In one of their most critical (if not the most important) games of the season, the Philadelphia Flyers dropped to their knees and had their heads hacked off by the Montreal Canadiens, losing 9-3. It was a humiliating blowout loss that signaled the end of the season and their efforts to reach the playoffs. They had four games and eight points to collect, and their chances of making the postseason are slim at best.
Flyers head coach John Tortorella wants to be clear that the collapse in Quebec was caused by a combination of reasons, not a lack of effort on the part of his players.
“I’m not questioning their effort, no. I just think we’ve lost ourselves in managing games. I think some guys may feel it a little bit, because they want to get us out of this, but I don’t question the care, I don’t question the effort. It’s been a strong group all year long,” Tortorella said after the blowout loss in Montreal.
“This is rock bottom, tonight, for us. Hate to see us, at this time of year, be playing this way, after all the good minutes we’ve put in throughout the year.”
It was not just this game, though. Infamously, the Flyers have now lost their last eight games and have earned just two of the 16 available points they had in front of them. And all of this after a gauntlet of games where they faced the best in the league and came out in relatively good shape — just to add to the chaos of a late-season collapse.
Tortorella will certainly not hear any reasoning being that the Flyers are simply more fatigued than other teams, though.
“Time of year, all teams are tired,” the coach said. “We’re not as gifted as some teams, we have a process that we’re going through, we can’t forget that, we’re still building here. I appreciate all the work they have put in, to put us in the spot to play these types of games, but we have just not been able to elevate our game. It’s my responsibility to put them in that spot and get them to elevate the game, but have not done it.
“These are hard lessons. One thing great about this league, and we’re on the wrong side of it; it’s unmerciful. When they get you, it’s unmerciful. And I love that about the league, we’re just on the wrong end of it right now.”
The lessons might be hard, and certainly players might gain some experience after having the taste of the playoffs on the tip of their tongue, only for it to be slapped away and their season last just 82 games. During Game 78, the Flyers just simply succumbed to everything from goaltending woes — after Ersson saved just 12 of the 17 shots he faced, Fedotov came in and saved just nine of 13 — finishing problems, overall lack of defensive effort, and all that fun stuff.
“There are so many different things that happened in that game,” Tortorella said. “We made a lot of mistakes. Turnovers, coverages, any part of the game, there were mistakes. And really, for the most part, it’s uncharacteristic of the club. Even though, going through the losing here, the last couple of games — Columbus and here — we’ve done things we haven’t done for a lot of the year.
“So, you just have to eat it. We have to stay together. We have to try to solve things. Whether it’s enough time to try and get in (the playoffs), I’m not concerned about that. I’m concerned about just being pros, trying to get some of our dignity back, and playing the right way.”
Now we just have to see if the final three games are going to mean anything. They can still make the playoffs — if the other three teams lose every game and the Flyers earn all six points — but it might just feel impossible after being blown out by a team not anywhere near their place in the standings.
“It’s a good group, no matter what happened tonight and what we’re going through. It’s really been after that seven-game segment of all those tough teams, we just haven’t been right. But it’s a good group of players — I’m frustrated for them that we’re ending it this way and some of the things we’re going through. We just have to lick out wounds, we have three more game to play and I think it’s incumbent on all of us do it the right way and try to finish the year the right way.”
The Flyers face the Rangers on Thursday, the Devils on Saturday, and finish their season at home hosting the Washigton Capitals on Tuesday. Less than a week left in this weird and wild season.
