IS BUYING CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
GLENDALE, Ariz. - In a pregame talk last night, Flyers coach John Stevens told his players: Good teams don't lose two in a row.
But that's just what happened as the Flyers dropped a 3-1 decision to the Phoenix Coyotes in front of a sparse crowd at the Jobing.com Arena.
Defenseman Keith Yandle scored a controversial power-play goal with 9 minutes, 41 seconds remaining to snap a 1-1 tie.
Adrian Aucoin barely kept the puck in at the blue line - the Flyers protested that it had gone out of the zone - and fed Matthew Lombardi on the right side. Lombardi then found Yandle in the left circle, and he fired a shot past Ray Emery.
After the game, Stevens was baffled by the lack of a call.
"We thought it was offsides. One lineman had his arm starting up to call it offsides, and the other guy waved it off," Stevens said. "It's unfortunate. If they would have just waved it off right away . . . but you still have to kill the penalty. It looked like the guys on the ice maybe relaxed for a second.
"It's unfortunate it ends up being the difference in the hockey game."
Emery, shelled in a 6-3 loss to San Jose the previous night, played brilliantly in defeat.
For the Flyers, whose power play was abysmal, the loss was extra painful. Blair Betts left the game in the first period with a dislocated right shoulder and will be sidelined about a month.
The team also was missing Darroll Powe, who injured his left shoulder against San Jose on Friday.
Phoenix was credited with the final goal when Chris Pronger was charged for slashing Shane Doan as he was trying to shoot into an empty net with 40 seconds to go. Doan couldn't get the shot off, but was given the goal.
"I didn't even think it was a penalty, let alone a goal," Pronger fumed. "He said I got him on the hands. I disagree. I got him on the stick. I thought it was a good play."
In their last two losses, the Flyers were a combined 0 for 8 on the power play (0 for 5 last night), while their opponents were 4 for 10, including 2 for 5 last night.
"We're not desperate enough, and we need to find that desperate level of play," Stevens said.
"We have to do a better job, first of all, of staying out of the penalty box," said Scott Hartnell, who scored on a breakaway for the Flyers' lone goal. "We've taken too many penalties in the last five or six games."
On the controversial goal that made it 2-1, Emery said "guys stopped," when they thought it was offsides, "but it's no excuse. . . . I know it didn't look like he [Aucoin] thought he kept it in because he kind of stopped for a second."
Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at 215-854-5181 or scarchidi@phillynews.com.
