This season marks the third time in the last five years the Flyers will be missing the playoffs. With the elimination from playoff contention, the club became the first team in NHL history to have a 10-game winning streak and miss the playoffs in the same season.

When you look at the Flyers' roster, it's filled with fire power: Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, and Shayne Gostisbehere. With a pretty impressive core, why do they continue to underachieve?

Goaltending

The tandem of Michal Neuvirth and Steve Mason got the job done last season, but have been quite awful this year. The duo has a combined save percentage of just .900 - the fourth-worst mark among NHL teams.

Poor goaltending can have a trickle-down effect on a team's defensemen. Knowing their goalie can't make routine saves, a defenseman can have a tendency to want to just "make the safe play" and might end up gripping their stick a bit too tight. This can limit creativity on the breakout.

Defense

Philadelphia's defense can't blame everything on the goaltending, though. In fact, you could make the argument that the Flyers' blue line is the main reason why the goaltending has been so horrendous. It's your classic chicken vs. egg scenario.

There's a lot to like about Ivan Provorov, the club's seventh-overall pick in 2015, but playing defense in the NHL is much harder to do at such a young age compared to forward. He has shown No. 1 D potential, but as a rookie, he has been prone to mistakes. His 80 giveaways are 15th-most in the league.

Gostisbehere has had a turbulent season to say the least. He hasn't produced at the same rate offensively compared to last season and was even a healthy scratch for a few games earlier in the year because of his poor defensive zone play.

Provorov and Gostisbehere should be nice building blocks moving forward, but the rest of the defense is comprised of players who belong on a team's bottom pair, rather than playing top-4 minutes.

Big names didn't meet expectations

Voracek, Giroux, Schenn, and Simmonds are a combined minus-73 this season. Plus/minus is far from a perfect stat, but a number such as that is quite telling.

Giroux in particular is at the forefront of the team's struggles. He is the captain of the team and has a cap hit of $8.275 million through 2021-22.

Assuming Giroux doesn't reel off 10 points in the last three games of the year, this will mark the fourth straight year in which his point total has decreased.

In addition to Giroux, Voracek is having a second consecutive underwhelming season after tallying 81 points in 2014-15.

Where do they go from here?

The Flyers have two "B" rated prospects coming up on the back end in Travis Sanheim and Samuel Morin, according to Hockey's Future. Along with Provorov and Gostisbehere, this would form a top-4 that could be very effective a few years down the road, even if it results in some growing pains over the next couple of seasons.

Given the youth on the back end, it might be smart for Philadelphia to move one of their big names up front for more youth and depth across the lineup.

Simmonds could be an ideal trade candidate. He has scored at least 28 goals in five straight non-lockout years, but his rugged style of play suggests that he won't age all that well. The 28-year-old has a cap hit of $3.975 million through 2018-19, so there would be no shortage of teams interested.

If the Flyers decide to go in the direction of a rebuild, signing a big-name goaltender like Ben Bishop on July 1 wouldn't make too much sense. It might be worth giving 23-year-old goalie Anthony Stolarz a shot to start next season to see what they have in him. It's quite clear that neither Mason or Neuvirth is a long-term answer between the pipes.

Stolarz has shined this season, albeit in just three starts. The former second-round pick has posted strong numbers in both the AHL and OHL throughout his career.

A rebuild certainly isn't what Flyers fans want to hear, but it might be the best thing for the organization. Retooling rather than rebuilding is also a possibility, but it's a move that rarely works.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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What's next for Jarome Iginla?

The future Hall of Famer will be absent from this year's playoff dance after the Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from postseason contention following a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday.

The 39-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent, and there are no assurances he'll return for another season in Hollywood, particularly when the Kings' cap concerns are taken into consideration.

After 16 seasons with the Calgary Flames, Iginla's short-lived stint with the Kings appears to be another missed shot at capturing his first Stanley Cup.

The former Flames captain has bounced around the league in recent seasons in search of Lord Stanley, first accepting a trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2013 deadline. Over the past four seasons, he has seen stints with the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and, this March, Los Angeles.

His illustrious career now spans five different stops:

After moving on from last-placed Colorado, Iginla rediscovered his scoring touch and put up eight points through 15 games with the Kings. Still, banking on the aging veteran to keep up that type of production in future seasons would be unrealistic.

