Flyers appreciate fans’ standing ovation after difficult season-ending loss

PHILADELPHIA – The standing ovation was loud, it was long and it was heartfelt.
A soldout Xfinity Mobile Arena crowd stood up and cheered for a good two minutes, shouting “Let’s go, Flyers!” in unison.
It was their way of showing how much they appreciated the way the Flyers had beat the odds and made the playoffs, then knocked off favored Pittsburgh in the first round.
The fact that they were swept by the top-seeded Carolina Hurricanes didn’t dim their enthusiasm, even after a disappointing 3-2 sudden-death overtime loss on Saturday night.
Captain Sean Couturier said the applause was appreciated by older players and younger players alike.
“It’s nice to have the support of our fans, the city,” he said. “It’s been fun to play here this year. You know, last couple years actually, through the down years they were behind us. It’s feels good to have the support and I think it helped us along the way for sure.”
According to coach Rick Tocchet, the ovation from nearly 20,000 onlookers meant a lot to him and everyone connected to the team.
This was a team that was given up for dead with only about two months left on the regular-season schedule.
But it rallied to win 18 of the final 25 games and overcame the odds (just a 3.8 percent chance) to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
“I think it’s amazing,” Tocchet said after the game. “I really want to thank the fans for that. That was awesome to cheer us and yell ‘let’s go Flyers!’ and such.
“Maybe it puts us on the map a little bit. I was just talking to (team president Keith) ‘Jonesy’. He said man, that was awesome to hear the fans cheer the guys up.”
Tocchet gives the impression he can’t wait for next season to get started.
“That’s a good thing for the guys to understand this summer, we’ve get the fans behind us,” the coach said. “We’ve got this organization back on the map. We got a taste, know what it’s going to take.
“I would really like to thank the fans for that. That was wonderful.”
Alex Bump, who scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal, did get his first feel for how loud this building can get.
“It was a great atmosphere,” he said. “They’re proud of how far this team made it. Hopefully we can keep building on it for the years to come.”
Goalie Dan Vladar was all smiles when asked about the fans’ vocal energy.
“It was awesome,” Vladar said. “It’s one of the reasons I wanted to come here and be a Flyer because I know how tight this city can be. I’m so glad I got to experience it. I’m hungry for more.”