By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor 
It looked like the Flyers would be scoring early and often. Nick Cousins buried a slick one-timer from Matt Read just 90 seconds into their matchup with the Flames, and the ensuing pressure looked like that offense would sustain.
Then, the remaining 58:30 of hockey took place, and the offense remained dry in a 3-1 road loss on Thursday to the Calgary Flames.
Less than three minutes after Cousins' goal, Matthew Tkachuk found twine to put the Flames (29-26-3) on the board. Almost looked like both teams were in for an offensive shootout early on, but that would not be the case, either.
T.J. Brodie netted a sharp wrister through traffic at 12:45 of the second period to put the Flames ahead, and they wouldn't look back. With 38.4 seconds on the clock, Mark Giordano cleared the puck the length of the ice into the empty Flyers net, sealing a 3-1 win.
While Brian Elliott was hung out to dry on the Cousins goal, he recovered quickly and was spectacular the rest of the game. He made 33 saves on 34 shots, and was tested over all three periods.
Midway through the first period, the Flyers (27-23-7) had a significant chance to expand their offense. They were handed a five-minute extended power play after a (ticky-tack) Alex Chiasson game misconduct for spearing, and earned a two-man advantage during that power play after Sean Monahan cleared the puck over the glass. They missed the boat on both opportunities, though, practically setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Nick Cousins also established himself as a pest throughout the first stanza, turning in a strong period. In addition to his goal, he drew two penalties, including the Chiasson spearing penalty. He won eight of 10 faceoffs he took, and his five shots on goal were second-most on the team (trailing Jordan Weal's six).
Making his second-consecutive start, Michal Neuvirth made 20 saves on 22 shots. The Flames didn't get too many scoring opportunities, yet made the most of what they had.
It looked like the Flyers' offense could break out, especially to begin a crucial three-game Western road swing. As the Talking Heads famously sang, though, "same as it ever was."
The Flyers return to the ice tomorrow night, taking on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Arena.
