[Complete Coverage] - [Winnipeg Reaction] - [Discussion Thread]
[Event Summary] - [PBP Log] - [TOI Log] - [Faceoff Report]
[Shift Charts] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [Shot Differential] - [5-on-5 Faceoffs]

Earlier today, when the Flyers were preparing for this game against the Winnipeg Jets, we hoped that the start of a long road trip out West would also be a slump buster for the orange and black. About ten hours later, it certainly feels like a result that could do just that.

I won't lie: When James van Riemsdyk was dancing around the neutral zone with about 30 seconds left in the game, I slouched back on my couch a little bit. I figured it was over, and I started mentally writing this game story ... Ondrej Pavelec steals one for the Jets ...

But then he barreled up the left wing, and Wayne Simmonds, who's been playing like that face shield makes him Metal Mario, somehow went unmarked by the Winnipeg defense. Simmonds parked in front of the net, Dustin Byfuglien stared at van Riemsdyk, and the dish was just perfect enough for Simmer to poke it between Pavelec's pads.

The Flyers absolutely dominated at five-on-five play all game long. Every line. Guys from Claude Giroux to Simmonds to Max Talbot to Reemer to .. well, basically every forward had phenomenal games, and this was going to be a cruel, cruel Tuesday night if the Flyers wound up losing. We've faced a lot of those lately, and thank Orange Jesus, this one was different.

With less than a minute left in overtime, Danny Briere and Jaromir Jagr connected for another similar goal -- Briere behind the net, Jags in front, beating the defense and Pavelec with a shot from the slot. The Flyers really owned that area of the ice tonight, and three of their five goals came from winning battles and beating the Jets defense near the crease.

It was exactly the win the Flyers needed to kick off their West Coast trip. That's gonna be a fun flight to Edmonton tonight. (Well, until they realize they're flying from Winnipeg to Edmonton...)

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The Flyers still own fourth place in the Eastern Conference, but after Sunday's action, that could very easily change depending on what the Penguins do vs. Montreal and what the Devils do vs. the Canadiens. There's only one way to explain today's 6-4 loss to the Pens at the WFC, then: It's all part of the plan.

While the Devils and Penguins beat the crap out of each other in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup in the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers will have the luxury of playing the crappy winner of the Southeast Division, either Washington or Florida. It makes so much sense.

Because really, that game didn't make any sense at all. From the awful officiating -- in both directions -- by Stephane Auger and Co. to the atrocious goaltending by Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky to the pitiful defense in front of them to Matt Cooke scoring a 3-on-5 goal, it was just stupid from start to finish.

Perhaps the Flyers thought the Carnival was today, not tomorrow.

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[Event Summary] - [PBP Log] - [TOI Log] - [Faceoff Report]
[Shift Charts] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [Corsi and Fenwick] - [5-on-5 Faceoffs]

I'm not sure what was said during that first intermission, but if I had to guess, it probably went something like this: Peter Laviolette filled a fridge with 100 jars of jam and kicked it over before summoning Ville Leino over from the Buffalo locker room, punching him in the head, and telling him to clean up the mess.

Then, the Flyers came out in the second period and scored less than a minute in on their way to SEVEN STRAIGHT GOALS and a 7-2 win. Orange Jesus had five assists, just one shy of Eric Lindros' team record set back in 1997, and Max Talbot scored two goals to pace the Flyers.

But that wasn't even the most bad ass of bad ass performances in this one. Wayne Simmonds took a puck to the face during warmups, and in his own words, had two teeth "knocked around," whatever that means. He wound up with 25 stitches in total, a full face shield... and two goals. Oh, and they were the game-tying goal and the game-winning goal, too.

For purposes of this recap and our own collective sanity, we will pretend as if the first 20 minutes of tonight's game did not happen. Go Flyers. F*** the Penguins, etc.

[Complete Coverage] - [Detroit Reaction] - [Discussion Thread]
[Event Summary] - [PBP Log] - [TOI Log] - [Faceoff Report]
[Shift Charts] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [Corsi and Fenwick] - [5-on-5 Faceoffs]

Here's the deal: Remember that recap of Saturday's game against the New York Rangers? Go read it. The exact same shit still applies.

The Flyers lost a game due to a bad penalty kill and just all-around poor team defense, despite the fact that they probably outplayed -- or, at the very least, were on the same level as -- the Detroit Red Wings for the majority of the hockey game. There's not much more you can write about it or say about it. It is what it is at this point.

