Flyers-Bruins: Postgame Points

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It's almost hard to put into words the way the final seconds of regulation played out in Boston for the Flyers.

A case of deja vu for the Flyers effectively closed the door on their season, as a devastating loss in the closing seconds to the Bruins in another must-win game left the Flyers with nothing in the standings.

Here are 10 Postgame Points from Flyers-Bruins.

1. Drew Stafford's shot off the stick of Brandon Manning, essentially a tip-in on his own goal, is beyond frustrating. Why Manning is trying to make a play like that in a tie game with a shot from that angle, generally harmless, makes no sense. But you have to feel for Manning as well. He played better than the end result, and to have to shoulder that is incredibly difficult. From a team standpoint, this is a loss that won't sit well for the next several games.
2. There are two reasons the game came down to a goal like that in the first place. The first is special teams. Once again, the Flyers were handed a chance to make a mark on the game, a 1:43 5-on-3. While a big reason the Flyers didn't score was because of Tuukka Rask, that's where you have to find a way. When the Bruins got a power play later in the period, quick puck movement led to a goal. That's how it's done, and the Flyers aren't moving the puck effectively on the power play at the moment.
3. The second reason the Flyers didn't win was the same reason they lost in Toronto on Thursday. This team doesn't display near enough urgency in the third period of games. This is a game the Flyers needed to have, especially after Thursday's result. To end up with just four shots in the period, and none in the first 12 minutes of the period is unacceptable. If you want to be viewed as a playoff team, you have to buckle down and go after the win. The Bruins did. The Flyers didn't.
4. After getting a night off on Thursday, Steve Mason gave the Flyers the chance for one point in the standings by getting the game to overtime. And they were five seconds away from doing so. For that to be the dagger on Mason is heartbreaking, because Mason was tested throughout the game and answered the call constantly. He was the Flyers best player on Saturday.
5. The Flyers had a near-miss in the first with Jake Voracek and Brayden Schenn digging around the net for a possible goal. The Flyers acted as if the puck was in. It went to a review and was ruled no goal. That part was fine, the play looked inconclusive on replay. But the explanation made no sense either. The play was ruled dead is what the officials announced. The "intent to blow the whistle" ruling is ridiculous. Hockey players are taught to play until the whistle. So what happens in the period of "intent" needs to be looked at. Like a lot of rules in the NHL, there's too much gray area on that.
6. What a game from Jordan Weal. Honestly, why it took the Flyers this long to get him regular minutes in beyond me. He's been great since his callup and shows no signs of going back to the AHL after his last few games. He's also been rewarded for his good play with goals, now three of them in six games.
7. Sean Couturier's play in his own zone has really been poor lately. In addition to bad coverage on the PK on David Pastrnak's goal, look at the constant turnovers. Couturier also missed a clearing attempt on a kill later in the game where he had plenty of time to make a play. That can't happen. The Flyers have always touted Couturier's defensive ability, and this season, it's progressively gotten worse as the year goes on.
8. Valtteri Filppula remains a good pickup for the Flyers in terms of balance to the lines. In addition, moving Travis Konecny to the second line looked like a move that could create good chemistry for that line as well.
9. He didn't factor into the scoring, but noted Flyer killer Brad Marchand deserved an assist on Pastrnak's goal. The much-smaller Marchand forced a turnover from Andrew MacDonald. The puck went to Bergeron and a quick pass to Pastrnak and the puck was in the net. It seems like in every Flyers-Bruins game, Marchand finds a way to make an impact.
10. It feels like Ivan Provorov never makes a poor decision with his position. He knows exactly when to jump into the play, when to pinch, when to peel back, when to go down for a block, where to be to cover properly in the defensive zone. No question about it, Provorov is the team's best defenseman. And he's 20.

Bottom Line

With the impending schedule for the Flyers coming up, there is essentially no recovery from a loss like this. The Flyers come home to play the Blue Jackets and Penguins in their next two games. They would need to win both to have any real chance of a playoff run. That's practically impossible at this point.

The road trip ultimately did the Flyers in. It started off promising, taking the NHL-best Capitals to overtime before losing and getting a determined win in Buffalo. The losses in Toronto and now Boston, two truly must-win games, can put an end to all of the playoff talk for good.

When it ends the way it did on Saturday, there's not much to say. It's more of an acknowledgment that it's not meant to be. Far too often, the puck bounces the wrong way or the effort just isn't there.

There are 15 games to go. In four weeks, the Flyers 50th anniversary season is almost certainly going to be over.