Flyers pick up where they left off, drop season restart to Capitals 3-1

Welcome back from the Olympic break. The Flyers picked up right where they left off.

Philadelphia fell 3-1 to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Wednesday in the first game back for both teams following the break for the Milan Olympics.

The Flyers have now lost six of their last seven games while scoring 14 goals in that stretch. The offense has been a problem and Wednesday night did nothing to change that conversation.

The Flyers actually looked okay for stretches. Noah Cates ended an 18-game goal drought just 29 seconds into the third period, tipping a Travis Sanheim point shot past Logan Thompson to tie the game at 1-1.

Noah Cates puts the Flyers on the board…

That's more like it. #PHIvsWSH | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/vannQlpx88

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 26, 2026

There was reason for cautious optimism at that point. Then the late third period happened. Trevor van Riemsdyk, who had not scored in 38 games, took a pass across the slot from Declan Chisholm off a give-and-go with Aliaksei Protas and poked one past Dan Vladar at 14:08 to put Washington up 2-1.

Trevor van Riemsdyk makes it 2-1 Washington. pic.twitter.com/ZD8IbTjWUo

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) February 26, 2026

Tocchet pointed to a bad change and some coverage breakdowns in the final minutes as the things that opened the door. Protas iced it with a short-handed empty net goal during 6-on-4 play to make it 3-1 final.

Protas has been a Flyers nightmare specifically, picking up a point in five straight games against Philadelphia going back to last season. That is not a coincidence at this point. That is a matchup problem.

The Michkov moment was notable. Thompson made a left pad save to rob a Michkov shot at the right post in the ninth minute of the third with the game still tied. It was the kind of chance that could have changed the night entirely. It did not go in.

Dan Vladar made 26 saves. The penalty kill was actually excellent, going 9-for-9 over the last six games and shutting down Washington’s only power play Wednesday night. There are pieces here. The team just cannot consistently put a full 60 minutes together, and losing six of seven while scoring 14 goals is a trend that needs to change quickly.

Twenty-five games left. As Cates put it after: “Everyone needs to be at their best.” That is about as honest an assessment as you are going to get.

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