By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
What started off as a productive weekend has reverted back to another losing skid.
The Flyers managed a late goal, but got a very deserved 4-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of another sloppy and uninspired game.
Here are 10 Postgame Points from Flyers-Sabres.
- After coming out flat, the Flyers played a strong second half of the first period. They finished the first with 13 shots, were applying pressure, had a solid power play — all the building blocks to a strong game. And it all disappeared in the second and was never recovered.
- The Flyers have generally been a better second-period team this season. Not on Tuesday. Three goals ultimately did the Flyers in as the snowball effect hit them again.
- The last goal of that three-goal second was the one that hurt the most and sunk the Flyers for good. With less than 10 seconds left in the period, Evander Kane scored off a pair of turnovers by Andrew MacDonald and Wayne Simmonds in a disastrous shift for the Flyers. This was a different game if the score is 2-0 entering the third. But another three-goal deficit, forget it.
- The Flyers were able to mount a rally in their October meeting with Buffalo in Philadelphia, and that seems largely in part to Jack Eichel's injury keeping him out of that game three months earlier. Eichel is always an offensive threat, but he was one of Buffalo's strongest players from a two-way sense.
- The Flyers never got any momentum in the game. They had occasional chances, but this was very much another one-and-done kind of night. The Sabres clogged the neutral zone well. They never let the Flyers get inside position, which limited Grade A chances. The game becomes that much more frustrating when you can't threaten a team offensive and face so many of those glorious chances the other way.
- Andrew MacDonald was a minus-two and on the ice for all three goals Buffalo scored in the second. So was Ivan Provorov. Claude Giroux was a minus-three in the game. Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds were also minus-two. That's too many top-end players not doing the other part of the job in their own zone.
- As much as Claude Giroux can sound like a broken record with his post-game comments about getting good chances and being close, he did make a good point about the second period. The captain said the Flyers weren't playing as a group of five, hinting that the mistakes made in that period were the result of players trying to do too much on an individual basis. That certainly is how a lot of mistakes are born, and the Flyers were a much better team in Tuesday's game when they were trying to create chances collectively as opposed to aimlessly running around.
- That said, the Flyers have been playing lazy hockey. The zone exits are lazy. Passing is lazy and predictable. It doesn't equate to what a playoff team does. The Flyers need to refine their game in all aspects to really get back to a respectable level of play.
- Shayne Gostisbehere is now riding a 20-game goalless streak, stuck on four goals this season. He's had a rough sophomore season, but Tuesday's game was a step in the right direction for him. Gostisbehere had seven shots on goal to lead the team and appears to have put an emphasis on getting shots through traffic and to the net.
- Steve Mason's night in goal was sort of in between. Mason made an incredible save just before the scoring barrage started with a power-play goal. His rebound control was a bit bad, but it's hard to limit those with so many premium chances coming at you. For being tested quite a bit, 23 saves on 26 shots isn't a bad night, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Michal Neuvirth back in goal again on Thursday.
Bottom Line
Two really strong games for the Flyers this past weekend, one win and one loss in overtime, have now gone by the wayside.
If the Flyers were looking for those games that they could build on, Saturday's was a start and Sunday's was one of those tough losses that really could have gone either way and the Flyers legitimately deserved a better fate.
Call it playing down to an opponent, who is really not that far behind in an evenly-balanced Eastern Conference, or whatever you want to, but the Flyers need to find the answer to their struggles fast. The reason is an overall lack of games in January.
The Flyers have three more games this week — Thursday at home against Vancouver, a weekend back-to-back with stops in Boston and Washington — and then they get a week off, mandated by the NHL for all teams. They come back with two sets of back-to-back games on Jan. 21 and 22 and again on Jan. 25 and 26 before the All-Star break hits. That will four games and eight possible standings points in two weeks.
In the meantime, there are many teams hot on the Flyers heels. Boston and Ottawa hold playoff spots in the Atlantic Division, but trail the Flyers by overall points. Carolina is three points behind the Flyers. Toronto and Florida are four points behind the Flyers.
For now, the Flyers are a playoff team and have to be viewed as such. They are in playoff position, went to the playoffs last year and came in with expectations to reach the playoffs again. But by the time the bye week is over, they probably won't be a playoff team, and chasing a spot again. That's a disappointment for a team that just a few weeks ago had built up such a cushion, they were actually challenging for second in the Metropolitan Division.
