Martin Jones
The Flyers face off against the 30th-ranked Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. But don’t be fooled, the Senators have won five of their last seven games, including convincing wins over Tampa Bay and Florida in the last week.
A pair of goals by James van Riemsdyk paced the Flyers offense, as they claimed back-to-back wins for the first time since Oct. 27 and 28, defeating the Arizona Coyotes, 5-3, on Saturday night.
The Flyers close out a three-game road trip in Arizona to face off against the NHL’s last-place team, the Coyotes.
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.
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.
Alain Vigneault’s postgame press conference lasted about two and a half minutes. But it was his tone and clearly visible frustration that told the story. The Flyers coach and his staff may have received a vote of confidence of sorts from Fletcher just a day earlier, but the veteran bench boss knows when the ship is sinking and he becomes the first guy on the chopping block.
Three goals in the third proved to be the difference for the Flyers, as they were handed their sixth straight loss, 5-2, to the Devils on Sunday night.
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.
After stopping six shots for the Panthers to start the 3-on-3, Martin Jones couldn’t stop a one-time blast from Aaron Ekblad in a 2-1 overtime loss for the Flyers on Wednesday night.
