Flyers HC Rick Tocchet doesn't mince his words following 2-1 loss to Flames - "We need guys to step up"

Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet spoke honestly after a 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday. The Flyers had only 18 shots on goal in the game. Travis Konecny scored the team’s only goal in the third period. Goalie Aleksei Kolosov made 19 saves in his first start of the season.

Speaking to the media after the game, Tocchet said the team needs to show more effort in front of the net.

"We got a box out," Tocchet said. [3:52 onwards] "I mean, you've got to box out. You've got to have the will to box a guy up. You know, that's just, you know, you got to fight as much. You've got to fight in the net their way. You got to fight in our net to, like, box out..."

If we take the Flyers' last five games, they have dominated a strong team like the Pittsburgh Penguins and secured wins against the New York Islanders and Nashville Predators. But over the last two games, they have lost to the Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Tocchet said some players are treating games too casually.

"There have been some chunks of our game we've liked, but when there's some will, our will is being tested right now," Tocchet said. "And we need some guys to step up, like, you know, leadership. "You know, I'm an honest guy. Like, I mean, I'm not ripping our players, but we need some guys to get some will, you know. I think we have a couple guys the last 2-3 games that are accepting ‘Eh, it’s just another hockey game.’"

Tocchet also said the fans deserve a better effort.

"The fans pay a lot of money here to watch games, and I don’t think we have given them a half-decent product in the last two games."

Tocchet joined Philadelphia before the 2025-26 season after leaving the Vancouver Canucks. The coach even took some blame but said the team must respond with more energy.

"And it's falls on myself," Tocchet said. "I've got to get these guys to start to show some will."

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Flyers struggled against Calgary despite having the League's best penalty kill

After the loss against the Calgary Flames, the Philadelphia Flyers have a 6-5-1 record this season. Newly acquired forward Trevor Zegras leads with 13 points, and Owen Tippett has 5 goals. Their penalty kill is strong at 90.5%, tied for first, but like Tocchet pointed out, it needs a will to win.

In the Sunday game, Jonathan Huberdeau scored both goals for the Flames. Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf made 17 saves to help secure the win. The Flyers’ power play struggled and produced few scoring chances.

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Edited by Ankit Kumar