Four days to let this one fester, no game until Thursday night. Don't listen to WIP for a few days if you value your mental health.

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[Complete Coverage] - [New York Reaction] - [Discussion Thread]
[Event Summary] - [PBP Log] - [TOI Log] - [Faceoff Report]
[Shift Charts] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [Shot Differential] - [5-on-5 Faceoffs]

Here's the worst part about the Flyers fifth loss of the season to the New York Rangers: it was probably the best of all five games by the Flyers. It doesn't feel like that given defensive breakdown after defensive breakdown in the third period, but the Flyers were legitimately the better team for the first 40 minutes of the hockey game.

The Rangers power play absolutely ate the Flyers penalty killing units apart all game long, but at five-on-five, the Flyers did a great job getting in front of Henrik Lundqvist and generating quality scoring chances. It sucks, too, because the PK has actually been pretty strong lately, and the power play has probably been the lone bright spot over the last week of frustrating hockey.

"Obviously, they got three or four goals on the power play," said Claude Giroux afterwards. "I think we have to stay out of the box. We know they have a good power play and we shot ourselves in the foot. I think we didn't play that bad, but if we played five-on-five with them we'd win this game. That wasn't the case tonight."

Special teams decided the game, and the Flyers were just absolutely demolished in anything that resembled special teams. We could try to take the silver lining -- that the Flyers were the better team at even strength -- and look at that as a benefit. But it's already February, and the Flyers have lost five games to the Rangers in just about five different ways. They've lost on the road, they've lost outside, and now they've lost at home.

The Rangers have won close games, come-from-behind games, and laughable games, but no matter the way they've reached the final result, each one has been fair. They're just a better team, and the Flyers cannot beat them. Let's just hope this isn't a matchup in the playoffs.

[Complete Coverage] - [Toronto Reaction] - [Discussion Thread]
[Event Summary] - [PBP Log] - [TOI Log] - [Faceoff Report]
[Shift Charts] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [Shot Differential] - [5-on-5 Faceoffs]

Coming off three straight losses, the Philadelphia Flyers absolutely needed to snap their win streak against a legitimately solid Toronto Maple Leafs squad. It was a bit of a back-and-forth game throughout, but the Flyers controlled play for the majority and really made the Leafs look out of sorts in their own end, and they earned a nice, hard 4-3 victory tonight.

They needed that. We all needed that. It feels good.

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[Complete Coverage] - [New York Reaction] - [Discussion Thread]
[Event Summary] - [PBP Log] - [TOI Log] - [Faceoff Report]
[Shift Charts] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [Shot Differential] - [5-on-5 Faceoffs]

Once we reached about five minutes into a scoreless third period at Wells Fargo Center tonight, you just knew it was going to be one of those games that'd end up either wonderfully satisfying or brutally heartbreaking. One where the Flyers would either be rewarded for a relentless effort, or forced to slug back to the locker room with a dejected feeling they wouldn't really deserve.

Sometimes you just don't get the result you deserve in this game, and tonight was Exhibit A. The Flyers peppered the New York Islanders net with 45 shots -- compared to just 18 on goal for the Islanders -- but Evgeni Nabokov had an answer for each and every chance the Flyers could muster and New York left the building with a 1-0 shootout victory.

Make no doubt about it: Nabokov got exactly the result he deserved tonight, but he's probably the only guy on either team who can say that after this one.

The Flyers top line really poured it on tonight. Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr combined for 16 shots on their own, and at even strength, they each had an on-ice shot differential of at least 20. Dominating stuff, really, and the only reason several pucks didn't find the back of the net was Nabokov.

Special teams were even more impressive. The power play was (obviously) held off the board for the first time in seven games, but it was still a potent unit that generated quite a few chances. The penalty kill was even better, at times getting more chances while shorthanded than the Isles were getting with the extra man.

But none of it matters, thanks to Evgeni Nabokov and the shootout. It sucks, but there's really no sense in getting upset about it. Some times, you just have to tip your cap to a guy and move on. Hey, look on the bright side: Second shutout of the year for Ilya Bryzgalov!

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I contemplated changing the whole tone of this recap after the Flyers put four goals on the board. However, in the end, the goals in the third really don't matter. That game really sucked. 6-0 after two periods does not a good hockey game make.

Yes, the Flyers didn't roll over and die completely, that's a good thing. Yes, Claude Giroux and Jagr got on the board, that's awesome.

Bottom line, all bad officiating aside, the Flyers did not have their A game today. They started flat, grew flatter and got flattened through two periods.

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