Loss with a Capital W
Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images
They tried!
The Philadelphia Flyers accomplished the perfect loss on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Philly and the Washington Capitals entered the third period tied at two, thanks to a Travis Sanheim goal, on a beautiful 2-on-1 pass from Travis Konecny, late in the second.
The Flyers took the lead with less than four minutes to play on Gerry Mayhew’s second goal of the night, only to allow Garnet Hathaway, who hadn’t scored in his last 21 games, to pot a pair of goals in the following three minutes to give the Caps a lead. John Carlson’s seeing-eye empty netter sealed it, and somehow the Flyers lost 5-3 after leading 3-2 just four minutes prior.
Incredible. Truly incredible. And so here we are, with 33 games remaining, the Flyers have a slight edge over the New Jersey Devils in the division standings. Both teams have 39 points, but the Flyers have reached that total in 49 games, while the Devils have played 50 thus far.
League-wide, only the Devils, Seattle Kraken (36 points in 50 games), Arizona Coyotes (28 points in 48 games), and Montreal Canadiens (25 points in 49 games) trail the Orange and Black in the standings.
Given the Flyers’ upcoming schedule, falling behind the Devils and Kraken isn’t just possible, it’s likely.
Considering the lineup Philadelphia ices nightly, and the fact that Claude Giroux, Justin Braun, Derrick Brassard, Rasmus Ristolainen, Martin Jones and even Keith Yandle could all be moved in the next month, it’s conceivable that this team only wins, like, maybe five more games. And, well... THAT’S GOOD!
Speaking of things that are good, listen to the postgame!
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