Despite good effort, no silver lining from Flyers latest loss
The Flyers did everything but score. They fired 37 shots on Cam Ward. One slippery shot along the ice by Scott Laughton made it through. That was it.
The 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes brings on an extra dose of somberness. Not only did the Flyers playoff hopes take a definitive blow but Shayne Gostisbehere's 15-game point streak came to an end as well.
In a game where the Flyers really didn't make any major mistakes, hold for one costly turnover on Carolina's first goal, they came away with nothing to show for it.
Usually, a solid effort is enough to bring about a positive energy. There is nothing positive about this result. It is downright deflating.
Using Gostisbehere's 15-game streak as a timeline, there really hasn't been that many games where you were just left completely down and out.
The Flyers were 6-7-3 during Gostisbehere's streak, which really says a lot about what the Flyers have done in recent games. It is as inconsistent as it gets.
Now, truth be told, just like Tuesday night's loss in Carolina, the Flyers deserved a better fate in several games during that stretch. The three losses in overtime or shootouts were all games where the Flyers were the better team in regulation. Two of the regulation losses came in the final two minutes of play. Two of the other regulation losses were to teams well ahead of them in the standings.
That being said, there were the fair share of clunkers too — a 4-1 loss to Anaheim, a 3-1 loss to the Rangers — but this one in particular hurts.
When the Flyers struggled in those two losses, they didn't lose any points directly. The Rangers are so far ahead, it didn't directly affect anything in the standings. The Ducks play in the Western Conference, so those games too mean very little in terms of points swings.
But this was a four-point swing and this was a chance for the Flyers to jump a team in the standings. Now, instead of being tied with Carolina with games in hand, they trail by four points on Carolina.
To make matters worse, the Flyers lost points to all teams contending for the final few spots in the standings.
But losses like this take you back a few months to make you ask: why are we even scoreboard watching? The reason is for inconsistent stretches just like this 6-6-3 period that happened in November and December.
But lately that inconsistency has been taken to another level. In the last 10 games, the Flyers are 3-4-3, literally at a rhythm of win, loss, loss in overtime, repeat.
It's a pattern that has created a lot of must-win games with no much room for positive spirits after getting points in overtime losses or valiant efforts that fall just short.
Simply put, the Flyers playoff hopes took the hit they did because of the inconsistency on the season as a whole. For as much tough luck as the Flyers had to endure on Tuesday and for as well as they played, there is no moral victory, no silver lining.
There is just another night lost as time slips further away.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
