Sean Couturier
In his first game with the Capitals, Anthony Mantha had a goal and an assist as the Flyers were once again throttled by the opposition, falling to the Capitals, 6-1, on Tuesday night.
The Flyers face the Washington Capitals one day after the two teams were trade partners on deadline day. Michael Raffl will not play Tuesday, but newcomer Anthony Mantha will be in the lineup for Washington.
Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher addressed the moves made by the team on trade deadline day, trading Michael Raffl and Erik Gustafsson and re-signing Scott Laughton, while also starting to take a glimpse into what should be a busy offseason.
Less than 24 hours before the trade deadline, the Flyers were left with a stunning defeat to the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL lowest team in the standings, handed a loss by lowly Buffalo for the second time in two weeks. It was the most fitting of endings for a team that has continued to get in their own way all season.
The Sabres tied the game with 3:03 left after an icing by the Flyers, then scored again with 2:38 to play to take the lead away from the Flyers in a matter of 25 seconds. Buffalo also managed the empty-netter to secure the 5-3 result on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers take the ice again on Sunday afternoon, this time to face the Buffalo Sabres. A win could move them back to within two points of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the East, pending the result of Boston’s game later on Sunday night.
The Flyers got a regulation win on Saturday, scoring the only goal of the third period to claim a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins at Wells Fargo Center.
The two teams split the games earlier in the week with the Flyers winning on Monday night in overtime, then falling in regulation on Tuesday. That loss certainly felt like the final nail in the coffin on the Flyers playoff hopes, but if they are to make any bid at getting back in the race, a regulation win on Saturday against Boston is a must.
The Flyers week continues with a meeting against the New York Islanders, a team that just made their splash at the trade deadline by acquiring Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils.
When it comes down to it, the loss that determined this perfectly defined the season – fall behind, rally back, struggle on special teams both ways, come up short. It should be no surprise that it was another loss to the Bruins, a team that has had their number all season and that has dashed their playoff hopes before, did it again.
