Flyers at Blues
8 p.m. on Comcast Sportsnet
The free-falling Flyers (28-27-13) will try to avoid a fourth consecutive loss when they take on the playoff-bound St. Louis Blues (42-19-5) at the Scottrade Center on Thursday night.
Here’s what you need to know before puck drop:
1. Fading fast
Well, there’s always next season.
The Flyers’ 2014-15 campaign will end after 82 games, barring a miraculous run aided by an epic collapse. After a dismal 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, the Flyers fell nine points behind the Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida and Ottawa are also ahead in the standings and putting much more heat on the Bruins than the Flyers.
Game-to-game consistency is ultimately what has been the Flyers’ undoing. You never know which team will show up. But who should be held accountable?
“That’s on all of us,” general manager Ron Hextall said Wednesday (see story). “It’s not one individual or coaches or myself or just the players. That’s collectively. That’s all of us. Gotta take a certain amount of responsibility.”
NHL
Hextall also admitted the Flyers’ leadership needs evaluation. Recently, several players have voiced displeasure with their teammates’ effort, consistency and compete level. Those comments mirror Craig Berube’s sentiments as the head coach often challenges his skaters if their play drops off. Expect Hextall to address the matter swiftly this summer.
2. Blue crush
While the Flyers are basically just playing out the string, Ken Hitchcock and the Blues still have a lot at stake with their remaining 16 games.
St. Louis is surging and has climbed to within just two points of Nashville for the top spot in the Central Division. The Blues also have two games in hand on the Predators. They’ll ultimately decide their own fate.
And you can forget about the Flyers’ 3-1 comeback win over St. Louis last Thursday. The Blues have caught fire since their third-period nightmare in South Philly, tallying 11 goals over their past two games – both wins. Add in the fact that the Flyers have dropped 13 of their last 16 games on the road and it could turn out to be a long night in St. Louis.
3. Injuries
After missing four games with an upper-body injury, defenseman Nicklas Grossmann returned to the Flyers’ lineup on Tuesday. He took a shot up high and was cut, but returned and finished the game with over 16 minutes of ice time.
Fellow blueliner Michael Del Zotto remains out with what the Flyers are calling an upper-body injury.
For St. Louis, forward Olli Jokinen (upper-body) and defenseman Jay Boumeester (flu) are questionable. Blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk (abdominal surgery) is out.
4. Keep an eye on …
Flyers: You know times are tough when shutdown defenseman Luke Schenn is carrying the offense. That’s not a stab at Schenn, who has a goal, three assists and seven shots on goal over his last four games; he’s just not the first, second or 10th player you’d expect the Flyers to rely on for production. To his credit, Schenn has played some decent hockey over the past week or two. Remember, it wasn’t long ago that he sat out four straight games as a healthy scratch. The 25-year-old should be looking to use the final 14 games to prove he deserves a full-time spot in the rotation next season.
Blues: Vladimir Tarasenko is one of the most electrifying young forwards in the game today. The 23-year-old showed tremendous potential in his first two seasons in St. Louis, but has skyrocketed himself into superstardom this season. He has 33 goals, 33 assists, a plus-29 rating and 227 shots on goal while averaging just under 18 minutes of ice time in 66 games in 2014-15. The first-time All-Star is deadly one-on-one and has a terrific presence in the corners and along the boards. Don’t underestimate his passing, either. He had a beautiful assist on Jaden Schwartz’s goal against the Flyers last week.
5. This and that
• The Flyers have lost their last three visits to St. Louis while being outscored 6-1 in the process.
• The Blues rank in the top 10 in the NHL in goals (201), assists (355), shots on goal (2,060) and power-play percentage (22.7).
• Steve Mason is 7-6-2 with a 2.60 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 17 career appearances – 15 starts – against St. Louis.
• Brian Elliott is 5-3-0 with a 2.43 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and two shutouts in eight career appearances – seven starts – against the Flyers.
• Jakub Voracek has just nine points in his last 18 games. Claude Giroux has just six in his last 13.