The Flyers were looking for a sweep of their season series against the Blues in St. Louis Thursday night, even after the fact they looked dreadful after three straight losses.
Craig Berube’s team played great — one of the best games all season — and for the second consecutive year lost, 1-0, in the shootout with T. J. Oshie once again getting the game-winner (see game story).
Brian Elliott and Steve Mason shared a shutout. Two of Mason's three shutouts this season have been in shootout losses.
Here are 10 things I think I think — quoting Bill Lyon — about the game in the Midwest:
1. The Flyers looked bad on their first two power plays of the game, managing just three shots and finished 0 for 3 in the opening period. Another reason for the team's sudden and decisive playoff fade down the stretch, their power play. The Flyers are not being quick enough in getting shots on net. Their indecisions were the result of how poor things have been going of late with the man advantage. On their fourth power play, frustration reigned. Jakub Voracek had a shot go wide and another one blocked. Claude Giroux had no space to operate. They are now 1 for 19 over their last seven games on the PP.
2. I don't want to ever see Giroux give up a shot to Brayden Schenn in the slot. I want my best forward taking that shot, unless Schenn is in the paint. Giroux, who is unselfish, has to take that shot. Giroux's prolonged scoring slump has him thinking pass instead of shoot these days. He has two goals in the last 21 games.
3. Much like last year's game in St. Louis, the Blues were flying on the ice and the Flyers played them evenly, only in spurts. Mason kept them from losing in regulation.
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4. Ken Hitchcock said publicly Thursday what he said to me so many times over the years: His only regret in his long career was not winning the Stanley Cup in the 2003-04 season as coach of the Flyers with one of the greatest collection of All-Stars in NHL history. A team that lost a gut-wrenching, seven-game Eastern Conference Finals series to Tampa (the eventual Cup winners) because it ran out of defensemen even before the playoffs began — Eric Desjardins injured, among others. I still feel that team was better than any other Flyers club I have covered because of its talent scattered everywhere. Peter Laviolette's 2009-10 club got hot but didn't have the skill Hitch's club had.
5. The Flyers came into the game 0-5-1 against the previous six non-playoff teams they met, and yet, they are now 4-0-4 against those clubs already holding playoff spots. Rise to the occasion and fall to the lowly. That's the Flyers this season.
6. The longer the game went on, the more it resembled last year's 1-0 Flyers shootout loss in which Ray Emery didn't get a victory he had clearly earned. Mason (35 saves) had a similar game here, as well. He was spectacular in yet another game he deserved to win. His split save on Jori Lehtera in the third period was highlight material (see save). And he robbed him again later. This became the 15th time in 17 road games that Mason had two goals or less to work with.
7. Vladimir Tarasenko came into the game with 33 goals, and the Flyers did a great job on him defensively in their first meeting. They repeated the task in this game. Through two periods, the flashy Russian had no shots on net with one broken carbon fiber stick. He had three shots in the third period. He did score in the shootout, however.
8. The Blues had the better scoring chances throughout the game, although the Flyers amped their game up in the third period. Wayne Simmonds had a puck at his feet in the crease six minutes into the period and could not get it past Elliott.
9. Voracek's slump amazingly continues despite getting great chances every game. A partial breakaway in the third period and Elliott made a pad stop. That had goal written on it a month ago. Not these days. Just two goals in his last 12 games.
10. You can't say it enough: If the Flyers approached games against the dregs of the NHL the way they approach legit Cup contenders like St. Louis, we'd be talking first-round playoff matchups instead of wondering how high the Flyers can advance in this summer's NHL draft.