How quickly things have changed for the Flyers. No, their playoff spot isn't in jeopardy, but the good feeling surrounding their place in the standings has certainly vanished quickly.
After dropping a wild, defense-optional game in Tampa, 7-6, in a shootout, the Flyers fell to the Panthers on Sunday, 4-1, to round out a forgettable weekend in Florida.
Let's jump right in with our Postgame Review.
Postgame Points
- Zone Exits and Turnovers – For the last few games, the Flyers have struggled on zone exits and turnovers. Puck control is crucial and good teams not only protect the puck but also know how to take advantage of turnovers.
Tampa exposed this on a large scale on Saturday. There were a number of transitions and defensive pinches that left the Lightning going the other way with outrageous numbers. Florida isn't on the same scale as Tampa, but they have been a hot team that takes advantage of opportunities.
It was a perfect storm for Florida. The Flyers lacked energy following a draining game in Tampa in a back-to-back, but the Flyers didn't help themselves by putting themselves in those situations with turnovers and poor zone exits and entries that allowed the Panthers to have more puck control.
This isn't just a one-pair or one forward issue anymore. The entire team has struggled in this area for over a week. It didn't come back to haunt them until Thursday. Now the Flyers have just one point out of a possible six in three games in a four-day span.
- O-Don't-ya - The Flyers finally got Johnny Oduya into the lineup, but not as you would have thought with Andrew MacDonald coming out with injury. The first impression was not good and ultimately cut short anyway.
Oduya was burned on the first Florida goal by Aleksander Barkov and then left the game with an injury later. So much for adding Oduya as depth. If MacDonald is out for Wednesday and Oduya joins him, a defenseman will have to be called up. If that's the case, it may be Travis Sanheim time soon.
- Questions in the Crease - Petr Mrazek got another start and while the Flyers did him no favors — all of the Panthers goals came on breakaways or one-on-one plays — he didn't look good for the third straight game.
This was the book on Mrazek coming in — when he's on, he's on and when he's not, he's really not. So after winning his first three games and allowing four goals in the process, Mrazek has allowed 14 goals in three games in the last four days.
You can argue that playing Mrazek was to give him a quick turnaround to a performance he wanted to forget. Putting a rested Alex Lyon in would have probably been a better decision and maybe added more of an urgency to the team, but Dave Hakstol made his call and the Flyers have to live with another disappointing result.
- Frustration Setting In? - As this game went on, there were shades of the Flyers team that lost 10 straight games. Frustration was starting to set in as the third period went on.
While the Flyers did add a rather meaningless third-period goal, this was a team just going through the motions, trying to get the game overwith.
On one hand, it's understandable. This is a weekend to forget in Florida. You just want to get on the plane back to Philly, have two days to work things out mentally and physically and then prepare for what is to come on a brutal schedule. On the other hand, what kind of message does that send? It certainly isn't one of a team that was firing on all cylinders just a week ago with no stopping in sight.
If frustration is starting to set in and struggles continue, the Flyers could easily fall back into the wildcard race instead of going for a division title as they were talking about just a few games ago.
- No Easy Road - For the Flyers to get back in that discussion, it will take a pretty big turnaround against some very challenging teams.
The Flyers are still just two points out of the division lead on Washington, though Washington has a game in hand, and they still have a nine-point margin on a playoff spot, so they aren't in danger of missing the playoffs. But the team's performance of late is a far cry from the level of play that momentarily vaulted them into the division lead just six days ago.
This three-game stretch needs to serve as a reminder of how quickly things can change or how quickly things can go downhill.
That said, climbing out of it is going to be difficult. The Flyers are off until Wednesday and while they play five of their next seven games on home ice, the opponents just get tougher by the night. They host Pittsburgh on Wednesday, go to Boston on Thursday, host Winnipeg Saturday and Vegas on Monday. That four game stretch alone could completely change the playoff picture. After that, the Flyers host Columbus, travel to face Carolina and host Washington. That is a brutal seven-game stretch that will happen over 12 days.
The Flyers need to get back on track soon and play with confidence against these teams. This is a measure of where they are in the Eastern Conference after a resurgence that put them comfortably in the playoff picture.
By the Numbers
The Flyers actually led in CF% throughout the game. Shot attempts at 5-on-5 were 15-15 after the first and the Flyers led in shot attempts in the second and third, 41-25. The difference in the game was high-danger scoring chances. Florida led the Flyers in that category, 10-8, and generated more chances around the front of the net.
