The Philadelphia Flyers had the great misfortune of giving the San Jose Sharks their first win of the 2023-24 season, and it was a familiar feeling for the team. That's because this is not the first time in recent history the Flyers have provided the first win of the season to a winless team.
On Tuesday night, the Flyers fell into a 2-0 hole against the Sharks, who entered the game with a record of 0-10-1. Despite a strong push in the third period, which included a goal from Joel Farabee, Philadelphia couldn't level the score and tripled San Jose's point total in the standings.
The Flyers were the butt of some jokes on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, but they should have thick skin because it was the second time that they have lost to an 0-10-1 team. As a result, they are now the first team in NHL history to lose twice to a team that was winless through at least 10 games, according to Stats Perform.
In 2017-18, the Arizona Coyotes were 0-10-1 when they went on the road to Philadelphia and came away with a 4-3 win in overtime. In that game, the Flyers were able to erase a 3-0 deficit in the third period before Alex Goligoski scored for the Coyotes in overtime.
If Flyers fans are trying to find a silver lining to that historic achievement, it's that the team did make the postseason in 2017-18, and the franchise has missed the playoffs in each of the last three years. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, it lost to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.
Philadelphia will have a couple days to stew on this loss because the team's next game isn't until it meets the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.
