This Flyers recap is like an old Sesame Street episode.

It’s brought to you by some numbers and letters.

The numbers: 964, 12, 34, and 0, and the letter Y.

Lets get to it:

964

I know, you assumed I’d start with the 12, since it matches a level of futility only seen once in the history of this once-storied, now adrift franchise.

And don’t worry, we’ll get to it, and give it it’s full attention.

But, as people who appreciate the sport of hockey, what Keith Yandle accomplished Monday is pretty incredible.

Let me say up front, that Yandle has not been a good player for the Flyers this season. In fact, if Ryan Ellis was healthy and in the lineup, there would have been very valid shouting from fans across all social platforms to bench Yandle for Cam York.

York hasn’t wowed anyone at all with his play since his call up and regular stint in the lineup, but he hasn’t been a disaster either. He is far enough along in his development where he can be in an NHL lineup and not hurt the team, and at the same time, still learn a lot about how to play the game at the highest level.

So, if Ellis were in the lineup and things were this bad for the Flyers, those calls for a change from Yandle to York would have been deafening, and I can’t argue they wouldn’t have been right.

That’s not what happened. Ellis’ injury left enough room for Yandle to still play every game this season for the Flyers. Some would still argue he should be out for Egor Zamula. But Zamula showed in his brief stint, that he’s not ready for prime time at all. Considering there is no other defensive prospect close to NHL ready, would you rather play Nick Seeler or Kevin Connaughton than Yandle? I think Connaughton might be the best of the three, but it’s so slim a margin that keeping Yandle in the lineup in pursuit of an NHL record makes no difference.

Yandle tied that record last night – the most consecutive games played by one player in league history. It was his 964th straight game, tying Doug Jarvis’ record that stood for more than 36 years.

Barring an unexpected injury or illness, Yandle will become the NHL’s all-time ironman Tuesday night in New York, when the Flyers play the Islanders.

Again, quality of play this season aside, Yandle deserves credit for being so consistent, reliable, and durable over so long a period of time. This is not easy to do. Yes, it pokes away at your skills over time. If you remember when Cal Ripken was chasing down Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record, there was a four year stretch from 1992-95 where Ripken had three down years, and many pundits felt it was the streak that was wearing him down.

It wasn’t until after he broke the record that he had a Ripken-esque season in 1996 and then after he personally sat out the final game of the 1998 season, ending the streak on his own following two more down seasons, he had an excellent 1999 season as a platoon player.

This isn’t to say that Yandle is about to find the fountain of youth, now that he’ll have accomplished this feat that has been 13 years in the making, but its more to recognize what it takes to do what he’s done. It’s especially hard for a defenseman to do, because they tend to play more minutes and are constantly under pressure in their own end, including physical pressure being applied by relentless opposing forecheckers.

And while his play on the ice has left a lot to be desired, he has had a positive influence in the Flyers locker room in what is an otherwise trying season.

The Flyers got him to this record. There are no promises beyond that. So, it’s a record Yandle might not hold on to for very long since Arizona Coyotes forward Phil Kessel is only 24 games behind him (San Jose Sharks legend Patrick Marleau is 54 games behind Yandle, but he is expected to retire at the end of this season, taking him out of the mix).

Yandle may not have very long to enjoy owning a piece of NHL history. And doing it during such a disastrous year probably takes a lot of the shine off of it, so, for a couple days, it’s worth giving the guy a standing ovation as an appreciation for his dedication and perseverance in the sport (sounds like the Flyers Masterton Nominee for this year, no?) –

12

OK. Here’s the number. Following another loss Monday at Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers have now lost 12 straight games. It’s only a winless streak because there were three overtime/shootout losses in there, but still, it ties a record for the longest in franchise history (the other was in 1998-99… and that was a playoff team).

It’s the longest winless streak in the NHL this season and tied for the seventh-longest in the NHL since they eliminated ties following the 2003-04 season. Lose to the Islanders on Tuesday and the Kings on Saturday and it will match the second longest streak in that span.

The Flyers have not won a game since Dec. 29 in Seattle. Both Bob Saget and Betty White were still with us at that point.

