Road-weary Flyers look forward to starting their home schedule

John Tortorella

      If only the Flyers could pretend every game at the Wells Fargo Center was their season home opener.

      Their alltime record for the initial game of a season played in Philadelphia is a gaudy 32-17-7.

      Whether there’s really some magic to that number or it’s just another dusty statistic remains to be seen.

      But one thing is for certain: Flyers fans get up for that opening night like few cities around North America.

      The scene unfolds again on Saturday night when the Flyers, just off a grueling four-game road trip through western Canada and the U.S., take on the Vancouver Canucks for the second time in little over a week.

      The two teams met on Oct. 11 for the Flyers’ overall season opener in British Columbia and the visitors came away with an impressive 3-2 shootout win.

      Things didn’t go quite as well the rest of the trip. The Flyers dropped a 6-3 decision at Calgary last Saturday, let a late lead slip away in a 4-3 overtime loss at Edmonton on Tuesday, then staged a late rally that fell short in a 6-4 setback at Seattle.

      The Flyers are trying to improve their home record over the past four seasons, which stands at just 64-68-19.

      Even though they are under .500 for those numbers, they have had success in recent years for the home opener.

      Even if you don’t count the Flyers’ win over Chicago in Prague, Czech Repulic where the Flyers were the official “home team” at the start of the 2019-20 season, the numbers are still good.

      The Flyers won their first game at the WFC that season when they defeated New Jersey, 4-0.

      In 2020-21, as the COVID pandemic began to settle down, the Flyers beat Pittsburgh.

      That was followed by a shootout loss to Vancouver in 2021-22, a victory over New Jersey in 2022-23 and a 2-0 win over Vancouver last year.

      By the way, what’s up with these frequent Vancouver visits on opening night?

      The home game against Vancouver starts off a stretch in which the Flyers will play six of their next eight games at the Wells Fargo Center.

      Like all of his players, coach John Tortorella is somewhat relieved to get off the road and back to the friendly confines.

      “It’s great coaching in Philly,” Tortorella said. “We’re just trying to be the best we can be. Back in the day, as a visiting coach, I think you recognize the crowd more than the home coach when you go into the building. I’ve been to a few (Phillies) ballgames this summer. I look at the crowds there. I want our players to play in front of people like that.

      “I want them to feel that juice. I’m not counting season tickets or seeing what’s going on there but if we take care of our business and we do it the right way and just continue to build it the right way, we’ll get there.”

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About Wayne Fish 2587 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.