PHILADELPHIA – Back to the drawing board.
After finally catching up on their sleep necessitated by a recent cross-country road trip, the Flyers were supposed to come out with a little more energy in their game against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Apparently they need a little more snooze time.
A 4-1 loss at the Wells Fargo Center ran the Flyers’ winless streak to four games (0-3-1) and dropped them even farther out of a projected playoff spot.
Only a goal by Morgan Frost at 6:47 of the third period prevented the Flyers from getting shut out for a third time at home this season.
No. 1 goaltender Samuel Ersson returned to duty after a brief injury layoff and played OK. The same couldn’t be said for the Flyers’ position players, who really couldn’t mount much steady pressure on Stars goalie Casey DeSmith.
After coming out on the short end of the score in three straight games, the Flyers were hoping for a quicker start in this one.
That’s going to have to wait for another couple days.
Coach John Tortorella wanted his team to at least get going early because it does not do well coming from behind. When an opponent scores first, the Flyers are 5-15.
The bench boss didn’t exactly sound thrilled with the effort. His team was down less than two minutes into the game and never recovered.
“Getting scored on right away is not the way to start a game,” Tortorella said. “We don’t play many bad games, even though our record (17-20-5) is what it is. We have not played many bad games. We played bad tonight.”
Dallas scored early twice, including a goal just 1:45 into the match. Mavrik Bourque skated down the right side and managed to get a shot past Ersson. The goal was originally credited to Sam Steel, but later changed on the scoresheet.
Then Roope Hintz took advantage of an Evgenii Dadonov rebound at 9:38 and the boo-birds made their first appearance.
The Flyers left the ice to a light chorus of boos and things didn’t much better in the second period.
“I really don’t care,” Tortorella said of the catcalls. “One of the things that’s been strong in our concept the last little while is our third man. We gave up more odd-man rushes tonight than we have in probably seven or eight games. Some were offensive turnovers where we were just throwing blind passes.
“And they’re so good with their transition as far as taking off. We struggled. We played badly.”
Tortorella has fretted over whether the players will lose faith in the structure/system if they don’t start getting results.
“I don’t think it was frustration,” the coach said. “I thought the room was good. I just think it was a game we didn’t play well. Get scored on right away. In between periods, it’s something we talked about. We have to do it and not point fingers. Just try to get back to playing within our concept. We’ve played some really good hockey. Tonight we didn’t.”
Among the position players, Frost was one of the few bright spots.
He wants his teammates to keep the faith.
“I thought for the last stretch of games, even though we haven’t been winning or getting points, I feel like we’ve been playing good,” he said. “Tonight, we just kind of lacked energy throughout the game and couldn’t really string plays together. Just have to refresh the mind, come back next game and hopefully go on a little streak here.”
Sticking to Tortorella’s structure remains a high priority for everybody in the room.
“Pre-game, I think everyone’s in a good headspace,” Frost said. “I think there’s a bit of frustration as the game goes on tonight. You never want to get beat in your own arena. We didn’t have enough life. Hopefully we can bounce back.”
Dallas made it 3-0 at 8:41. The Stars managed to create a three-on-one rush and Wyatt Johnston finished off the play with a rising shot past Ersson.
>Ersson still confident
It’s been an up-and-down season for Ersson. He’s been in and out of the lineup due to injury and that always makes it tough to get on a roll.
“I have to put some consistent performances together,” he admitted. “Hopefully we can come up with some wins. I don’t think I felt that rusty out there. Not making excuses for myself. Just need to play consistent.”
>Ed Snider Legacy Game
The game was dedicated to honor the late founder/owner of the Flyers on what would have been his 92nd birthday. He passed away in 2016 at age 84.
Among those on hand from the Flyers to take part in activities included former players Paul Holmgren (who was a player, coach and general manager), Wayne Simmonds and Kimmo Timonen. They were on the ice for the ceremonial opening faceoff, which included Flyers current captain Sean Couturier and Dallas captain Jamie Benn.
The Flyers also wore patches on their uniform jerseys to commemorate the event.
>Short shots
The Flyers continue their homestand on Saturday with the third of four at the Wells Fargo Center when the Anaheim Ducks visit. . .The Flyers’ power play continues to tumble. The team entered the game 29th in the NHL at 14.9 percent. At the season’s halfway point, they had scored only 17 goals. . .Dallas has more road wins (10) than the Flyers have home wins (eight).
