WINNIPEG, Manitoba — After going down 2-0 to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre, the Flyers were tasked with the impossible: coming back from a two-goal deficit to win the game.
It’s a feat they haven’t pulled off all season long, and Game No. 81 was no different.
In their penultimate game of the season, the Flyers were shut out, 4-0, by the Jets as goalie Eric Comrie denied all 34 shots on goal to lead his team to victory. Two of those Jets goals came on the power play, as the Jets went 2-for-5 on their man-advantages.
The Flyers’ offensive attack was flat all game, failing to generate many high-danger chances or take advantage of the looks they did create. Third-line center Morgan Frost and right winger Owen Tippett combined for seven shots on goal and had several quality scoring opportunities, but they weren’t able to find the back of the net.
Looking to narrow the gap with two minutes left in the game, the Flyers pulled rookie goalie Felix Sandström while on the power play for a two-man advantage. However, the Flyers couldn’t find a way to score at 6-on-4 and winger Kyle Connor scored an empty-net insurance goal.
The warm-and-fuzzy feeling the Flyers established last week with wins over the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins cratered on Monday with a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, then collapsed on Wednesday.
Sandström turned aside 23 of 26 shots but is still seeking his first NHL win.
Can’t change their ways
On April 17 in their 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, the Flyers gave up a goal when defenseman Rasmus Dahlin caught them in a line change. He sprung winger Anders Bjork for a breakaway, scoring on Sandström. That the Flyers couldn’t properly execute a simple line change in the final month of the season was embarrassing. That they couldn’t properly execute a line change in the second-to-last game of the season against the Jets was equally, if not more, embarrassing.
Five minutes and 13 seconds into the first period, the Flyers were called for too many men on the ice, sending the Jets’ 15th-ranked power play to the ice. Ten seconds after Nate Thompson lost the face-off, Connor passed the puck to winger Pierre-Luc Dubois at the side of the net, who turned around and scored on Sandström to put the Jets up, 1-0.
Don’t kill my vibe
The Flyers’ penalty woes bled into the second period when defenseman Ronnie Attard was called for hooking roughly six minutes in. Then, seven seconds after the draw, the officials sent defenseman Ivan Provorov to the box for high-sticking to give the Jets 1:53 of 5-on-3 time.
With both of his top-pairing defensemen in the box, interim coach Mike Yeo opted to utilize Thompson, defensemen Travis Sanheim and Egor Zamula on the two-man disadvantage. The Jets had good looks, including two shots wide and two shots on goal, in the first minute of the 5-on-3, but the Flyers held on. However, the Jets capitalized on a winger Nikolaj Ehlers’ wrist shot from the left face-off circle to put them ahead, 2-0.
Powerless play
With less than five minutes remaining in the first period, winger Zack MacEwen drew a high-sticking penalty to send the Flyers to their first power play of the night. However, the Jets’ penalty kill looked more threatening offensively than the Flyers’ power play did with one less attacker on the ice. A minute and 20 seconds into the power play, Connor had a dangerous shorthanded look that was ultimately blocked by Provorov.
Roughly 20 seconds later, the Jets were in the Flyers’ zone again. Defenseman Brendan Dillon received a pass as a late-arriving man, but Sandström denied his wrist shot. The Flyers generated more scoring chances on their second power play of the night in the second period. However, they relinquished another shorthanded opportunity when Connor had a breakaway down the right wing. The Flyers’ league-worst power play went 0-for-4 on Wednesday night and is 3-for-46 dating to April 1.
What’s next
The Flyers head home to play against the Ottawa Senators on Friday at 7 p.m. for their final game of the season.
