It's a rare day when you get a honest, gut-reaction from Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who often tries to soft-peddle his answers and not criticize his teammates.
But not after Thursday's mostly apathetic 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at the Wells Fargo Center, a game in which the Flyers had no energy until the end despite three fights, two of which involved that famed pugilist Vinny Lecavalier (see Instant Replay).
"The intensity is not as high as when we play good teams," Giroux said. "Maybe it's preparation. I'm not too sure it is that, but we've got to figure it out."
Thursday's loss is now 12 straight against non-playoff teams for Craig Berube's club.
"I'm mystified," Berube said.
Lecavalier, who may have suffered a concussion according to sources, did not play in the third period and left the building without any apparent injury to his hands or face. He felt disrespected by Keegan Lowe, the son of Oilers president of hockey operations Kevin Lowe, teammates said. Lowe jumped him near the end of the first period.
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"There's no love lost there," Lowe said. "The first time, it was just a battle and it ended up happening. By no means was I like, 'Oh, this is Lecavalier.' It ended up happening and it's hockey, right?
"I mean, I have no love lost for him. He's a great player and he always has been. Like I said, he wanted his lick and he got it. Game's over, we got the win."
Lowe made his NHL debut with his father watching from a club box.
"Vinny's earned the right to get respect out there, and we felt he kind of got disrespected," goalie Ray Emery, who may have played his final game as a Flyer, said. "He took it into his own hands and stood up for himself."
Added teammate Sean Couturier, "He's not a guy who drops the mitts but he did a good job and was pissed off after the first one and got back at him."
Lecavalier got walloped in the first bout, but then drew revenge in a second encounter in the middle period. The possible concussion came in the first, based on available evidence.
"Before Vinny got into that first fight, we were all dead — no intensity," Giroux said. "Then we started having a little life. We can't wait for something to happen to start playing. We need to be ready the first shift."
The Flyers only said Lecavalier had an upper-body injury, and he will be re-evaluated.
Still, three fights — including Brandon Manning's first in the NHL — and the Flyers didn't ratchet up their game until it was 2-0 and things got desperate in the third period.
They got a goal from Couturier, who made it 2-1 at 16:19 and then with Emery pulled, Giroux clanged one off the left post with 52 seconds left. Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward made a split save, leaving him no room to shoot.
And that was it.
"It was kind of a weird game," Manning said. "There wasn't much going on out there. We came out kind of flat, but they didn't do anything special either. It was an opportunity lost."
The Flyers had a chance to close out the season with two more home wins, which would have given them 25 — they had 26 in 2000-01.
"It wasn't there tonight and it's been like that for a long time," defenseman Mark Streit said. "It's tough to explain right now. I don't know why.
"Vinny had two fights and after the first one a few chances but not enough. We've seen the last few games how we can play if we skate and play the right way."
Perhaps the mental angle comes into play in games when both clubs are out of the playoff hunt.
"It's definitely more exciting when the game means something," Emery said. "We got pride. You see the effort is there. We're not packing it in."
Emery, who said he wants to return next season, didn't dwell on this perhaps being his final appearance in a Flyers uniform.
"You want to play well and show them you want to be there [next season], that you can contribute," Emery said. "I definitely wanted to do my best. Whatever happens next happens next."