Tuesday night's game against the Sharks had two different feels.
On one hand, the Flyers were playing their best game in recent memory. And they were buzzing toward the end of regulation. As overtime neared, visions of the Flyers win against Los Angeles in late October were in mind. The Flyers just needed the finish, and with sustained pressure, it could be done.
On the other hand, there was also fear that Jaws would come to snatch away a win, probably in the final five minutes. Try 11 seconds.
A costly turnover took the most valient effort of the past two weeks and left the Flyers with the same result, no points and another lost.
"I think that we're all tired of the moral victories," Steve Mason said. "The team played a good game, but you don't win, it's not good enough. It's enough with the moral victories. You have to go out there and start winning these hockey games. Everybody's frustrated. Everyone's ticked off. It's a matter of actually going out and winning now."
Mason was left helpless on the final play of the game. A neutral-zone turnover, coupled by Brayden Schenn's drop pass at the Sharks blue line and Nick Schultz tip right to the tape of Patrick Marleau, sent the Sharks charging in.
Mason made the initial save, but as Braydon Coburn attempted to take out Tommy Wingels, he helped take out Mason. That left an open net for Matt Nieto.
"I'm not sure whether it was Cobs or one of their guys that made contact with my leg, but it put me in no position to make the save," Mason said. "It's tough to give up a goal like that."
"I was just trying to make a desperation play there," Coburn said. "I gotta take a look to see what the sequence of events there that took place."
The Flyers were 11 seconds from one point and may have very well taken the second if not for that turnover. After the Flyers recent stretch, it was a positive to see a more competitive team.
"We played a positive game, so it's better than getting (expletive)-kicked," Coburn said. "We got some things to build on, so we're hopefully going to build on them."
"I think we gave a good effort tonight," Sean Couturier, who scored the Flyers lone goal, said. "Maybe we deserved that win, but just gotta find a way to win hockey games. These tight, 1-0, 2-1 games, those are the big games that you gotta win and it seems like we're kinda finding ways to lose those games. We gotta find a way to win those games."
The Flyers have a chance to find a way to win on Wednesday night as well. But if they don't, it will be the 10th loss in 11 games for the Flyers and sixth straight.
The wheels keep coming off, despite the team's claims that they are sticking together through it all.
"I think we're in a tough stretch right now and when things like this happen and you lose with 10 seconds to go," Claude Giroux said. "I think it's important that we stick together. I think we're doing that right now. The only way to get out of this hole we're in is to get out together."
"Get your heads up and get ready for tomorrow," head coach Craig Berube said. "There's not a thing you can do about it now. Made a mistake at the end of the game, it cost us the hockey game. Played a solid game tonight. Get ready to play a solid one tomorrow."
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
