Following Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Capitals the Flyers remain seven points out of a playoff spot with just 15 games to play. In the first game between the respective cities since the signing of Bryce Harper the Caps scored five unanswered goals then held off a Flyers’ third period comeback.
James van Riemsdyk (25) and the Flyers are running out of time in the hopes to make the playoffs, following Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Washington Capitals. Protected by Brooks Orpik (44) and Nick Dowd (6), goalie Braden Holtby (70) turned aside 27 shots as the Caps won their fifth straight and kept the Flyers seven points out of a playoff spot with just 15 games to play. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) Getty
The $330 million man, Bryce Harper, may have left the nation’s Capital for the City of Brotherly Love, which could shake things up when baseball gets underway later this month. But when it comes to hockey, it appears the town he left behind still has it all over his new digs.
So while you can’t consider the Washington Capitals’ 5-3 win over the Flyers last night some kind of D. C. payback for stealing Bryce, the reigning Stanley Cup champs still delivered a message. You’ll have to go through Alex Ovechkin & Co. if you want to drink from Lord Stanley’s mug.
Unfortunately for a Flyers team that simply can’t afford nights like this if it wants to even make it to the post-season, by the time they got the message it was far too late. “It’s kind of a missed opportunity for us,” said veteran defenseman Andrew McDonald, after the Flyers dug a 5-0 hole for themselves in the first 25:37 due to leaky defense and goaltending, which was too steep to climb out from.
“There’s obviously minimal room for error at this point for us.”
Despite a blistering 16-3-3 stretch since mid-January the Flyers still found themselves seven points out of a playoff spot when they took the ice to face the Caps. That’s after being a whopping 16 points out back then.
They’re still seven points out after this one, only with one less game to play, making the urgency even greater each game as the season winds down. While missing the playoffs for the fourth time in the last seven years will not only be a blow to their pride, it would also hit them where it really hurts: the wallet.