They haven’t won a home same since Dec. 18 vs. Ottawa. They haven’t won in regulation since Dec. 14 vs. New Jersey.

And if you look ahead at the schedule… finding an ending for this is hard to do.

Yes, they played the Islanders tough last week, but lost both games. Not to mention, the Islanders suddenly look like the team they were the last two seasons, having gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.

Then the Kings come to town, and the Kings have slowly and quietly climbed their way back into the race for the Pacific Division title.

Winnipeg comes to town for the final game before the All-Star break on Feb. 1. They’ve been mediocre since returning from the holiday COVID pause (3-3-2) so that could be a spot for the Flyers.

After the break there’s a home-and-home with a Detroit team that is vastly improved and then another gauntlet of top teams in Minnesota, New York Rangers, Colorado, Toronto, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Florida.

You can see this getting more and more historic, can’t you?

The Flyers battled Dallas Monday. They played hard. They were hitting. Blocking shots. They were trying. But, as per usual, there was no offense.

Missing eight players is a thing, I get it, but for the second straight home game, the only goal was scored on a lucky bounce on what was an intended pass that redirected itself onto the net off of a defending player:

That’s it. That was the offense. Too often, that is all the offense. On this 12-game skid, the Flyers have been outscored 47-23. Per game that’s 3.92-1.92. You can’t expect to win with either number.

34

That’s the number of saves Carter Hart had vs. the Stars. The two goals he allowed were a breakaway goal by Roope Hintz, and the game-winner by Jacob Peterson which he got a piece of, but it still just tucked under the crossbar by a smidge for a goal.

Otherwise, Hart was rock solid.

He’s been the standout for the Flyers during this brutal time. For the most part, he’s played well enough to win games, and he’s definitely keeping the Flyers in games.

It’s the one positive for fans to take away from all this losing. Hart could have had a meltdown like he did a season ago, where he was a mess every time he started. Instead, he’s narrowed his focus, is controlling what he can control and basically letting the chips fall where they may. He has to know this isn’t on him.

I asked him about that specifically after the game.

“I think everybody just has to worry about doing their job,” Hart said. “My job is to stop pucks. Other guys jobs are to get in on the forecheck, or whatever it may be. We all just have to worry about doing our jobs and being in the right place. Working as hard as we can, that’s all that we can control. You can’t worry about all the other things that we can’t control,  or the outcome of the game.”

It’s the right approach for him in a lost season. The Flyers should be relieved about that.

0

There were no penalties in the game. Neither team had a power play chance. This happens more frequently in today’s game, but it’s also indicative of a Flyers team that lacks an identity as a hard team to play against. If this was just a one off, I wouldn’t even mention it. But, like I said, it happens more and more in today’s game, and if you are a bad team in today’s game and aren’t taking any penalties or drawing any penalties, well, then you really aren’t hard to play against.

Y

That could be for Yandle. Or York. Both of whom we discussed. Or for “You” the fans, who once again stayed away from the arena in droves:

Granted that photo was taken 10 minutes before start time, and yes, those sections did fill in more as the game went on – but not much.

Announced attendance was 14,868 (tickets sold). But it wasn’t close to that. The drop count was similar to last Thursday against Columbus where it was estimated to be about 9,000 in attendance.

Maybe the fans stayed home to play the new Gritty video game?

The Y could also stand for Yeo, who was told he was going to be the interim coach for the remainder of the season, despite this latest losing streak. He’s got some help coming though. The Flyers are hiring John Torchetti to be one of Yeo’s assistants on the bench. The two have been intertwined before. Torchetti replaced Yeo as head coach of the Houston Aeros, then an affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, when Yeo was hired to take over as the Wild head coach. Torchetti was later added to Yeo’s staff as an assistant coach in Minnesota before taking over for Yeo after he was fired a little more than midway through the 2015-16 season. Torchetti was the interim coach of the Wild that season and got them to the playoffs, but they lost in the first round. He was not retained.

Or Maybe the “Y” should be expanded to “Why,” as in, “Why must this season continue to go on for three more months?

[the_ad id=”103880”]