4 Flyers Games to Circle on the 2026-27 Schedule – The Hockey Writers – Philadelphia Flyers

All eyes will be on Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sept. 30. Ok, not as many as there will be when the building’s other home team makes its home debut after the Philadelphia 76ers convinced LeBron James to end his legendary career in an effort to win the team’s first championship since 1983. But there will still be an outsized amount of attention on the Philadelphia Flyers, who are also trying to end a generational championship wait of their own and are coming off a second-round sweep by the eventual champions.

Part of the Flyers hype is that the Sept. 30 game will air nationally on TNT, the only known broadcast info for the team’s 2026-27 schedule as of now. But the bigger reason is their opponent, the always-hated Pittsburgh Penguins, who the Flyers conquered in last year’s opening round. Last season showed success is still possible in this era in the Steel City, but with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both on expiring contracts, time is running out on this stage of Penguins hockey.

The Flyers hope that their current state is merely the beginning. Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, and Alex Bump are slated to make their first opening night roster, and Oliver Bonk might join them. The team wasn’t able to land a star in the offseason despite some valiant efforts, which adds to the importance of their play in 2026-27. Keep winning, and it will only help the chances of a big name seeing the Orange and Black as a marquee destination.

It’s just game one of 84, but it’s one of a few already worth thinking about. Here are three more to daydream about over the next two months.

Oct. 24 vs. Anaheim Ducks

This will be the third straight season that Ducks-Flyers is appointment viewing, and there’s even more spice to add this time. The 2024-25 season saw Jamie Drysdale and Matvei Michkov electrify a rare raucous crowd that had to settle for shutting out Cutter Gauthier in the first game against the team that drafted him as the season’s high-water mark. Gauthier opened the scoring in last season’s match here, but Trevor Zegras responded with a quick two in a revenge game of his own that the Flyers again won comfortably.

It would’ve brought this game to a different stratosphere if the Anaheim Ducks didn’t match the five-year, $90 million offer sheet the Flyers tendered to Leo Carlsson this summer. Instead of it being his first game against his old team, it’s the first chance to wonder what would’ve been (and for some fans who don’t understand or don’t care about how offer sheets work, to boo him).

Not only is all of that history factoring in, but both teams now have experience playing in actually big games. Both reached the second round last year despite not having previously played playoff hockey in front of fans since 2018. It’s an afternoon game, the only one on the schedule at 1 p.m. Eastern with no other games starting until 3:30. By that point, at least one team will probably have broken social media, if not displayed a level of physicality rarely seen when hockey and football season overlap.

Feb. 3 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

This could be a classic measuring stick game for a few reasons. First, there’s been a clear gap between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Flyers for a while. Tampa Bay has won nine of the last 11 meetings and swept the 2025-26 season series while outscoring the Flyers 15-3. That included back-to-back wins in Philadelphia that ushered in the January skid that nearly derailed the Flyers’ season.

Second, it’s both teams’ final game before the All-Star break, so they’ll be sitting on the result of this longer than any other game during the regular season. Despite that aforementioned nightmare January 2026, the Flyers salvaged three out of four points in their two pre-Olympic February contests last season, which helped make the difference in their playoff push.

Tampa Bay is also on the second half of a back-to-back, playing in Pittsburgh the night before. If the Lightning beat the Flyers in their first meeting in Tampa on Oct. 5, the Flyers can reasonably defend not reaching peak performance in just their fourth game of the season. By February, that won’t be the case, especially with two days off before.

The deck is stacked about as far in the Flyers’ favor as possible, except for the talent on the two rosters. If they’re capable of beating the Bolts, they’ll show it, one way or another.

April 10 vs. Washington Capitals

Two seasons ago, the Flyers hosted the Washington Capitals to end the regular season in about as meaningful a game as possible. The Capitals had the chance to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with Philadelphia needing a regulation win and help from across the league.

T.J. Oshie’s final NHL goal was an empty-netter to break a 1-1 draw (not a typo, blame tiebreaker drama) and push Washington into the playoffs. But the Flyers got some redemption last season by fending off the Capitals to be the final East team to clinch a playoff spot with a thrilling victory in their penultimate game, eliminating Washington by erasing a 2-0 deficit and beating the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout.

Time will tell if the stakes will be raised to the max once again. Perhaps it will be a playoff preview for one or both teams. Yes, there’s a chance it’s a dud if there’s nothing to play for, but the greater value from this game could be sentimental anyway. This is Washington’s last game of the season, and it could be the final time Alex Ovechkin comes to Philadelphia, if not plays an NHL game, period.

While Philly fans may not be the most charitable crew, they certainly appreciate an all-time great. Ovechkin’s first playoff series was against the Flyers in 2008, so there’d be a bit of a full-circle narrative if it all ends here for the Great Eight on the second Saturday of April. Both teams have designs on playing much longer than that; we’ll probably know about that by the time the puck drops.

Oh, the Places You’ll Go

It wasn’t intentional to have all of these featured games take place at Xfinity Mobile Arena, even if those are naturally more of interest to fans. But let’s take a moment to point out some notable games away from Broad Street as well.

Philadelphia’s Nov. 19 trip to Ottawa is their final scheduled game against the Senators, and that may be the last time Claude Giroux plays the team that drafted him (and nearly brought him back in free agency this summer). The Dallas Stars have been a tough foe for the Flyers for a while, with just one regulation win since 2019, and their last win in Dallas of any kind was all the way back in 2014. They head to Texas on Feb. 18, their third game after the All-Star break.

If you’re a Flyers fan out of market, it feels like their Dec. 11 game at the Edmonton Oilers could wind up on TNT’s weekly Wednesday slate (although maybe the 10 p.m. Utah Mammoth vs. Vegas Golden Knights playoff rematch steals their thunder). Either way, each of the Flyers’ last two trips to Edmonton has seen a player score their first NHL goal: Michkov in 2024-25, Denver Barkey in 2025-26. If someone joins them this season, I’m taking Cole Knuble.