The most disheartening losses over the course of the season are inevitably the games where a team blows a lead in the third period. The Flyers have now done that three times within a week, and paid the price by losing two of the games.
To cough up a two-goal lead once is aggravating but understandable. To do it again the next game is concerning. To do it three times in four games is inexcusable.
Yes, the Flyers played three games in four days (with a regular practice on the non game-day and a heavy practice the day prior to the first game) so physical and mental fatigue may have been something of a factor by the end of last night's game. But the Senators were in the same boat as Philly, and managed to push through their tiredness to stage their late comeback after the Flyers recovered from early 1-0 and 2-1 deficits.
The biggest reason Philly let another two points slip away last night was poor decision making. The sheer number of unforced turnovers and coverage breakdowns in all three zones made life tough on both Craig Anderson and Ilya Bryzgalov.
For the second straight game, the Claude Giroux line was ineffective against the Senators. The return of Jaromir Jagr from assorted lower body ailments did not help the team on this night, as Jagr's skating looked labored (there were times he was moving at a pace better suited to last Saturday's Alumni Game). Giroux was guilty of trying to be a little too fancy, and others on the team followed suit.
Nevertheless, four goals should have more than enough to win. Anderson played a very strong game in goal for Ottawa. He had no chance to stop any of the Philadelphia goals, including Sean Couturier's tracer of a wrist shot on a 2-on-1 rush where Couturier elected to shoot rather than pass. Anderson stole a few would-be goals, most notably a point-blank chance for Brayden Schenn with a seemingly wide open net.
The Flyers' defensive coverages were highly suspect at numerous junctures of the game. Bryzgalov wasn't stellar in goal, but his play was way down on the list of issues that cost Philly two points they needed.
Bryzgalov gets a share of the blame on Erik Karlsson's crucial goal in the third period. Even that one came off a 3-on-1 rush where Jagr lost the puck and the Senators countered. The goalie had to be alert to a cross-ice pass (a TV replay showed Karlsson's eyes surveying his passing options and then, in a flash, shooting the puck). But there should not have been a hole on the short side from where Karlsson shot the puck. Couturier's goal came from a much better shooting angle.
The other Senators' goals were pretty much unstoppable. Two came as a result of deflections off the sticks of Matt Carle and Scott Hartnell. The others were as a result of goal-mouth scrambles (one barely crossed the line and was initially a no-goal call until a frame-by-frame overhead replay caught it) or open shots in front. Bryzgalov actually made a few big stops on difficult chances. His overall play would have been enough to win, 4-2, had there not been so many other breakdowns around him.
Obviously, the Flyers are going to be talking a lot about protecting leads in the days to come. True contenders are virtually automatic in closing out games once they take a lead into the final stanza. Philly had been quite good in that department through the first three months. Suddenly, it's become a problem.
Part of the problem is that the Flyers' depleted blueline has gotten exposed at times over the last week. Rookie defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon has had defensive problems in the last few games, and Andreas Lilja had really struggled since coming back from the high ankle sprain.
What that happens, it forces the rest of the defense corps to play at an extremely high level with almost no major letdowns -- and that hasn't been the case outside of Kimmo Timonen (who is playing through a left hand injury and barely played on Thursday). Carle in particular had a rough game last night.
The Flyers have a 1 PM practice scheduled today in Raleigh, per the Flyers' media site. Tomorrow night, they'll go back it as they conclude their season series with the Carolina Hurricanes.
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