By Kevin Fortier, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
It was only five days ago that the amazing 10-game winning streak came to an end, but it feels longer. The Flyers were soaring above the rest of the league, scoring the longest winning streak in the NHL and racking up the offense.
They appeared to be clicking on all cylinders. Their power play was tied for first overall. They led the league in goals per game at 3.51. Even their struggling penalty killing squad had come on strong and climbed from 22nd overall to 12th.
However, as they neared the end of their streak, some weak spots had begun to appear. In the final two wins of the streak, their vaunted power play was kept off the score sheet, going 0-for-7. Since then, they have gone an additional four games without a power play goal, 0-for-15 with the man advantage in the last six games. Their power play has since fallen from tied for first to fifth in the league.
Without the added scoring with the man advantage, the Flyers overall offense has suffered. They have fallen from first in the league with a goals per game of 3.51 to third overall at 2.86.
Philadelphia is 1-2-1 in their last four games since the end of their unbeaten run, scoring just four goals in that time. Two goals came in the win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday evening.
One reason for the falling output of late could surely be the schedule they have endured so far this season.
The Flyers have played nine sets of back-to-back games already this season. They have played four games in the last six nights and three in the last four. That is a grueling task for any team, especially a team without one of their two starting goaltenders, Michal Neuvirth, who has missed the last 20 games with a knee injury.
They also have had to endure the loss of two key forwards during the last few weeks, Sean Couturier and Matt Read.
Steve Mason has had to carry the team in net, starting 18 of the last 20 games. Rookie netminder Anthony Stolarz has only started two of the 20 games since being called up from the Phantoms. Stolarz came in to start the second period of the game Thursday night, relieving Mason in net. It might have made sense start Stolarz and let Mason rest going into the Christmas break.
Mason had started the last five, including two straight games that went to a shootout, but he is also 0-7-0 lifetime against the Devils.
Regardless, it would appear that the demanding schedule may have finally caught up with the team. Injuries to key players also seem to have taken a toll of late.
The Flyers played 12 games in the 22 days in December. That includes three back-to-back situations. They have played 36 games overall, more than any other team in the Eastern Conference. In fact, only two teams have even played 35 games to this point in the season.
Most of the teams have as many as four games in hand on the Flyers, which sort of overstates the Flyers success to date in the standings.
If the Flyers are going to maintain their position in the standings and make a push for a wildcard spot, they can ill afford to run into an offensive slump. While the Flyers did achieve a 10-game run, they did not manage to really gain much on the teams ahead of them, who have been playing at nearly the same win rate as them. They did manage to put some distance between the teams out of the playoff picture at the moment, a good foundation for making a playoff run in the second half.
Obviously, the Flyers having already played so many games will not have as grueling of a time post-Christmas break. They will also see the return of their injured players in the not too distant future as well.
Between the somewhat lighter schedule and having a healthy lineup, the Flyers could find themselves in a stronger position in the second half of the season.
