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Captain Coots Says Flyers Were “Awful” in 6-2 Home Loss to the Rangers
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Maybe no playoffs for the Flyers after they got their doors blown off on Monday night, losing 6-2 to the Rangers on home ice.
“(Dan Vladar) has battled hard for us all year, won us big games, and we pissed away a game here tonight in front of him,” said Sean Couturier post game. “Didn’t help him at all. We were just awful.”
You never know what you’re going to get from this team on a given night. They came out of the Olympic break looking flat in Washington, then ripped off three wins in a row, beating a good Boston team and taking out the Leafs in Toronto for the first time since 2019. Then they participated in one of the worst hockey games ever, a 3-0 home loss to Utah, beat the Penguins in Pittsburgh coming out of the trade deadline, and returned home to get smoked by the last-place Rangers.
At least they keep you on your toes!
“D zone, not protecting the middle of the ice, it’s something we’ve always talked about,” said Rick Tocchet. “Which we’ve done a good job since the break, but tonight there were guys – you have to stop in the slot and protect the middle. We gotta box out better. They got six goals, 4-5 were in the slot or in front of our net. That’s the game. The PK wasn’t good and we took a couple of stupid penalties, things like holding penalties, you can’t (take those). But I know the perception is bad; I still think the forwards are working hard, to give them some credit, but focus, yeah, lack of focus in your D zone, that’s what happens.”
They’re seven points back with 19 games to play. It was four at one point recently, maybe a flicker of hope, then a gale force wind came through South Philadelphia to extinguish the proverbial candle. They have Warshington at home on Wednesday, then at Bobby Brink’s Minnesota Wild, home to Columbus, and a three-game road swing that includes a back-to-back against Quitter Gauthier and then the LA Kings. They still gotta play Dallas, Carolina, Boston, and the Islanders again. It’s gonna be a tough one.
PLAYOFFS? Probably not.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com