While the Flyers did take the ice Saturday in Kanata, Ont. for a matchup with the Ottawa Senators, evidently, they did not show up. Showing up would imply that actual hockey was played, and what the Flyers churned out was not NHL-caliber hockey.
It's an effort that resembles what a juniors team would look like if they took the ice against an NHL squad. While the Flyers (6-9-5) registered 36 shots on goal — not a number to sneeze at — they still failed to register any scoring chances of merit, and fell 4-0 to the Senators for their second-consecutive shutout loss.
This is the kind of effort that players-only meetings are made of.
Bobby Ryan (two assists) and Mike Hoffman (one goal, one assist) each recorded two points, while Mika Zibanejad, Milan Michalek and Kyle Turris each scored for the Senators (10-5-5).
For the Flyers, their most notable highlight came in the first period, under scary circumstances. Scott Laughton was hit head-first into the boards by Alex Chiasson — a hit that surely will earn him a phone call from the Department of Player Safety — and Sam Gagner, who isn't exactly known for his pugilism, stepped in for his defense. Somehow, the Flyers found themselves shorthanded as a result, as Gagner sat for an instigator and received a misconduct.
Laughton left the game with an upper-body injury, after recording just 23 seconds of ice time. His history of concussions is documented, and he is likely to miss some time.
The Flyers engaged the Sens in two more fights as well, as Brandon Manning and noted tough guy Chris Neil dropped the gloves at 12:39 of the second period. Roughly three minutes later, Wayne Simmonds and Mark Borowiecki dropped the mitts.
Craig Andersen looked like a Vezina Trophy winner en route to his 36-save shutout, while Steve Mason turned away 27 of 31 shots. The Senators cashed in on one of three power play opportunities, while the Flyers were scoreless on four.
The Orange and Black are now winless in all but two of their 10 games this November, and next take the ice on Monday against Carolina.
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61
