Claude Giroux

The Tampa Bay Lightning return to Philadelphia, closing out the season series and looking for a sweep on Sunday night.

It wasn’t a result that was as out-of-hand as the others recently, but it was a defeat all the same, as the Flyers took the loss for the seventh straight game, 4-1, to the Rangers.

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. 

The Flyers were blown out again, this time by a 6-3 margin against the Hurricanes on Friday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center, sending the Flyers to their fifth straight loss.

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. 

Less than 24 hours after a blowout loss in Tampa Bay, the Flyers face off on Wednesday night against the Florida Panthers. 

A brutal week begins against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Flyers suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to the Lightning last Thursday, and will have to dig deep again to try to earn two points and avoid an extensive losing streak for the first time this season.