The five Flyers above – (from left to right) Kimmo Timonen, Jake Voracek, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds – combined to be minus-12 in Thursday's loss to the Ducks. (Photo by Amy Irvin/Flyers Faithful)
The next two games are crucial for the Philadelphia Flyers. Obviously, being on a West Coast trip against three of the best teams in the NHL is a huge test. But the timing for some of these games could not be better.
There was no good time to face the Anaheim Ducks, who handed the Flyers a 5-3 loss on Thursday night. However, it was a poor game from the Flyers top line – Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek and Scott Hartnell were each minus-2 – that may have made a difference.
The Flyers allowed a late first-period goal and a shorthanded goal at no fault to poor defense or bad goaltending. An over-aggressive offensive approach put the defense on its heels. And not only that, but Anaheim's physicality and size ultimately prevailed.
The important thing for the Flyers to remember is the effort they put forth in the loss to the Ducks. The Ducks managed to hold the Flyers off the board, but the chances were there. As they have been all season, Anaheim was simply firing on all cylinders and would not be stopped. The Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks are another story.
The Kings enter Saturday's 4 p.m. game with a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games. They have just three points in their last eight games and are averaging a goal per game. So the Kings are slumping as bad as any team in the NHL.
The Sharks have a similar problem. They lost to the Kings, giving them two of the three points earned in that eight game stretch. San Jose has lost three straight games since an overtime win against Minnesota on Jan. 25. In their last five games, they have scored just five goals – also one per game.
The Flyers scored at least three goals in 10 of their last 14 games. In those games, they are averaging 3.14 goals per game.
So this is a dangerous crossroads for the Flyers. In those 14 games, they have also allowed three or more goals 11 times, giving up an average of 3.42 goals per game.
The Flyers should consider themselves lucky to hit Los Angeles and San Jose with the two teams in a lull of sorts. But they also can't wake the predator. Both teams possess potent offenses waiting to snap out of things. A team allowing as many goals as the Flyers may be the perfect medicine for these teams.
But the Flyers effort on Thursday shows that points are up for grabs. There were certainly ways the Flyers could have managed a point in Thursday's loss. Those ways could equate to two points on Saturday or Monday. Getting three points on this three-game road trip would probably be a win at this point of the season.
As many of them said after Saturday's loss to the Bruins and reiterated on Tuesday after a dominant win against the short-handed Red Wings, the Flyers know the task at hand and what they must do to achieve it. That's not the problem. It will always come down to execution.
Execution does not always amount to two points in the standings. But that's where Thursday's loss with no points in the standings becomes a moral victory. There aren't too many times you can pinpoint the top line to be one of the worst lines on the ice. That was the case on Tuesday. If these are your skill players like Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds, valued by the team and spotlighted by opponents, then every game counts. When a bad game arises, the next offers a chance at redemption.
This is redemption for the Flyers. And wouldn't it be great to see that response come against some old familiar faces.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
