Flyers' Umberger finally can take a deep breath

WE CREATE these games knowing full well that we cannot defeat them. That they will grind us down, suffocate our souls. A sheet of ice, a circular piece of rubber and, 10 moving bodies, two pipes: the variables are endless. When you find yourself on the wrong side of their odds the way R.J. Umberger had - shift after shift, night after night - you sometimes feel as if they will destroy you.

Relief. Validation. Maybe a big middle finger to lady luck. That's what you saw Thursday night as Umberger glided into the corner and raised his arms and basked in a catharsis 50 games in the making, the puck sliding to a stop behind the crease, the horn blaring, his teammates swarming.

This was a minute and a half into a second period that had begun with the Flyers killing their sixth consecutive penalty minute. At the time, they seemed to be teetering on the precipice of a fourth straight defeat. The game was scoreless, but the Sabres were outshooting them, 14-6, and the Wells Fargo Center had all of the energy of a stagnant pond. What changed? Who knows. Maybe the same thing that changed more than a year ago, when Umberger scored his seventh goal in 18 games and then did not score again. Not for 50 games, 783 shifts, 542 minutes of time on the ice. Not until Sam Gagner saw him cutting down the left side of the ice all alone and laid a perfect pass on the tape.

"I've had slumps in my career," Umberger said later, "but that was a different animal."

Slumps: They are the same in every sport. The emotions, the thought processes, the reactions. A part of them is pure mathematics, the law of large numbers in play, a reminder that life can be fickle and cruel, that much of it is outside of our control. But they are beasts that prey on the conditions that lurk beneath the surface, and, in Umberger, the slump found a veteran who was already beginning to feel himself slide, to ask himself questions.

When he arrived for his second tour of duty with the Flyers before the 2014-15 season, he was a steady veteran with five 20-goal seasons in nine years in the league, a capable scorer acquired in a deal that sent popular winger Scott Hartnell to Columbus. Umberger battled with abdominal and groin pain throughout the 2014-15 season, and his ice time began to slip. He finished with a career-low 15 points and did not score a goal in his final 18 games. He arrived at training camp this season feeling healthy and optimistic about his ability to regain the form the Flyers had expected when they reacquired him, but heading into Thursday's win over the Sabres, Umberger was averaging just 9:50 in ice time per game, by far the least action he's seen in any of his seasons. He had been a healthy scratch in five consecutive games.

"You know, 11 years in this league, you see these things and you've got to be a pro," Umberger said. "You've got to come to the rink looking for any kind of fun, anything you can do. You've got to remember you are playing hockey still. It is still a sport. You're still having fun out there. This is not life or death. It's a game. You've got to get back to that."

As the Flyers celebrated snapping a three-game losing streak, player after player gave a nod to Umberger's silent struggle.

"He takes it hard," goalie Steve Mason said. "It was a beautiful goal."

It came in a huge spot. The Flyers' recent skid had dropped them to 13th in the Eastern Conference, six points behind a logjam at the bottom of the playoff standings where five teams entered the night with 61 or 62 points. The Sabres had dominated the Flyers for the first 21 minutes of the game. Mark Streit spent four consecutive minutes in the penalty box, drawing a second straight interference penalty while emerging from the box at the conclusion of his first. Jake Voracek was then called for tripping. The Sabres had a goal disallowed early in the second period.

And then Umberger broke free on the left side of the net, and Gagner found him, and Umberger was overcome with a feeling a year in the making. Less than a minute later, Michael Raffl outraced everybody along the left boards and fed Brayden Schenn in front of the net to make it 2-0. Six minutes later, Wayne Simmonds snuck a wrister inside the right post. By the end of the second period, it was 4-0. On the fourth line, Umberger again found himself able to breathe.

"Especially with a veteran guy, it's a tough position," Mason said. "He's a proud guy."

Afterward, he spoke in a relieved tone that contained a hint of a veteran's embarrassment at having to answer for such a drought. He smiled. He dipped his chin. He shook his head. You could almost see him unclench in front of your eyes.

"Glad to get it over with," he said. Another rueful smile, and he walked out of the room.

@ByDavidMurphy