They scored three goals in their first three games. And lost all three.
They scored four goals in their final game. And still lost.
The final road trip of the season ended amid near-blizzard conditions in Edmonton on Saturday night with the Flyers going 0-2-2 following a 5-4 overtime defeat to the equally-inept Oilers.
“Pretty disappointing,” said goalie Steve Mason, who pulled himself in pregame because he was ill. “Going 0 for 4 is not good.”
The Flyers played well enough to have earned points in every game. They grabbed two points for losing in a shootout in Ottawa and the final OT loss in Edmonton.
They also played poor enough to lose four games, as well.
“Definitely disappointed in the losses,” said coach Craig Berube. “There was a lot of hockey played that was good hockey [on the trip]. I thought we didn’t score enough goals in the first three games to win, but we did [Saturday]. We just didn’t get a couple bounces we could have had.”
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Monday, the Flyers “tragic number” remains at seven. Any combination of seven points earned by the second wild-card team (currently Boston) or lost by the Flyers will eliminate Berube’s club from playoff contention.
Yet it’s fairly obvious the Flyers were mentally, if not realistically, eliminated weeks ago after losses on consecutive days in Boston and New Jersey.
They’re playing out the string now. It’s not easy to get players focused on games that mean nothing down the stretch.
“Well, it’s leadership first and foremost,” Berube said when asked how they will stay focused for these final eight games.
“All the leaders on the team. The other night (in Calgary) is a perfect example after the game. They’re obviously upset and want to play well and win hockey games. It’s leadership, and I think our team has been up.
“We started games on this road trip where we played very well. We’ve been in all of them and kinda shot ourselves in the foot in two of the games. Obviously, we lost in the shootout to Ottawa. In Vancouver, we were in control of the game and I thought we were playing well. A couple mistakes and the puck goes in, and same thing in Calgary, too.”
His club had a 3-1 lead against Edmonton and lost that game, as well. The Flyers even had the game tied, 4-4, in the third period, coming from behind. They are just 3-22-5 this season when trailing after two periods. Last year, they won 11 games coming from behind in the third period alone.
What does that say? Most hockey observers would say it points to an overall lack of talent to finish games. Yet, for the most part, the Flyers' roster wasn't all that much different this season except it lacked Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen.
Timonen’s absence on the penalty kill might have been the single most destructive aspect of this year’s club because of his leadership and ability on the penalty kill, but it doesn’t explain the utter failure of the Flyers to pull games out, especially when measured against last year’s team.
“Last year, we were second in the league in third-period [comebacks] behind Chicago or Boston,” Berube said. “It’s a complete reversal this year. We came from behind a bunch of times last year. I said all along, I think we’ve played better hockey, at times, but we haven’t put the puck in the net.
“I look back to the Calgary game, there were two or three missed opportunities where we could have had the lead right away. That makes a difference. On the road, we have not done that enough. We have not produced enough offensively on the road.
“Then again, going into the third period, I think there has been times where we pressed the issue too much rather than playing the same way. It’s a 1-1 game or 1-0 game and you have to wait for your opportunities and play smart.
“I don’t think we played smart enough. I don’t think it’s a talent thing. There’s times on the road where we try to open it up too much at the wrong time and got burnt on it.”
Offensively, the Flyers are averaging 2.59 goals a game. Their all-time worst franchise average came in 1968-69 — 2.29 goals a game.
Mark Streit said several times this season and during the trip that the Flyers “press” and “squeeze” their sticks in tight games, especially late in those games.
They are 14-10-16 in one-goal games. They are 0-7-2 in their last nine games against non-playoff teams, and they are a stunning 0-5-4 in their last nine road games.
In 2010-11, the Flyers set a franchise record with 25 road wins under Peter Laviolette and matched it the following season. This year? They have just nine wins away from Wells Fargo Center.
When a team wins games coming from behind or closes out tie games with a win, it develops a thick skin for adversity. The Flyers had it last season.
They were stripped of it this year, and as Streit accurately noted, it’s why they freeze when everything is on the line.
“Yep, sometimes — I go by last year — we'd be down one or two goals going into the third period and guys seemed to feel more loose and went out and played and capitalized,” Berube said.
“It’s been the reverse this year. Over time, you know we are not scoring a lot. It comes down to pressing in the third period a lot of times this year.”
The Flyers' atrocious road record (9-20-10) and equally horrific road penalty kill (71.5 percent/29th overall) will go down as the two telling stats that sank this team well before the second half of the season began. Those two items have been constants since mid-November.
It’s why the Flyers are counting down the final eight games to close the season out instead of to start the playoffs.