Tag: Philadelphia Flyers

When it comes down to it, the loss that determined this perfectly defined the season – fall behind, rally back, struggle on special teams both ways, come up short. It should be no surprise that it was another loss to the Bruins, a team that has had their number all season and that has dashed their playoff hopes before, did it again. 

The Flyers got a third-period power play in a tie game with a chance to grab the lead. Instead, they gave it away, allowing a shorthanded goal to Brad Marchand that proved to be the game-winner in a 4-2 loss to the Bruins at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers and Bruins meet again on Tuesday night, this time in Philadelphia, to complete the home-and-home and the second of three matchups this week that could ultimately determine the standings for good. For the Flyers, it’s another must just to keep pace.

The result was what the Flyers needed. How long it took was what they didn’t. In this critical week in their season, the one that will likely define whether they choose to buy or sell – or do a little of both – at the deadline, the Flyers needed to win games. They have one to start, certainly a step in the right direction. 

Travis Sanheim delivered, with the help of Patrice Bergeron going down as Sanheim moved in on a counter-rush. Sanheim scored on Dan Vladar to give the Flyers a 3-2 overtime win, the team’s first over the Bruins this season, on Monday night in Boston.

If the Flyers still want to believe a playoff push is truly possible, these next two games against the Boston Bruins are their season. If the Flyers win both in regulation, they will move into a tie with the Bruins, though Boston would still hold the edge with two games in hand. Still, the pressure would be on for both sides. But a loss to Boston in either game essentially answered the big, looming question for the Flyers regarding their trade deadline approach. The first game gets going on Monday night.

There are no moral victories when it comes to playoff races or trying to contend at this point in a season. You either find a way to win or you don’t and that single point still involves a point lost. That said, there are plenty of moral victories you can find in games like this when you are trying to determine what you have and what you need for the future. The Flyers got lessons in both on Saturday.

A pair of goals by Claude Giroux erased a two-goal deficit and Carter Hart was having an outstanding game. Unfortunately, the Islanders got the extra point in the shootout, defeating the Flyers, 3-2, on Saturday night.

The Flyers are about to embark on another rough month, facing numerous contenders and not having a lot of time off between games. It all starts with Saturday night’s game against the New York Islanders.

Wednesday night’s game in Buffalo was the fourth time this season the Flyers were handed a 6-1 defeat. This one was by far the worst though, because this one helped the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL’s last-place team in the standings, snap an 18-game winless streak. It was a new low for the Flyers, and a fitting way to cap off a month that progressively got worse. 

How did the Flyers cap off this month? Quite possibly in the most fitting way, losing to a team that couldn’t win a game all month long, the only team that seemed to be finding a way to lose games more than the Flyers themselves. It wasn’t even a close loss, it was another embarrassment. The Buffalo Sabres snapped an 18-game winless streak as the Flyers closed March with a 6-1 defeat on Wednesday night.

2019 first-round pick Cam York has officially turned professional, signing a three-year entry-level deal that will begin this season.

The Flyers face the Sabres again on Wednesday night. The Flyers are continue to try to keep their dimming playoff hopes alive, while the Sabres look to avoid carrying their winless streak to 19 games.

The Flyers may be sitting fifth in the East, three points out of a playoffs, still very much mathematically alive. But their defense is in shambles. Almost every core player that was expected to produce on the higher end offensively has shown struggles. The goaltending has been questioned. To put it simply, the Flyers are a mess right now, and it’s become clear that the current system is just not working.

Times like these leave the masses calling for action of any kind. You certainly got that on Tuesday from the Flyers. Less than 24 hours after completing a comeback win over the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3, in overtime, the Flyers made an interesting move, placing defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere on waivers.

Monday’s game was a battle royale of mediocrity. This was a game that probably played out exactly as it should have in both result and process. Yes, the Flyers are a better team than the Sabres. The standings certainly reflect that. But for 40 minutes, they weren’t close to that, so much so that they not only once again dug a hole to the worst team in the league, requiring another frantic third-period rally, but they also had to shorten the bench to do it.

After falling behind 3-0, the Flyers erased the deficit in the third period, then won the game 42 seconds into overtime on Ivan Provorov’s game-winner to claim two points against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.

The Flyers hit the road, going to Buffalo for the next two games. The Sabres are certainly a reeling team, having lost 17 straight games. This is certainly an opportunity for the Flyers to get on a roll and turn their season back in the right direction.

Sam Morin’s first NHL goal was the difference in this game, one the Flyers absolutely needed to have. It doesn’t solve all their problems and it remains to be seen what effect this has on the team moving forward. But this could be their last chance to take a positive moment, a moment that can bond a team, and turn the season around.

An unlikely hero emerged late in the third, as Sam Morin scored his first NHL goal with 4:27 to play in the game. That goal held up as the game-winner, in a much-needed, 2-1 victory for the Flyers over the Rangers on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.

The Rangers are back at Wells Fargo Center again on Saturday afternoon to take on the Flyers again, with the Flyers desperately needing to do something to turn their season around or face some significant consequences of a lost season.

After another lopsided defeat to the Rangers that eerily resembled last week’s 9-0 embarrassment, this time an 8-3 margin, the statements made this week mean very little. This team is fractured beyond repair. It likely requires some sort of significant change. And the worst part is that in a year where there is so much uncertainty and hesitancy to take action, the Flyers might be stuck.

The Flyers took the ice against the Rangers at Wells Fargo Center and should have had revenge on their minds. Instead, the Rangers scored three in the first and three early in the second to pile on. Carter Hart was chased from the game. Mika Zibanejad had another hat trick and six-point game. And the Flyers were shelled by the Rangers again, this time by a score of 8-3.

If there is going to be the turnaround so many within the organization think is still possible, it’s going to have to start on Thursday night. And guess who comes to town? The Flyers and Rangers face off for the first time since last Wednesday’s embarrassing performance.

GM Chuck Fletcher didn’t gloss over the cold hard facts of where the Flyers rank in various categories. He called out the puck management problems. But his most telling response came when he was answering a question regarding Erik Gustafsson that ultimately transferred over into the defense as a whole.

The only thing consistent about the Flyers right now is their ability to be inconsistent. One night, you get a decent effort. The next, you get an embarrassing effort. And on a night when you needed to build on that effort, needed to turn it into a win, needed to start getting things back on the rails right away, the Flyers were as flat as can be.

It may be March, but it sure feels like the Flyers are stuck on Groundhog Day. Tuesday’s game against the Devils certainly was recognizable. The Flyers fell behind due to a lack of urgency and puck management, only to claw back to within one goal late before time ran out. It’s happened at least three times this month now, with the latest installment coming in a 4-3 loss to the Devils. 

The Flyers continue a four-game homestand against the New Jersey Devils, one of three teams behind them in the standings for now. If there ever was a stretch of the season to begin a turnaround, this is it.

It was another week, another overtime win for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, while the NCAA prospects exit their conference tournaments to focus their attention on the NCAA Tournament. Let’s recap.