Considering the Kings' diminishing flexibility, and the team's shift outside of the contender's circle, Iginla must soon decide whether to move on to his sixth club in search of his first Cup, or to put an exclamation point on one of the game's finest careers.

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Sunday night's game between the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets was a chippy affair that saw several scrums break out.

During the third period, Josh Anderson got tangled up with Alex Ovechkin, who, while being escorted to the penalty box, made sure to point out the Blue Jackets forward's bloody nose.

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The Vancouver Canucks need more from Nikolay Goldobin.

The forward was a healthy scratch in Sunday's contest against his former club, the San Jose Sharks, a warning that coach Willie Desjardins expects a better effort from the young winger.

"He's a skilled player and you've got to get your skill working hard," Desjardins told Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Sun. "I didn't think he worked hard enough last game and he'll be back in (Tuesday in San Jose). He needs to prove that he can go hard at this level, but he's got to go hard."

The coach hopes Goldobin's time on the sidelines sends a message.

"It's a two-way street. It's not that I don't play young guys like (Brock) Boeser," Desjardins added. "If they come in and they're going, they play. We just have to get him (Goldobin) more engaged."

Goldobin is expected to suit up Tuesday against the the Sharks when the two sides meet up again.

The Russian winger was acquired from the Sharks at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Jannik Hansen to the Bay Area. Since the trade, Goldobin has appeared in eight games with his new club, registering a lone point with a goal against the Los Angeles Kings in his debut.

Goldobin, 21, is in the first year of his entry-level contract after spending most of last season with the Barracuda, San Jose's minor-league team.

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A recent surge from the Chicago Blackhawks has landed them as the new favorites to win the Stanley Cup, surpassing the Washington Capitals. Here are the latest odds:

(Odds courtesy: Bodog)

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A recent surge from the Chicago Blackhawks has landed them as the new favorites to win the Stanley Cup, surpassing the Washington Capitals. Here are the latest odds:

(Odds courtesy: Bodog)

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Oliver Ekman-Larsson has taken a leave of absence from the Arizona Coyotes following the death of his mother, the team announced Monday.

Ekman-Larsson will return home to Sweden and will miss the remainder of the regular season. Arizona has three games left to play this year.

"Oliver has done a remarkable job dealing with this issue all season long and we commend him for the professionalism that he's demonstrated," Coyotes general manager John Chayka said in a statement.

Ekman-Larsson, 25, has appeared in all 79 games with Arizona this season, registering 12 goals and 27 assists.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are heating up at the right time, thanks in large part to Artemi Panarin.

Panarin was named the NHL's first star of the week after recording five goals and adding an assist in his past four contests. His best performance came Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, when he scored twice to lead the Blackhawks to a 3-1 victory.

His six-point streak pushed his total to 72 on the season, marking back-to-back 70-point seasons for the second-year pro.

Second-star honors went to Washington Capitals forward Marcus Johansson, who recorded a goal and seven assists in the past four games.

The week began on a high note for Johansson, as he captured four assists in a 5-4 overtime win over the Minnesota Wild.

Edmonton Oilers netminder Cam Talbot was named the third star of the week. Talbot won all three contests he appeared in, posting a 1.66 goals-against average alongside a .946 save percentage.

The goaltender recorded his 40th win of the season, tying the franchise mark set by Grant Fuhr.

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The Ottawa Senators are getting bitten by the injury bug at the wrong time of year.

Already without captain and leading point-getter Erik Karlsson for the time being, they won't get forward Zack Smith or blue-liners Cody Ceci and Marc Methot back until the playoffs, head coach Guy Boucher told broadcaster Dean Brown on Monday.

And that's assuming Ottawa does make the postseason. The Sens are just three points ahead of the Lightning for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though they do have a game in hand.

Ottawa takes on the Red Wings on Monday night with a blue line that may make the club look more like the Binghamton Senators.

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The Ottawa Senators are pulling out all the stops.

In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the club will look to 2015 first-round pick Colin White to provide a spark to the lineup.

White opened eyes at the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championships, where he scored seven goals and added an assist in seven games for Team USA, who won the tournament.

He only has three AHL games under his belt, but had an illustrious NCAA career at Boston College, where he tallied 76 points in 72 games across two seasons for the Eagles.

White is expected to skate on Ottawa's fourth line alongside veterans Chris Kelly and Tommy Wingels.

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