Dallas Stars
The 4-1 result to Dallas was something all too familiar from seasons’ past. The Flyers did a lot right in the game — control the puck, get a lot of shots, defended well and limited shots and chances — but came out on the losing end, and the score wasn’t really all that close.
The Dallas Stars entered Saturday’s game in Philadelphia having lost five straight games. They managed just 16 shots on goal in the back-end of a back-to-back after losing in Pittsburgh on Friday. The Flyers still came out on the losing end, 4-1, to drop their fourth straight game.
The Flyers finally return home where three of their next four games will be on home ice. Their first opponent is the Dallas Stars, who have struggled to start the season. Game time is at 7 p.m.
The Flyers traded forward Ryan Hartman to the Dallas Stars for forward Tyler Pitlick, Fletcher announced on Monday afternoon.
Four teams remain with a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Final: the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks/Colorado Avalanche. How we got here in Around the NHL.
Last week, it was already known that the President’s Trophy winners, the Tampa Bay Lightning, were eliminated, as were the Pittsburgh Penguins. Six other teams have joined, and many of them were near the top of the regular-season standings.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that tied an NHL record with 62 wins in the regular season, were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in four games. The Pittsburgh Penguins, the Stanley Cup champions in 2016 and 2017, were also swept by the New York Islanders in four games.
The Stars scored two goals in each period on their way to a 6-2 win over the Flyers on Tuesday night, handing the Flyers their third straight loss and eighth in the last 11 games.
Three games remain for the Flyers over the final week of the 2018-19 season. For the Orange and Black, there’s nothing left to play for but pride and to be a spoiler.
While this was far from perfect for the Flyers and their play still showed some of the familiar flaws that had them on a lengthy losing streak to begin with, this was also a game where the Flyers got some bounces, played to their strengths in the game and got some help from the guy in goal.
