As the Flyers did on Saturday, when they extended their winning streak to four games, the Flyers spent most of Thursday night's game against the Islanders clinging to life. Aside from a three-minute stretch at the end of the second period, they succeeded.
They even had a chance to win. A 2-0 lead was lost late in the second. A 1-0 deficit in the deciding shootout was erased and the Flyers had two shots at the win. They couldn't score when it counted and the Islanders eventually took the game, 3-2, in a shootout.
"We left the extra point out there," Steve Mason said following the loss. It wasn't the first time the Flyers netminder had uttered that line.
If only that line were the truth. The Flyers didn't leave a point on the ice. They were lucky to get one at all. They owe Mason for it. The Flyers goalie made 28 saves in regulation and overtime and added five more in the shootout.
"Mase was great," Claude Giroux said. "He did his job and played very well for us."
As game play wrapped on Thursday, the Flyers closed the gap on the final playoff spot from 10 points to nine. But it was hardly a victory in the standings.
"We had the 2-0 lead and gave it back to them," head coach Craig Berube said. "It should have never got there. We had to pick our game up and we didn't. That's the biggest thing for me."
The Flyers took the two-goal lead as the fourth line continued to produce. A strong shift for Vincent Lecavalier resulted in a goal for Nick Schultz, his second in three games. Chris VandeVelde's fifth goal in the last seven games and eighth of the season came on a 2-on-1 rush. VandeVelde fired a wrist shot over the glove of Jaroslav Halak.
The answer for the Islanders was quick. In 1:59, the game was tied as Mikhail Grabovski scored off a turnover by Luke Schenn and Cal Clutterbuck buried a rebound for the equalizer. Both goals came with under four minutes to play in the second.
"We kind of shot ourselves in the foot at the end of the second," Mason said, "just off our own mistakes. If we can get out of that period, who knows what the outcome of the game would have been."
It didn't seem to make a difference what period it was. The Flyers were doomed for a four-minute stretch as they had at the end of the second.
In the first, they held a 1-0 lead despite being out-shot, 11-6. In the second, shots were 11-5 Islanders.
The Flyers had several chances to win the game. In overtime, Sean Couturier had the game on his stick as he managed a breakaway in the final minute of the extra session. Brayden Schenn and Matt Read each took turns in the shootout with a chance to deliver the extra point for the Flyers.
In the end, a crucial three-game stretch started with a point left on the ice and a point miraculously earned. At this stage of the season, there is no room for moral victories.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
