Flyers Lose 4th Straight

February 12th, 2008 by James

Coming into tonight’s Flyers-Islanders game, you had two desperate teams. At the start of the game, the Islanders were 0-6-2 in their last 8 games and hadn’t won a game at home in 2008. The Flyers had lost 3 in a row, which resulted in dropping from 2nd in the Eastern Conference to 6th. What team would have the most fire and desperation?

For the Flyers, those were 3 big loses, to Washington, the Rangers, and Pittsburgh. The biggest problems I saw with those loses were very inconsistent play, strong at some points, very weak at others, and incredible amount of turnovers, and at most times, no sense of urgency. It has become very apparent this year that you will not be able to sleepwalk through January and February and still have a great spot for the playoffs. That is the result of the parity that has come about due to the salary cap.

As a quick aside, you will never see me use the term “New NHL” that many broadcasters and others involved with the NHL use. In the “New NHL” this and “New NHL” that. It’s a cliche term, it’s an overused term, and it’s a stupid term.

The first and second period, in my opinion, were much of the same that we have seen from this team. Strong at some points, weak at others. Several unforced giveaways, poor neutral zone play and several failed clears. The Islanders played with a sense of urgency in an attempt to get back in the win column.

In the third period, the Flyers came out strong and attacked. But, late in the period, they started to sit back, which led to the Islanders 4th goal and the eventual game winner.

The pattern I’ve seen from the past several games is one I don’t like. It’s a pattern of inconsistency. When the Flyers decide to play, they are unstoppable. They carry the play and dominate. When this team sits back, they allow the other team to dictate the pace of play, they make bad decisions, bad giveaways and turnovers.

Just a few days ago, it seemed like it was just a matter of days and Peter Forsberg would be back in a Flyers uniform, now Paul Holmgren is saying he doesn’t know if he will even return to the NHL. With Gagne being on the shelf, the addition of Forsberg would could be a huge boost to the lineup.

As the Flyers continue to lose ground, is it time to push the panic button, or would that be premature trepidation?

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