BOSTON -- When they began their four-game road trip last Saturday night in Washington, the Flyers were on the upswing, having won two straight and feeling the trip was their chance to make a move.
They were just three points behind the Islanders, their Metropolitan Division rival, for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Saturday's stunning 2-1 loss to the Bruins in the final 5.6 seconds of regulation hurt the Flyers in multiple ways.
Toronto (76 points) now occupies the last wild-card slot while the Flyers (70) still have to hurdle Tampa Bay (73) and the Isles (75) just to get to the Maple Leafs.
Losing head to head in Toronto on Thursday was nothing short of disastrous because it represented a four-point swing in the standings.
Then to play another pretty sound game Saturday afternoon and come away without anything while losing more ground is even harder to comprehend.
"We worked pretty hard," coach Dave Hakstol said of Saturday's loss. "The effort of our hockey team on the road here was excellent.
"You look at the goal that wasn't allowed, some other plays -- are those bounces or breaks? Hey, that's just part of hockey. ... A tough pill to swallow on the flight home."
The Flyers host Columbus on Monday, one of three games on this week's schedule, which also includes a visit from rival Pittsburgh and a trip to New Jersey.
"We'll come back from it," Hakstol said. "We've got a game Monday night. ... Get some rest and we go right back at it. We've got a long, important stretch in front of us here. ... Like we said, every next game is your most important right now."
In each of the three losses on the trip, the Flyers played pretty well. A consistent theme that has cost them games this season has been their special teams play.
They went 0 for 6 on the power play in losing in overtime at Washington. Their penalty kill gave up two goals in losing in Toronto. And their power play failed on a 5-on-3 against the Bruins while the PK allowed one goal.
That was the difference in each of the losses, even allowing for a poor goaltending performance from Michal Neuvirth in Toronto.
It also goes without say, the Flyers have had little or no luck down the stretch so far, even though the players don't use that as an excuse. There's a saying in hockey: You make your own breaks.
"I think it all evens out over the course of the year," Jordan Weal said. "We just have to fight harder to find our own bounces and start scoring some goals."
A number of players were understandably upset after Saturday's loss. Jakub Voracek lost a goal or maybe an assist on a non-whistle/whistle in which the Flyers likely had a goal taken from them.
"Of course we're frustrated," Voracek said. "We were five seconds from overtime. Of course, you're mad.
"But you can't change the past. Frustrating. Same thing all the time. We can't focus on the past. We have to focus on the next game."
Loose pucks
Wayne Simmonds (eight shots) and Voracek (seven) combined for 15 of the Flyers' 27 shots in the loss. Not enough shots from the team overall. Simmonds recorded six of his eight shots in the first period, while Voracek recorded five in the opening frame. ... Matt Read and Radko Gudas each had four hits. ... Rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov played a season-high 25:18. He led the Flyers with five hits and had two blocked shots. ... Claude Giroux extended his points streak to three with an assist on Weal's goal in the second period.
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