This season began on a brighter note, as the club raced out to an 11–3–0 record. A loss to the
Toronto Maple Leafs at
Maple Leaf Gardens on November 6 signaled a sharp downturn, however. Lindros went down with his second knee injury in as many years and soon after, the Penguins routed the Flyers 11–5 in Pittsburgh. Other lowlights on the slide included a 6–0 loss in Calgary, and an 8–0 defeat in the club's first-ever road game against the
Dallas Stars in early January. Lindros netted an impressive hat-trick in an 8–3 win over the Blues later in the month, but an 0–6–1 slide placed the team out of playoff contention. Despite Simpson's efforts to employ a defensive system akin to the yet-to-be unleashed
neutral zone trap, the team continued to crack with
Dominic Roussel and
Tommy Soderstrom in net. Soderstrom struggled with heart ailments and bad luck all season, winning just six games. After climbing within three points of eighth-seeded Washington in late March, the Flyers finished the year 2–5–3 and rested in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, three points behind the expansion
Florida Panthers.
Mark Recchi recorded 107 points (40 goals, 67 assists) and Lindros 97 (44 goals, 53 assists).
Rod Brind'Amour improved with another 97 (35 goals, 62 assists) and
Mikael Renberg set a Flyers rookie record with 82 points. Philadelphia had the best shooting percentage of all 26 teams, scoring 294 goals on 2,409 shots (12.2%). Offense was generated as the Flyers had four 30-goal scorers for the second-straight season and averaged 3.5 goals per game, but they still failed to clinch a playoff berth, again falling four points short of the final playoff spot. After the season,
Ed Snider had decided he had seen enough of
Russ Farwell as general manager, and began courting
Bobby Clarke to leave his GM post with the
Florida Panthers to return to Philadelphia. Farwell's last move was firing Simpson after a lackluster season.
Season standings ==Schedule and results==