The best way to overcome an unfathomable loss such as the Flyers' 3-2 shootout defeat at Nationwide Arena in Columbus Tuesday is to jump back on the saddle. After a much-needed day off squeezed into an air-tight schedule, that's exactly what the Flyers will do in Colorado on Thursday.
At 35-24-13, the orange and black's 83 points currently places them in the final wild-card spot, despite Detroit's matching point total with one additional tally in the win column. But while Dave Hakstol's team reaps the benefit of the tie-breaker at the moment, the fatigue factor could very well intensify the pressure for the playoff push in the stretch run.
"We gave away the extra point there. It's real disappointing we didn't have it," goalie Steve Mason said Tuesday night.
Sixty-four seconds separated the Flyers from their first win at Nationwide Arena since Dec. 13, 2005 and the extra point in the standings to go along with it. The Blue Jackets spoiled Mason's attempt for a second straight shutout against his former team with goals from Boone Jenner and Cam Atkinson in a span of 56 seconds, with the equalizer finding the back of the net with 8.9 seconds remaining.
Columbus' inconceivable comeback was completed, of course, when Atkinson beat Mason right side in the shootout, leaving the Flyers tired and stunned.
Given the position Mason and his teammates find themselves in, one point is better than none, and an eighth-seeded standing is preferable to being on the outside looking in. But to keep that spot, the Flyers need to capitalize on this off (no practice)/travel (to Colorado) day.
The Blue Jackets dictated play for much of the night on Tuesday, peppering Mason with 31 shots in the first two periods and adding 14 in the third. A hooking penalty to Sean Couturier in the overtime stanza gave Columbus a 4-on-3 power play, which added to its shot total that reached 53 by the end of the overtime period.
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While the Flyers were, in fact, skating in their third back-to-back in a span of 12 days, allowing a shot count of that magnitude is highly uncharacteristic, even for a Flyers team that's now tied for the NHL's fourth-highest shots per game against average with Edmonton at 31.2.
"It's a tough loss, I mean every loss right now is a tough loss," said Ryan White, who scored one of the Flyers' two goals on Tuesday night. "They hurt, we're in a hunt right now, and we had that one in the bag, I guess you wanna say. But it's never over until it's over and gotta give Columbus credit, they fired all night."
Although the Flyers will finish out their 10 games remaining on the schedule with three back-to-backs in the month of April, there are some positives.
Despite dropping the season series to the Blue Jackets by a mark of 1-1-2, they were able to come away with four points against a team they've struggled against, dropping six of their last seven against dating back to Dec. 9, 2014. And while the orange and black are currently riding an eight-game losing streak at Nationwide Arena, they've been able to collect an overtime loss point in each of their last four trips to the Buckeye State.
Despite holding the Blue Jackets to only 19 shots in a 6-0 home win on March 5, Columbus had a total of 124 shots on net in the other three games combined. As unexplainable as it may be, the Flyers continue to struggle against their lowly Metropolitan Division foe, and thankfully, Hakstol's squad won't see them again until next season.
As daunting as the road ahead may seem, especially with limited rest on the horizon, the Flyers have habitually bounced back, last losing in consecutive games on Feb. 13-14. The dates get pushed back further when looking for back-to-back regulation losses, spanning back to Feb. 7 and 9.
The push for the playoffs is almost guaranteed to come down to the wire. Conventional wisdom says the team should be running low on fuel, if not sniffing fumes. But this is a team that's already exceeded the expectations of most, while surprising even the brightest of optimists.
Roller coasters are supposed to be fun and exhilarating — the perfect depiction of the 2015-16 Flyers.