Kevin Hayes

Shades of last season were on display in a two-goal second period for the Washington Capitals, who never looked back, handing the Flyers a 3-1 loss at Wells Fargo Center.

The Flyers continue the preseason on home ice, facing the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

Before Flyers fans even get a chance to see what a John Tortorella camp looks like or how the team will respond, they got a taste of the new bench boss’s no-nonsense approach. It’s very clear that each of the 71 players on the training camp roster are now on Tortorella time.

According to a report from Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo, Flyers forward Sean Couturier suffered a herniated disc and could miss significant time this upcoming season.

The NHL Draft has come and gone, blink and you missed free agency. The final piece of the Flyers offseason outlook is to focus on line combinations for the upcoming season.

On Wednesday, you saw that the current regime is incapable of handling a rebuild. They insisted upon an aggressive retool for a fast fix, not the necessary rebuild needed. Now it’s time to start that rebuild anyway, but focus on the front office that has so clearly set the Flyers back.

The Flyers have five picks on Day 2 of the NHL Draft on Friday, but could there also be some trades in the works?

The problem with each of these possibilities is that they are rooted in hope. Hope that the injured players return as advertised and stay healthy. Hope the young players take that big step everyone has waited for. Hope that you can perhaps manufacture some hockey trades or free-agent signings to plug in the holes that the team is lacking for speed and skill and make it all work.

Buffalo scored twice in the first and twice in the second to open up a two-goal lead going to the third. That was enough as the Flyers were dealt a season sweep from the Sabres in a 5-3 loss on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.