-0 on McMann’s power-play goal and Ville Ottavainen’s first NHL goal, and the Flyers looked disjointed.

Then the third period brought life. Christian Dvorak scored at 6:07 off a feed from rookie Oliver Bonk, and Trevor Zegras tied it at 7:20, just 73 seconds later, for his first goal of the season.

Dan Vladar kept it alive with 29 saves, several of them spectacular, and even picked up an assist. But Philipp Grubauer stopped four of five shootout attempts for Seattle, stoning Zegras twice after their two second-period skirmishes.

Head coach Rick Tocchet found something to praise afterward. “We’re still upset at the last two weeks, but the energy was there,” he told reporters, according to 97.5 The Fanatic. “I saw a lot of guys digging a little bit harder.”

The Flyers have scored 10 goals in eight games. They travel to Detroit on Thursday still searching for win number one.