The Flyers ended 2025 with a dud and opened 2026 with a bang. Once again, the team that has lost back-to-back games in regulation just once this season avoided a second occurrence with a bounce-back win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon.

That was Game No. 40 on the season, one away from the halfway point of the 2025-26 season for the Flyers. 

As that moment approaches, here are my observations from this week. Here’s this week’s Flyers Files:

Barkey Gets on the Board

The moment finally arrived for Denver Barkey on Saturday. Two weeks after making his NHL debut, and picking up two assists, Barkey got his first NHL goal.

There were close calls along the way, as Barkey was held without a point for the next five games after his debut. But the chances were there. The motor never stopped, as advertised, and Barkey continued to play on a line with Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett because he kept showing he was meant to be there.

Seven NHL games is a small sample. It may take more point production to ultimately keep Barkey in the NHL for the rest of the season and beyond without making a return for further development at the AHL level. But the 20-year-old is built for this. He’s got all the chops to be an NHL regular, regardless of his size at 5’9” and 155 pounds. 

Barkey’s quick path to the NHL has a lot to do with his junior development. Go through your junior career with the London Knights, and you usually come out knowing how to be a pro. For Barkey, it’s seen in the compete level and the details. He’s got speed, he certainly has the motor, and he’s got the smarts to succeed, even where size says he doesn’t.

It may be early in his NHL career, but it’s not since his draft year. And since being taken by the Flyers in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft, it’s always appeared the Flyers had one of those mid-round finds that can help complete a roster.

Flyers at Halfway Mark

Saturday was the 40th game of the season for the Flyers, the win over the Oilers giving them a 21-12-7 record and 49 points. At the time their victory in Edmonton was completed, they were back in second place in the Metropolitan Division. A New York Islanders win in overtime later on Saturday night moved them back to third, where they have been since the holiday break.

Obviously, the Flyers just continue to check the boxes of being in a playoff spot at different milestones. American Thanksgiving? Check. Christmas? Check. New Year’s and the halfway point of the season? Check.

The next big milestone will be at the Olympic break, when the NHL pauses for two weeks before a sprint to the finish in March and April. January will be a critical month to get there, especially when you look at the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference standings.

In the Metro, six points separate first place from seventh place. The Flyers are two points behind Carolina for the division lead, but three points ahead of the playoff cutoff. A solid winning streak can solidify your place. A losing streak could tear everything down.

The Eastern Conference is just as clouded. Tampa Bay leads the way in the Atlantic Division with 53 points. Detroit is second in the Atlantic with 52. Carolina leads the Metro with 51. Behind those three teams, 12 more are separated by five points, including second and third in the Metro, third in the Atlantic, and both wildcard spots. That’s five playoff spots available and 12 teams that could be regularly trading places for the next three months. 

It’s as close a race as we have ever seen in this format, and it’s almost guaranteed, simply by volume of teams involved, to have some competition going down to the wire.

International Affairs at World Juniors, Olympics

It’s been a week full of news and notes involving the Flyers and international play. Three players and head coach Rick Tocchet are going to participate in the Olympics. Six more prospects in the Flyers organization were at the 2026 World Junior Championship.

Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen were named to the Olympic rosters for Team Canada and Team Finland, respectively this week. Tocchet was already on the coaching staff for Team Canada. Rodrigo Abols was among the first six players named to Team Latvia over the summer.

For those four, the Olympic break will be spent taking part in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

Meanwhile, five of the six Flyers’ prospects at World Juniors are in the running to medal as the semi-finals arrive. Porter Martone and Jett Luchanko for Canada, Jack Berglund for Sweden, and Heikki Ruohonen and Max Westergard for Finland could all be going home with hardware following the conclusion of the tournament on Monday.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.

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