Miscues costly as Flyers fall to Lightning

WITH TIME fleeting in the final frame, Matt Carle rounded the net to set up one last push for points. He just forgot one thing: the puck.

And as the puck slipped off his stick, handing Tampa Bay's J.T. Wyman an early Christmas present in front of an empty net, likely so too did the Flyers' chances to catch the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference.

Carle could do little more than raise his head to the rafters in disbelief.

For the Flyers, it didn't matter that Scott Hartnell added a goal with 1:13 to play - just a few seconds after Carle's slip-up. Hartnell's 36th goal of the season only cut the Flyers' hole to one goal.

And with a minute to play, that was one too many.

Despite outshooting Tampa Bay by nearly a 3-to-1 margin and erasing a two-goal deficit in the second period, the Flyers came up small against the 22nd-place Lightning in a crushing, 5-3 loss on Monday night. It was one of the Flyers' three remaining games against non-playoff teams.

"It's gut-wrenching," Carle said. "I want to apologize to my teammates and fans . . . That was a big two points tonight."

Trailing by two goals in the second, the Flyers - masters of the comeback - appeared to have Tampa Bay right where they wanted them. The Flyers entered the night leading the league with eight comeback wins when trailing after two periods.

They pinned Tampa Bay's frantic defensemen in their own end and pounded 42-year-old goaltender Dwayne Roloson until he relinquished the lead with goals by Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds.

Not even a timeout by Tampa Bay coach Guy Boucher could hold off the Flyers' relentless pursuit. The Lightning, the only team the Flyers have ever held without a shot in a period back in 1999, netted only two shots in the second.

Except, it was all for naught. It didn't matter that Simmonds scored his first goal in 17 games. Or that Read kept pace with Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog for the rookie lead with his 21st tally of the season. Or that Kimmo Timonen collected his 400th career NHL assist. Or even that Brayden Schenn finally passed Chris Pronger in points with his assist.

In March, only the final score matters.

"It wasn't for a lack of trying," Danny Briere said. "Mental lapses hurt us more than anything else. You lose a lot of energy trying to come from behind all the time."

Martin St. Louis split the Flyers' defense only 2:27 into the third period to give the Lightning a lead they wouldn't cough up again. Tampa Bay added an empty-netter with 4 seconds left to seal it.

"That's why you play the game," Ilya Bryzgalov said. "Sometimes you can shoot 70 shots and not score a goal and the other team can shoot like 10 times and score five times. You can't just pick one reason why [we lost].

"We had an opportunity, but we didn't use it tonight. We've got the cut the mistakes and improve our game."

The loss almost assuredly locks the Flyers into the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning they will likely open the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on the road against the Atlantic Division's second-place finisher.

According to PlayoffStatus.com, the Flyers now hold more than an 85 percent probability - based on strength of schedules and previous results - to finish fifth.

While three of the Flyers' six remaining games are against the Penguins and Rangers, Pittsburgh could move six points north of Philly with a win against the Islanders on Tuesday night.

In fact, the Penguins could knock the Rangers off their perch as the No. 1 seed for the first time since Dec. 31 with a win on Tuesday night against the Islanders and a Rangers loss in Minnesota. Either way, the Flyers have a cushion - four points between themselves and the Penguins in fourth place and a six-point edge on the sixth-place Devils.

For Bryzgalov, it was the first time he had allowed more than two goals in a game since March 1 - even though his teammates' turnovers deserve most of the blame.

Both Bryzgalov and Bernie Parent had their franchise record streak of consecutive games while allowing two or fewer goals snapped at exactly 11 games. Parent went from Dec. 8, 1974, to Jan. 4, 1975 - and the Flyers won the Stanley Cup that season.

Now, likely without a need to scramble for playoff positioning, the Flyers briefly can take one foot out of the pressure cooker before the playoffs begin on April 11. They can enter the postseason on their own terms.

"We'll see how we end the season," Bryzgalov said. "At least we clinched the playoff [spot]. We've got to prepare ourselves for the playoffs."

According to a report, a limping Ilya Bryzgalov had X-rays taken postgame at the Wells Fargo Center. Bryzgalov, 31, starting for the 19th time in the last 20 games on Monday night, appeared to be moving strangely in net as early as warmups. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren issued a statement saying Bryzgalov is "fine" and uninjured.