Flyers get flattened by Panthers, 5-0

For the Flyers, it was a classic "trap" game Monday night against the lowly Florida Panthers.

It was their last game before a long holiday break, and human nature suggested they would be looking ahead to their mini-vacation.

Maybe that explains why they looked so flat, so listless, in their stunning 5-0 loss to the Panthers at the Wells Fargo Center.

It was just the Flyers' second regulation defeat in their last 15 games (10-2-3), and it ended their five-game winning streak, one that included victories over Eastern Conference contenders Boston, Pittsburgh, Montreal and the New York Rangers.

The Flyers will go into their break with a sour taste because of their worst overall performance of the season. They practice Tuesday and then aren't on the ice again until Sunday - and don't play again until next Tuesday in Vancouver.

Tomas Vokoun, owner of a 12-12 record before the game, had to make just 26 saves as he notched his fourth shutout of the season.

Flyers rookie Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been superb during most of the season, has a 4.20 goals-against average in his last three starts. He allowed four goals and was replaced by Brian Boucher late in the second period.

The Flyers were trying to go into their Christmas break with seven regulation losses. You have to go back to 1979, the year of The Streak, to find a season in which the Flyers had fewer regulation defeats at the holiday break.

In the 1979-80 season, the Flyers put together an incredible 35-game unbeaten streak. They were 22-1-9 (53 points) at Christmas.

The Flyers took a 22-7-5 record into Monday and were on a 6-0-1 run, one that was in jeopardy after Florida scored a pair of goals late in the opening period to build a 2-0 lead.

The first goal was a fluke. Bill Thomas fired a shot from along the right goal line that bounced off defenseman Oskars Bartulis' leg and past Bobrovsky with 2:33 left in the first. Bartulis was in the crease at the time.

Evgeny Dadonov made a sensational play to make it 2-0, beating Matt Carle to a puck that bounced off the side boards in the Flyers' end, darting past the defenseman and tucking a shot past a sprawling Bobrovsky with 44 seconds to go in the first period.

Despite making just his second start in the last six games, Bobrovsky entered the night tied for third in the NHL in wins. With Monday's loss, he is 15-5-3.

Florida, which stood 27th overall in the NHL entering the game, made it 3-0 when Shawn Matthias pounced on a second-period rebound that bounced off the right post and knocked it into a mostly vacant net. Boos echoed around the arena.

The boos continued as Mike Santorelli tapped in a Steve Bernier crossing pass to make it 4-0 with 6:48 to go in the second, sending Bobrovsky to the bench and Boucher onto the ice. The fourth goal was scored because defenseman Sean O'Donnell slipped as he was about to control the puck along the side boards. Bernier gathered the loose puck and fed Santorelli in front.

The Flyers looked sluggish for most of the first two periods, during which they were outshot, 24-16, en route to their first regulation loss since a 3-0 defeat to Boston on Dec. 1. They repeatedly lost board battles and were beaten to loose pucks.

It marked just the Flyers' second loss this season to a team that was under .500 when they played it. They dropped a 3-2 decision to Anaheim (2-4-1 at the time) on Oct. 21.