Wednesday night marks the beginning of the Flyers final stretch of games, just two more in March and then six in the first 12 days of April before the season comes to a close and the team spends the next two months watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs from home.
There won't be any down time for Ron Hextall. The Flyers GM faces some important decisions as the team tries to move past a trying season.
For the Flyers to move on from a disappointing and frustrating 2014-15 season, they must start by removing one source for the frustration. The team must part ways with Craig Berube as the head coach.
Yes, Berube was the man behind the bench as the Flyers rallied into a playoff spot in 2013-14 and almost claimed a series win. However, the Flyers have been off to slow starts for three straight seasons now, two with Berube serving as the primary head coach.
When Peter Laviolette was fired just three games into the 2013-14 season, he was essentially the scapegoat to the team's sluggish start that overlapped into the beginning of Berube's tenure. The Flyers managed to recover, but not without trials in that season as well.
The Flyers didn't put together a modest winning streak until the middle of November. It took until the end of December before the team was consistently winning and coming up with monumental victories.
What ultimately defined the Flyers playoff season was a series of wins in March – a come-from-behind win in Washington on March 2, back-to-back wins against Pittsburgh in the middle of the month and then the most dramatic win of the season.
It is ironic that as I mention Claude Giroux's game-winning goal in overtime on March 18 that the Flyers prepare to welcome the same opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks, to Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
That win basically cemented the Flyers comeback from a dismal start, even though a four-game losing streak from March 30 to April 5 threatened their playoff hopes.
Berube took some of the praise for this revitalization, but that was more about what the players had done as a group over the course of the season. The Flyers had to climb back into playoff position first, but they did it with substantial time left to suffer the scares of a losing streak and survive it. The Flyers had no room for error as this 2014-15 season progressed.
With the season coming to a close, and the last two weeks going as they have, the Flyers appear to have given up on Berube. The speculation surrounding Berube's relationship with goalie Steve Mason is quite the topic of late, and while the two parties deny any friction, it's difficult to believe that there has been full understanding on that front.
Ultimately, Berube admitted his faults on Tuesday, stating that while he's not thinking about what will happen beyond this season, he also feels that some of the Flyers road games – one of the troubling stats following this team – could have been better managed.
Admitting faults is certainly admirable, but it doesn't give confidence. Then again, good luck finding an area the Flyers can look at this offseason and be content with in its current state now. It's all been a trainwreck lately.
But it does start with coaching, and ultimately, between the lineup shuffles, unnecessary goalie controversy and constant talk of an "attack mentality" that was almost never present with this group, it would be time for a new voice that can bring that out in the players that do manage to remain on the roster following what is sure to be a crazy offseason.
The Flyers organization doesn't accept losing and missing the opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup. It's highly unlikely that the Flyers will not use Berube as the first of potentially many scapegoats for another season lost.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
