Nov 6, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) skates with the puck against the Philadelphia Flyersduring the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

For the second time in a week, the Nashville Predators met up with the Philadelphia Flyers, this time at Bridgestone Arena.

For the second straight meeting, the Preds scored just one goal. After losing 4-1 to the Flyers in Philly last Thursday, Nashville could do no better in a 3-1 loss at Bridgestone Arena.

Ryan O’Reilly got the Preds on the board early at 1:44 of the first period. Matvei Michkov tied the score with his second of the year at 4:43 of the middle frame, followed by Noah Cates at 17:37 to give Philly a 2-1 lead.

Travis Konecny added an empty-net goal at 18:47 of the third period to ice the game for Philly.

The Flyers outshot Nashville 26-23, with goalie Dan Vladar stopping 22 of the Preds' 23 shots. Juuse Saros, who once again made numerous key saves to keep his team in the game, saved 23 of the 25 shots he faced and took another tough loss.

"It's a broken record right now," Preds head coach Andrew Brunette told reporters after the loss. "It feels like that's kinda what we're dealing with, so we gotta find a way to break through it."

Neither team could muster a power-play goal; Philly was 0-for-1; the Preds 0-for-3.

Here are some takeaways from the loss.

A fast start couldn't be sustained.

The biggest question coming into Thursday was how the ending to Tuesday’s overtime loss would affect the Preds, especially at the start of Thursday’s game.

It didn’t take long for an answer. Just 1:44 into the game, Ryan O’Reilly was credited with a goal the official scorer claimed deflected off him from a Filip Forsberg shot. Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar, who allowed only one goal last week, didn’t see O’Reilly’s goal go in the net.

ROR WITH THE ALLEY-OOP pic.twitter.com/zdnmonkJ9u

— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 7, 2025

As they did in Tuesday’s game in Minnesota, the Preds set the tone early, outshooting Philly 10-7 after getting nine of the first 10 shots on goal.

However, as has tended to happen throughout the season, the Preds let off on the gas in the middle frame, allowing the Flyers to attack the offensive zone and gain the momentum. This carried over into the third, when Nashville managed just three shots against Vladar to the Flyers' nine.

O'Reilly was visibly frustrated after the game, particularly with his own play.

"Obviously (had) a chance to take control of the game, and we didn't," O'Reilly said. "We let them come back in and push back... I know for myself, the number one center, turned the puck over... Can't make a six-foot pass to save my life. We're not going to have success if I'm playing pathetic like that."

Michkov got behind the defense to tie the score, then Cates capitalized on a rebound to put Philly ahead heading into the third.

Once again, it was the little things that cost the Preds in this game, and they were unable to get back the pace once they lost it.

The Preds were goaded into Philly's physical style.

The Flyers came into the game as the most penalized team in the NHL, logging 184 penalty minutes this season.

The Preds are certainly not afraid to throw their weight around, but it didn't play to their advantage on this night.

Things got physical in the second period following several big hits by Ozzy Wiesblatt. Then, after Owen Tippett went off for hooking, two players from each side were sent to the sin bin for roughing with six seconds left on the Preds power play: Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault for Nashville, Travis Sanheim and Garnet Hathaway for Philly, all at the 16:05 mark.

After all the excitement, it was the Flyers who capitalized on the emotion, with Cates scoring the goal that put them in front.

While the Preds' penalty-kill didn't yield a goal, the Flyers seemed to get a new lease on life following all the chippiness. Nashville didn't seem quite the same after that.

It’s only human to get physical at some points during the game. However, the Preds were unable to draw Philly into more penalties and take advantage with their power play, which had moved up to 26th over the last couple of games.

Where's The Killer Instinct?

The same pattern that has hampered the Predators all of last season and through 16 games in this campaign reared its ugly head again Thursday: letting up or making crucial mistakes at the most inopportune times.

The players and head coach Andrew Brunette have talked a great deal about the team's identity, specifically a gritty style that relies on getting in the dirty areas rather than mounting a consistently explosive attack that can score in droves.

Against the Flyers, the Preds did that to a point, particularly in the first period. The problem is, it doesn't allow much room for error when they are unable to keep possession of the puck, open up passing lanes and get enough shots.

"We feel like we're right in there," Preds defenseman Nic Hague said. "Then we make some mistakes and the puck ends up in our net . That's kind of the way it's going right now... It's a game of inches out there."

All it takes is one rebound, one turnover, or one defensive lapse, and the game is lost.

If the Preds don't maintain that killer instinct at critical points of the game, wins will be tough to come by.

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