(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Fortier, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
The Philadelphia Flyers have now played 55 games of the 2016-17 season. Halfway through the month of December it appeared that they were firing on all cylinders and had hit their stride. They had just completed a 10-game winning streak and they were in third place in the Metropolitan Division, well in control of their destiny it appeared.
The team had found its stride in the final third of the prior season and on the last weekend of the season punched their way into the playoffs only to lose to Washington. They seemed to have learned from that exhausting run and were on their way to being in playoff position and not having to battle through the last game and hope for some luck to ensure their playoff hopes.
That was December. It is now mid-February and the Flyers have been struggling to find not only wins, but goals, and an identity of success for the team along with the struggles.
Coming off back-to-back shutouts, they hosted the New York Islanders on Thursday and only managed a single goal, and it came on the power play. Another loss complete with a sputtering offensive display at even strength and too many turnovers especially in their own end.
The Flyers have fallen out of the final wildcard position, having lost three in a row, and going 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. Worse, the Flyers have tallied a total of 20 goals in their last 12 games. Four of those came in one game against Vancouver.
Ottawa and Toronto are both ahead of the Flyers in the standings by two and one points respectively. They also have at least two games in hand on the Flyers. Boston is a point ahead as well, but the Flyers have a game in hand on the Bruins. All four teams are barely playing .500 level hockey in their last 10 games. Ottawa has the best record 5-3-2. Philly, Boston and Toronto each have only four wins in their last 10.
The Islanders are now only one point behind the Flyers, but with three games in hand and are 7-2-1 in their last 10. They appear ready to overtake the Flyers any day now.
The rest of the Metropolitan is sitting between 54 and 58 points and have at least one game in hand on Philadelphia.
If the Flyers are to make the playoffs, they need to find their game and soon. Their offense has been steadily declining since their December winning streak. Their power play, once tied for the top spot overall in the NHL, is now sitting at 11th in the league. They were also leading the league in scoring, sitting at 3.58 goals per game. Currently, they are 20th with an average of 2.52 goals per game. They are also allowing 2.9 goals per game, good (or bad) for 25th in the NHL and have a goal differential of -22.
Sometimes, it just takes a solid 60-minute win or two to turn a team around and get them back on their winning ways. There is no telling what it will take for the Flyers to find themselves and to regain their confidence.
And let's not forget, they are also currently five points ahead of last place in the division. The playoffs remain in reach, but the cellar is that close.
