Dave Hakstol takes blame for Flyers' fifth straight loss

EDMONTON - Rookie coach Dave Hakstol pointed a finger at himself for the Flyers' 4-2 loss Tuesday night in Edmonton.

With 14 minutes left, the Flyers, playing their second game in as many nights, looked exhausted as they were clinging to a 2-1 lead. The Oilers were swarming the net, as they had done for most of the game.

In hindsight, Hakstol said after Edmonton rallied for the victory, he should have called a timeout and given his team a chance to recharge.

"That's not on the guys; that's on me. That's where it starts," Hakstol said.

The Flyers, loser of five straight, have to accept a huge part of the blame. They allowed Edmonton to spend most of the night in the offensive end. Edmonton outshot the Flyers, 49-22, and had an 87-41 domination in shot attempts.

The 49 shots were the most the Flyers had surrendered since Dec. 28, 2010, when they allowed 49 in a 6-2 loss at Vancouver.

Losing goalie Michal Neuvirth deserved a better fate. Quite simply, he was the best player on the ice.

Neuvirth made 45 saves, marking just the fifth time in his 174-game NHL career that he's made that many in a game. Before Tuesday, the last time Neuvirth faced Edmonton he made 49 stops for Buffalo in a 3-2 loss last season.

"We go up 2-1 in this game, Neuvy is standing on his head, and he's giving us a chance to win and we just don't show up in the third period, when we should have played our best hockey," winger Wayne Simmonds said.

In the four games Neuvirth has played from start to finish this season, he is 2-2 with a 1.52 GAA and a .959 save percentage.  Both of his wins were shutouts.

Breakaways. Ryan White's second-period goal gave the Flyers a lead for the first time in 174:45 of play going back to late in the second period of the Oct. 29 game at New Jersey….The Flyers play Johnny Gaudreau, the pride of Gloucester Catholic High, and his Calgary Flames on Thursday; it's the fourth game of their five-game trip.