Let's be fair. Thursday's result was expected. After floundering, 4-0, to the lowly Avalanche — who didn't look so lowly on Tuesday — getting the Capitals and their scoring depth was a death wish.
But when you watch this team for 60 minutes, you see exactly why the Flyers struggle.
There is no communication. No chemistry. They can't pass. They pass when they should shoot. They don't attempt shots enough. They aren't mindful of the front of the net. They aren't physical. They don't work hard to track down the puck.
Dave Hakstol said on Wednesday that frustration is not an excuse for the struggles, that you have to put that past you. This is a frustrated hockey team. You can see it. And their performances, or lack thereof, speak for themselves.
Let's look at Thursday night. If you split the Flyers shots up by the period, you would get the following totals: Four. Seven. Eight.
Pathetic. Successful hockey teams shoot at will, and though the Capitals finished with only 32 shots — it seemed small given the zone time they had — they took advantage of the opportunity, scoring five times.
The power play was 1-for-4. The penalty kill was 1-for-3. Special teams again is mired in sluggish, dismal play that has you tuned out before it even begins.
Their skating is lackadaisical. They drag their feet in all phases of the game.
When opportunity arises, they find a way to do the wrong thing. Twice, the Flyers had two-on-one chances where a pass that could not be handled was the difference between scoring and sagging back to the bench or the other end of the ice. Claude Giroux made the pass both times. He could have shot both times.
The team doesn't possess energy, so the crowd doesn't have energy.
This is shades of 2006-07. Yeah, we went there.
Simply put, there isn't much that needs to be said for eight losses in nine games.
The Flyers have shown their true colors in that time — the frustration, the lack of success, the lack of energy. And there are absolutely no signs that things will improve anytime soon.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
