Cam Atkinson
The Flyers hit the road for the first of three games. It starts with a short trip to face the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night.
Just like it has so many times during this losing streak, the momentum disappeared in an instant and the snowball effect started. A shorthanded goal for the Avalanche got the game tied and was the first of four straight goals. The Flyers managed a small rally in the opening period to trim the margin to one twice in the game, but eventually fell for the ninth straight game with a 7-5 loss to the Avalanche at Wells Fargo Center.
Mike Yeo will be behind the bench serving as head coach in the interim, as the Flyers try to avoid a ninth straight loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.
In a 7-1 rout by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Flyers losing streak reached eight games, with now three of those losses coming at the hands of the back-to-back champs. And the takeaways from this one are pretty simple. It can’t be much longer before more changes start coming. There isn’t much more to say about the play on the ice that hasn’t already been said during this streak. A season that was all about making the playoffs and getting back to winning has become the opposite in a hurry.
Sunday’s game didn’t go any better than the previous seven games, as the Lightning struck early and often in a 7-1 result at Wells Fargo Center.
The Tampa Bay Lightning return to Philadelphia, closing out the season series and looking for a sweep on Sunday night.
The Flyers pay a visit to the New York Rangers for the first time this season, and get a former Ranger back in their lineup as well, hoping this could be one of the internal improvements that starts to turn their season.
Fletcher leaned on the difficulty of the team’s schedule and injuries over the course of the first 20 games of the season, placing more emphasis on a few early-season successes and less on the noticeable struggles the team has had over the last couple of weeks.
The Flyers are battered with injuries, but have faced teams dealing with significant losses in their own right and have struggled to keep up in a five-game losing streak. The New Jersey Devils have lost five of their last six game entering Sunday night’s action.
Following an off day on Thanksgiving, the Flyers return to the ice to face the top team in the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes, in the annual Black Friday game. The Flyers used the hot goaltending method to earn a 2-1 win against Carolina on the road earlier this month and they may need another one to salvage a week that certainly hasn’t been good so far.