The Philadelphia Flyers and their most senior players had the opportunity to completely flip the narrative around the franchise, but instead only fell victims to it in the worst way imaginable.
On Wednesday night against the Utah Mammoth, veteran forward Garnet Hathaway had the opportunity to seal a 5-3 victory with an empty-net goal clean in his sights in the offensive zone.
Instead, the 34-year-old was stripped from behind before even attempting a shot, and less than a minute later, Mammoth star Clayton Keller drove hard on Travis Sanheim, who flailed at a loose puck attempting to control it, embarrassing the Flyers and tying the game at 4-4.
In overtime, loose, lifeless plays by Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny allowed the Mammoth to both win back possession and score the game-winning goal, dooming the Flyers to yet another devastating loss.
Of course, things didn't start that way.
Konecny had just beaten the Vegas Golden Knights with two individual breakaway efforts that propelled Philadelphia to a life-preserving 2-1 win, and the Flyers appeared to be on cruise control on Wednesday night, too.
Evidently, the Flyers got too loose with 3-0 and 4-2 leads, even with a been-here, done-that guy like Christian Dvorak leading the way with two goals.
NHL Rumors: Flyers Have Target To Consider In Canucks ForwardThe Flyers could use another bottom-six center and should consider targeting this Canucks forward because of it. Merely days ago, I posited that, if the Flyers really can't turn the page on the narrative that they can only play half a season before invariably collapsing, they might just be plainly incapable of doing so as currently constructed.
The Flyers are now 3-5-2 in their last 10 games; only the New York Rangers (2-7-1 and defeated the Flyers during that stretch), Dallas Stars (3-5-2), Washington Capitals (3-6-1), Calgary Flames (3-6-1), and Vancouver Canucks (1-8-1) have been as bad or worse than the Flyers as of late.
Washington and Dallas are the only teams in that mix with positive goal differentials
Yes, the Flyers are just three points out of the second wildcard spot in the East, but the Boston Bruins, who occupy that spot, are 8-2-0 in their last 10.
An experienced Boston team is playing its best hockey when it matters the most, while the Flyers are playing easily their worst.
Good teams find ways to win when they don't play well, and that's the difference between a rebuilder and a perennial postseason competitor, at the least.
Flyers' High-Upside Prospect Changes Teams to Salvage Lost SeasonHaving played just 35 total games across the last two seasons, a high-upside <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers">Philadelphia Flyers</a> draft pick has made a move and decided to change teams in order to salvage a lost season of development.
Both players and fans have seen this movie before, and both sides are, or at least should be, on the same page when it comes to a narrow playoff miss not being acceptable.
It's become clear the Flyers don't have the requisite star talent to compete with the best, and the talent they do have is hindered by a system dedicated to being as low-event as possible.
When the gameplan fails, the Flyers lack the creativity and the sheer skill to break the cycle. The players who have been here before have as many answers as anybody else.
The good news for the Flyers is that injured goalie Dan Vladar should return soon, but the bad news is their next game is against the NHL's best team in the Colorado Avalanche, who boast an astounding 34-5-9 record, .802 points percentage, and a +77 goal differential that is miles clear of the closest team (Tampa Bay, +49).
And we all saw how those Tampa Bay games went.
"Any given Sunday," as they say, but things are looking like they are about to get worse for the Flyers before they get better.