The Philadelphia Flyers are off to a horrific first quarter of the season. One bad trend is a major reason why.
Philadelphia is now 0-6 in games decided in overtime or a shootout. On Wednesday, they fell to the Edmonton Oilers 47 seconds into the extra frame when Evan Bouchard scored on a snap shot with a helper from Leon Draisaitl.
In their latest overtime loss, Philadelphia squandered an opportunity to complete a comeback against one of the NHL’s most high-octane units. They went down 2-0 in the second period thanks to two goals from Zach Hyman.
Tyson Foerster scored on the power play at 16:49 of the second period before Travis Sanheim knocked one in at 11:42 in the third. Philadelphia had momentum at their backs, but couldn’t capitalize.
The Flyers (16 points) are currently tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for next-to-last place in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh currently holds the tiebreaker, which puts the Flyers in seventh, ahead of only the Columbus Blue Jackets (14 points).
Flyers Continue Struggling To Finish Close Games
The loss dropped Philadelphia to an ugly 5-10-6. Imagine if the Flyers won just three of those games in the extra period and/or a shootout. They would be 8-10-3, with 19 points.
Still ugly, but manageable. They would also be in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division, and just one point below the Washington Capitals heading into Thursday.
While picking up an extra point by losing in overtime can be a bonus, it can also work as a loser point. Get a few of them? They are bonus points. Get too many of them? They are loser points. For the Flyers, they have picked up one point in nearly one-third of their games, and that won’t turn around their season.
What’s more? Philadelphia has now lost 10 games this season in regulation or in overtime/shootout by one goal. While they have been blown out a few times, they have also played winnable games in over half of their losses.
By contrast, the Flyers have won four of their five games by two or more goals. Once again, imagine if they just won half of those one-goal games. It would make for an entirely different conversation.
Philadelphia Faces Growing Pressure To Turn Competitive Efforts Into Wins
At some point, the Flyers need to produce more goals and win these close games. In Wednesday’s loss, they outshot the high-octane Oilers 32-24, dominated at the faceoff dot by winning 59.4 percent of their draws, and scored once on the man advantage.
They also shot the puck 28 times in the first two periods, yet skated into the third frame having scored just once. This is nothing new for the Flyers, who have converted 9.3 percent of their shots into goals. That is the fifth-lowest mark in the league.
It’s not like this is a bad hockey team that isn’t capable of winning. Philadelphia has put in the effort, and they proved they can play the NHL’s best teams well. They were also a playoff team that made it to the second round a season ago.
Now that the second quarter of the season is all but underway, it’s time for the Flyers to start converting those chances when they get them.
If not, they are putting themselves in danger of keeping games close enough to end in the extra period or a shootout. Until they prove they can win when the stakes are the highest, they need to end these games in regulation.
Flyers’ Atrocious Season-Long Trend Continues Against Oilers