PHILADELPHIA – Going into this five-game homestand, the Flyers knew they were going to be playing some powerhouse teams such as Colorado, Carolina and Vegas to test their mettle.
So far they’re zero-for-two.
They kept things interesting for at least two periods on Wednesday night, then suffered a meltdown in the third period against Carolina.
The Flyers headed into the final period at the Wells Fargo Center still deadlocked with the talented Hurricanes. But a defensive error reared its ugly head and that started Philadelphia’s downfall.
Sebastian Aho’s unassisted goal at 1:02 broke a 1-1 tie and sent Carolina on the way to a 4-1 victory.
A giveaway by Flyers defenseman Erik Johnson wound up behind goaltender Ivan Fedotov as the puck slid underneath his pads and across the goal line.
Then the wheels fell completely off the Philly car.
At 6:02, Jordan Staal steered Dmitry Orlov’s shot into the net. Just 55 seconds later Jack Roslovic scored for Carolina’s three-goal edge.
The loss extended the Flyers’ home winless streak against Carolina to six games (0-3-3) dating back to March, 2020.
On Monday night, the Flyers staged a decent rally but came up short in a 3-2 loss to Colorado.
Frustrating losses in measuring-stick games against serious contenders make for a long ride home when the night is over.
“It is tough,” Ryan Poehling said. “Our game just got away from us there in the third period. I thought we played a good first two periods. Then just little mistakes that we know we need to be better at, myself included on that fourth goal.”
The Flyers allowed the Avalanche a season-high (for an opponent) 37 shots on net and a total of 80 shot attempts all together. The Flyers just gave the puck away too often.
“We have to manage the puck better,” an obviously annoyed coach John Tortorella said. “Just too many turnovers. I thought our first period was good and we just couldn’t sustain.”
It didn’t look like the Flyers were quite ready for the first shift of the game against the Hurricanes.
Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield put the puck past Fedotov just 30 seconds after the opening whistle.
A turnover by Scott Laughton led to that quick-strike goal and, after the game, coach John Tortorella said that sort of play just can’t happen.
“On the first shift of the game, we’re talking about playing forward,” Tortorella said. “Then ‘Laughts’ turns it over. To me, I need him to lead the way in what we’re trying to do against a good team like that. And it’s not just that, there were a couple others within his game.
“That’s the hardest part for me. It’s making sure the gameplan is the gameplan and making sure we manage it. If we aren’t sharp enough to manage pucks against any team, especially with how beat up we are on the blue line, we’re going to struggle. I can’t just have a Scotty Laughton turn one over on the first shift after we just got finished talking about it.”
The Flyers are now just 2-8-0 when an opponent scores first.
In the second period, the Flyers enjoyed a bit of a gift. Poehling’s long shot went through ex-Flyer defenseman Sean Walker’s legs and found its way past goalie Pyotr Kochetkov at 2:13 to tie the score.
After that, the Flyers’ offense pretty much dried up.
Ultimately, the team’s defense was as much to blame as the lack of offense.
“I think we just became a little disconnected,” defenseman Nick Seeler said. “We were strong on their blue line and then I thought we got away from that in the third. They’re a quick team and they capitalized.
“We were hanging right with them. Then we stopped getting pucks in and you saw what happened in the third.”
>Sanheim, Ristolainen paired up
At the morning skate, Tortorella said he hopes both Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny get strong consideration for Canada at the Four Nations Face-Off in February.
“I hope he (Sanheim) gets an opportunity and quite honestly they should be looking at TK (Konecny), too,” the coach said. “The more people that have an opportunity to play for their country, it does nothing but do great things for them.”
The final rosters for the Four Nations tournament will be announced on Dec. 4.
>Frost sits again
Center Morgan Frost was scratched for the third straight game and fourth in the last five. Two years ago, Frost was a healthy scratch 10 times in one season.
>Short shots
Tyson Foerster, who scored in each of the previous two games, got rewarded for his efforts by starting the game on fourth line left wing. . .The Flyers play the fourth game of their five-game homestand on Saturday when they face the Chicago Blackhawks. . .Carolina started a pair of ex-Flyers on their third defense pairing: Shayne Gostisbehere and Walker.
