Red Wings vs. Flyers: Andrew Copp's Late Winner Extends Philadelphia's Record Winless Start to Nine

Andrew Copp had gone 19 games without a goal, dating back to March 19 of last season. Michael Rasmussen had gone 31 games without a point. So naturally, with 4:38 left in a tie game, the two of them combined to bury the Philadelphia Flyers a little deeper into a historically bad start. Rasmussen's jam attempt on Joseph Woll didn't go, so he dished the puck across the blue paint, and Copp finished from point-blank range.

The Detroit Red Wings beat the Flyers 2-1 on Thursday night at Little Caesars Arena, and Philadelphia's winless start reached nine games. The Flyers are 0-6-3, extending the franchise record for consecutive losses to open a season. Somewhere, a Flyers fan is googling the 1943-44 Rangers.

A Bouncing Puck, a Rookie and a Game of Inches

Philadelphia actually got the start it wanted. Matvei Michkov opened the scoring at 17:32 of the first with some Little League instincts, swatting a bouncing puck past Daniil Tarasov from the right side of the net. Call it a home run swing. It was unassisted, opportunistic and, for a little while, enough.

Detroit tied it early in the second on a goal that was almost an accident. Rookie defenseman Anton Johansson was heading off for a line change when Justin Faulk moved the puck to Dylan Larkin, and Johansson suddenly realized he had a 2-on-1 developing. "I was coming off the ice, but (Justin) Faulk got the puck to (Larkin), and I saw we had a 2-on-1," Johansson said. Larkin slid a pass across the slot, and Johansson one-timed it home at 4:31 for his first NHL goal.

Per the AP and NHL.com, he is the third Red Wings player to score his first career goal this month, joining Michael Brandsegg-Nygard and William Wallinder. Detroit's youth movement is apparently running on a buddy system.

From there, it was a grind. Neither power play scored all night, with Detroit going 0-for-4 and Philadelphia 0-for-2, and both goalies were sharp. The Flyers also kept tripping over their own skates in big moments, which is a trend that will sound depressingly familiar to anyone who has watched them this season.

Two Second-Period Gifts

The Flyers were handed a golden chance in the second when Johansson was called for cross-checking Michael Bunting at 10:50. That power play evaporated almost instantly, because Bunting was called for embellishment on the same sequence, per NHL.com.

Later in the period, the Flyers gave one away themselves. Alex DeBrincat lost his stick at the Philadelphia blue line and started kicking the puck along like a soccer midfielder. Tyson Foerster went to take it away and took DeBrincat's skates out instead. That sent Foerster to the box at 18:44. Philadelphia nearly scored shorthanded anyway, but Tarasov stopped Noah Cates on a 2-on-1 with 21 seconds left in the period.

"Those are the moments in a game," Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. "You can't do those sorts of things. We're just lacking those big moments and we have to find them."

Those little leaks finally sank the Flyers in the third. Nate Danielson won a battle in the offensive zone and got the puck to Rasmussen behind the net, and Rasmussen eventually found Copp in front for the go-ahead goal at 15:22. Then Nick Seeler took a tripping penalty with 1:29 left, which made it nearly impossible to pull Woll. Oliver Bonk still got a final look on a redirection in front with eight seconds left, but it went wide.

Copp, Tarasov and the Drought Busters

Copp's goal was the obvious headline. "That felt really good," he said. "Hopefully, now they will be like grapes and come in bunches." That may be the most relatable thing a hockey player has said all season, and it came with a 7-for-13 night in the faceoff circle in 17:48 of ice time.

Rasmussen's assist ended his own long drought, and coach Todd McLellan made it clear he values the big forward for more than numbers. "We're not going to sit here and judge (Rasmussen) based on his point total," McLellan said. "The rest of the world might, but his contribution to the team is his size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds), which he's used pretty well."

Tarasov was the quiet star. He stopped 17 of 18 shots and is now 1-0-1 with a 0.80 goals-against average and a .965 save percentage in three games for Detroit, per NHL.com. His previous start was a 30-save shutout of Montreal that the Wings still lost 1-0 in a shootout, which is a very Detroit way to earn a point. "He's done a real solid job for us," McLellan said.

Woll was excellent too, making 24 saves on 26 shots. He just did not get much help at the other end. Per NHL.com, Philadelphia's defensemen had 24 shot attempts but put only six on goal.

Numbers That Tell the Tale

• 0-6-3: Philadelphia's record, with the winless start now at a franchise-record nine games.
• 26-18: Detroit's edge in shots on goal.
• 17 of 18: Shots Tarasov stopped.
• 0-for-6: Combined power-play output for the two teams.
• 11: Goals the Flyers have scored in nine games this season.

Detroit Exhales, Philadelphia Keeps Waiting

Detroit improves to 2-3-2 with six points and 2-3-1 at home. The Wings had lost three in a row, two of them past regulation, so this was a needed exhale, even if it came against a team that is still searching for its first win. They host San Jose on Saturday night.

Philadelphia falls to 0-6-3 with three points and 0-4-1 on the road. The AP put the skid in perspective: it is tied for the ninth-longest season-opening skid in the NHL and the worst since San Jose opened 0-7-2 in 2024-25. The record belongs to the 1943-44 Rangers, who opened with 14 losses and a tie. Five of the nine losses have been by one goal, which says the Flyers are close. Scoring 11 goals in nine games says why close keeps losing.

"When we play, we play good hockey," defenseman Jamie Drysdale said. "But if we don't do that for 60 minutes, the outcomes aren't going to change." The Flyers host Ottawa on Saturday night, still chasing win No. 1.

Stuck on Repeat

This is starting to feel like Groundhog Day in orange and black. Too many nights, Philadelphia wakes up, plays a tight game, makes one mistake at the wrong time and loses by a goal. Detroit, meanwhile, got goals from a rookie defenseman and a guy who had not scored since March. Hockey is cruel, but it is rarely this specific.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.