Sean Couturier
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.
Losses are losses at this stage of the season. Whether it’s 9-0, or 6-1, or 2-1 in overtime, they all hurt the same in the standings. It’s a missed opportunity at two points that you had when the night began. But in this game, when the Flyers did deliver the effort and executed better for almost the entire 60 minutes, two glaring mistakes cost them, and this time, they didn’t have the answers to make a couple of mistakes change the result.
In Saturday’s game, it took just over six minutes for the Flyers to allow a goal. After another 10 minutes, the Islanders had four on the board and the game was as good as over. Two more third-period turnovers padded the score further, resulting in a 6-1 defeat for the Flyers. There’s an awful lot to unpack in another result like that.
The Flyers face a must-win situation, as their season just gets uglier by the game. Their challenge on Thursday, one night after being handed their worst road loss in franchise history, is another game on the road against the New York Islanders, a team tied at the top of the division.
Wednesday’s game was rock bottom, one of the most embarrassing efforts in Flyers history. After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Flyers allowed seven goals to the Rangers in the second. You read that right: seven. A touchdown. That’s how things got to the final score in a 9-0 shellacking.
In the end, the Flyers probably got the deserved result for the chances they had in the third period and the strong start they had in the first. It’s two points they desperately needed and will take any way they can get at this point. The process on the ice may still have a lot of flaws and they were on full display again, but it’s a game the team can put back in the win column, another game where they took care of business against a team behind them in the standings.
The Flyers stayed the course, and this time, pulled off the comeback to claim the two points. Jake Voracek got the deciding goal in overtime with 1:13 remaining to give the Flyers a 5-4 win.
Perhaps the start of this week can provide the spark for the Flyers. They are playing the New York Rangers, another team not in the playoff picture. These are games the Flyers need to have in order to keep up in the race and make the head-to-head matchups against the top teams in the division more meaningful as the season progresses.
Last week, the Flyers had to completed a massive comeback to secure a win and two points against the Penguins, and it was their only win of the three-game series. They wrap up a three-game week with the Capitals on Saturday night, desperately in need of a win to get back on track in the division race.
Another mistake-filled game by the Flyers led to another loss, as the Capitals claimed their second win over the Flyers this week, 5-3, at Wells Fargo Center.
