Flyers Offense Falls Flat, Lose Second-Straight to End Homestand

The Philadelphia Flyers’ offense went flat in a 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday night. It was the second game of a back-to-back for both teams, and you could tell. With the loss, the Flyers end their five-game homestand with back-to-back losses, going 3-2-0 with two shootout wins.

Philadelphia’s record fell to 6-5-1 with the loss.

Neither team looked particularly sharp in Sunday’s contest.

The Flyers, who held a team meeting before the game with an emphasis on getting more pucks to the net and more bodies in front, did not do so in their game on Sunday. Instead, they watched a team get two pucks past their goaltender using screens and tip-ins, benefiting from having bodies in front.

It was Jonathan Huberdeau who scored twice for the Flames, and Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia. Here is how we got to the final score.

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Flyers Offense Starts Flat

Sunday night was a low-event game if I have ever seen one.

The Philadelphia Flyers started the game right where they left off on Saturday as Nick Seeler rang iron, but the puck took the unfavorable bounce. Philly would ring the iron once more, but after that, things went flat.

It seemed like neither team could generate any offense in the first period. Truly, there was not much to show for either team in the first period. The first high-danger chance came while shorthanded.

Bobby Brink earned two minutes in the box for hooking. The Flyers’ penalty kill has been solid all season, and that would not change on Sunday. Christian Dvorak generated a shorthanded breakaway, but with just Dustin Wolf to beat, he put the puck wide right.

In the final seconds of the first period, Travis Sanheim drew a hooking penalty. The second period opened with a brief four-on-four, followed by a Flyers power play.

No real chances were generated on the man-advantage as the Flyers’ offensive struggles continued into the second period. Not long after the Flames killed off the penalty, they took the lead.

Just over two minutes into the second period, Jonathan Huberdeau gets a screened shot off against Aleksei Kolosov and beats the Flyers’ netminder for the score.

All of a sudden, the Flames had all of the momentum, and the Flyers just looked flat. Philadelphia was being outshot and outplayed.

The Flyers still could not generate any offense. “One and done” was a phrase used a lot by the team postgame. That is the perfect way to describe what was going on offensively. As a team, they were not able to sustain much pressure. They would get one shot off and could not maintain possession, and would immediately end up going the other way.

Through two periods, the Flyers were being outshot 17-9.

Flyers Find a Late Spark, But It’s Not Enough

The third period started much like the first two. Both teams were struggling.

Neither Philly nor Calgary could find any real momentum. The Flyers looked downright flat, while the Flames seemed to have very little momentum, but more so than Philadelphia.

Huberdeau netted what would be the eventual game-winner on a tip-in off a Mackenzie Weegar shot from the blueline. The Flames were up 2-0 in the final period, and looked to have killed what little bit of energy the Flyers had.

It took until just over five minutes were remaining in the game, but the Flyers finally found a spark.

Noah Cates took the offensive-zone draw from the left side circle and got the puck to Travis Konecny (4), who buried the puck past Dustin Wolf to get the Flyers on the board.

All of a sudden, there was life in Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The team woke up and put together a solid possession at the end of the game. They had their chances within the final minutes of the game.

It took some time, but the Flyers were finally able to get the puck deep enough for Kolosov to go to the bench with about two minutes remaining in the game. With the six-on-five advantage, Philly was able to put some pressure on the Flames’ defense, but was unable to get another past Wolf.

The game would end with the final score of 2-1.

What’s Next for the Flyers

After five straight games on the road, the Flyers will head to Montreal to take on the Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Tuesday. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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