Skip to content
Flyers
Link copied to clipboard

Flyers still have lots of ground to make up

Five wins in seven games and at least a point in five consecutive contests mean little if the losses come against teams well ahead in the standings.

Flyers' goalie Steve Mason stops the puck.  (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Flyers' goalie Steve Mason stops the puck. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

Five wins in seven games and at least a point in five consecutive contests mean little if the losses come against teams well ahead in the standings.

Still nine points out of a playoff spot with only 30 games to play, the Flyers (22-22-8) on Sunday can't afford a repeat of Thursday night, when they squandered a two-goal, second-period lead against the Islanders and lost in a shootout. Their likelihood of playing postseason hockey is slim enough as is.

Wins in regulation carry added importance against teams such as the Washington Capitals (28-15-10), straddling third place in the Metropolitan Division and the top wild-card spot. Sunday's game at the Verizon Center is the first of a four-game road trip that forward Wayne Simmonds called the "biggest of the year."

"We've got to win all four," Simmonds said after practice Saturday. "We've got to make sure we go period by period. We've got to make sure we're winning our one-on-one battles and just playing the game smart."

The Flyers also need their two top players to return to the score sheet. For just the second time all season, Jake Voracek and Claude Giroux failed to score a point in consecutive games.

Giroux hasn't scored or assisted on a goal in the last three games. Voracek, whose 58 points are tied for the NHL lead with Patrick Kane, hasn't even recorded a shot on goal in the last two games. He admitted he "didn't feel very good physically the last two games."

"The third period was a little better last game," he said. "Sometimes it happens when you get a little tired, the line doesn't go as much as you want it to go. I've been in those situations a lot of times during my career.

"For me, it's to find a way not to have those slumps for a long time. That's what I was doing this year all season long, so I don't see the reason why I shouldn't have five shots on net against Washington."

Breakaways. Defenseman Kimmo Timonen skated alone Saturday for the second consecutive day, again for about 40 minutes. He will continue the routine until the team returns from its road trip, at which point he hopes to practice. . . . Braydon Coburn, Timonen's longtime defensive partner, practiced with the team for the first time since fracturing his left foot Jan. 12. He is accompanying the Flyers on the trip, so it's plausible he could return during it.