Flyers

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Skid continues:...

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THE JAWN STORE

Against Ottawa, Fedotov made several big stops to keep the Flyers in the game. But he also allowed a pair of softies that had no business ending up in the back of the net. In the second period, just a minute after Jamie Drysdale tied the game, Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven (real person) beat Fedotov with a desperate swat toward the net to keep the puck from crossing the blue line. Granted, an accidental Travis Sanheim screen didn’t make Fedotov’s life any easier, but that’s a shot that should be stopped.

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Toward the end of the middle frame, Fedotov allowed another ugly goal when Michael Amadio beat him five-hole to break the 2-2 tie. Another shot that an NHL goalie simply has to stop.

“Once we tie it up, I think we need a save. I mean, I thought [Fedotov] made some really big saves, but we’re trying to get traction, trying to get momentum, and they score right after. Especially the third one. That hurts,” said Flyers head coach John Tortorella.

The Flyers took a gamble entering the campaign with Ersson and Fedotov as their goalie tandem, but it’s clear something will need to change in the offseason.

Drysdale is looking confident

If there was one positive to take away from this loss, it was the play of Drysdale, who seems to finally be turning a corner as a legitimate offensive weapon.

Early in the second period, Drysdale got on the board with a beautiful play to tie the game at one goal apiece. Olle Lycksell gained the zone and slid the puck over to Travis Konecny, who picked up on Drysdale barreling through the high slot as he scanned the ice. Drysdale gathered Konecny’s touch pass, outwaited Senators netminder Anton Forsberg and beat him with a backhander for his fifth goal of the season.

Drysdale made several eye-catching plays throughout the game, which has become something of a trend since the 4 Nations break. Drysdale is playing with confidence. He’s seeing the ice well, distributing the puck effectively and getting more comfortable pinching in the zone as a “fourth forward.”

He still has plenty of room to improve, but Drysdale is finally making noticeable strides.

“I feel pretty confident in my game,” said Drysdale. “I can still be a lot better. Made a bunch of mistakes defensively and caused a couple chances against, so we all know what we can do better. We’ve got to apply it and stick together.”

If the Flyers had any remaining hopes of making the postseason, those should be all but gone now. After allowing a goal just seconds into the game, the Flyers fell to the Ottawa Senators by a score of 5-2 Tuesday night, extending their losing streak to five games — all coming on home ice.

With 62 points on the season, the Flyers are eight points out of a playoff spot. Barring a miracle, this team will be watching the playoffs from the couch for the fifth straight year.

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The Basics

First period: 00:24 — Tkachuk (Giroux, Stützle)

Second period: 03:05 — Drysdale (Konecny, Lycksell), 04:14 — Kleven (Perron, Batherson), 08:45 — Abols (York, Pelletier), 15:01 — Amadio (Gaudette, Sanderson)

Third period: 10:59 — Cozens (unassisted), 19:25 — Pinto (Amadio)

SOG: 24 (OTT), 22 (PHI)

Takeaways

Horrendous start sets the tone

The first few minutes of a game can sometimes give a great indication of how a team will perform through a full hour of play. But Tuesday night, it only took 24 seconds to tell the Flyers’ losing streak would probably be extending to five games.

Before fans could even get comfy in their seats, the Senators took a 1-0 lead courtesy of a piece-of-cake one-timer from Brady Tkachuk.

Then, moments after the icebreaker, Nick Seeler took an interference penalty that sent Ottawa to the power play. The Senators did not convert, but those two lapses ended up setting the tone for yet another demoralizing loss.

Poor goaltending is killing the Flyers again

Last season, the Flyers were stunningly in position to make the playoffs with about a quarter of the season left to play. Ultimately, they fell just four points shy of a playoff berth. The Flyers’ postseason dreams were shattered for numerous reasons — lack of depth and a sudden scoring drought being two of them. But perhaps nothing doomed the 2023-24 Flyers more than poor goaltending. Sam Ersson, while strong for much of the campaign, was gassed after enduring a grueling workload after the dismissal of Carter Hart, and the Flyers didn’t have a reliable backup option in place.

This season, while postseason play is now a pipe dream at best, poor goaltending may doom the Flyers once again.

Flyers goaltenders have allowed four or more goals in four out of the five straight losses in their current skid. Ersson hasn’t inspired confidence since before his rough showing against the Pittsburgh Penguins back in February, and Fedotov, despite putting together a stellar performance against the Winnipeg Jets on March 1, has been unable to consistently string together strong outings for the entirety of the season.