With loss to Detroit, Flyers final 3 games take on greater meaning
All the Flyers really needed was one point. Get the game to overtime, see what happens. If they had won, better then, great, if not, they were still had the odds in their favor.
It didn't have to be the way it now is for the Flyers. But after Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Red Wings, the Flyers final three games hold on even greater meaning than before.
Forget the Flyers "extra" game on Sunday. The Flyers needed a point against Detroit to make the final day of the season for 26 NHL teams on Saturday mean virtually nothing.
A win in regulation over Detroit would allow them to control their own destiny going into Thursday, creating a "win and you're in" game. A win in overtime or a shootout would have set up a clinching scenario for Thursday. A loss in overtime or a shootout also would have created a clinching scenario for Thursday.
Now, Thursday's game is all the more crucial, because Saturday officially matters to the Flyers. And they get to face the playoff team no one wants to draw. The Flyers have a playoff game with the Pittsburgh Penguins and they will need an effort very different from Wednesday night's.
This is not meant to overlook Thursday's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That game matters even more than Saturday's at this point. But the Flyers thrashing in Pittsburgh on Sunday doesn't bode well for Saturday's game, home ice or not.
Then you have Wednesday night's effort. After two days off, the Flyers still looked fatigued, lacking the energy that should come with playing playoff hockey — after all, these are playoff games before the real playoffs begin.
There are no excuses for poor play at this point. You either belong with the final 16 teams or you don't. The Flyers last two games have them leaning toward the side that starts their offseason in four more days.
The Flyers very much control their own destiny, because a win on Thursday against Toronto and a Detroit win in Boston could cut their magic number to one with two games left. One point between either a Boston loss or Flyers win would get them into the playoffs. The odds still favor them.
But the play does not, and that's what was most concerning about Wednesday's game. There was an overall lack of urgency and crispness in the game play from the start. Once time wasn't on their side, the Flyers seemed to let frustration sink in, a rarity for the last few months. And now, the one thing that hasn't happened to them in over two months has happened.
The Flyers last lost back-to-back games on Feb. 13 and 14, one of those in overtime. They last lost two straight in regulation when they went on a three-game losing streak from Jan. 19 to 25.
If the Flyers suffer a third-straight loss on Thursday, they would be facing a huge challenge to just make the playoffs, more than it should be given where the Flyers sat on Saturday after a win over Ottawa.
But the Flyers get what they deserve. Two forgettable games against teams destined for the playoffs have forced them into a must-win situation on Thursday and made Saturday's game against the red hot Penguins a game where points are a must.
And of course, that last game against the Islanders, looms large too. Three more games and each one matters. We've known that for a long time. The Flyers found out the hard way just how much those three games would matter to their playoff hopes.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
