Flyers still clinging to playoff spot despite ugly, untimely loss to Red Wings

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They failed on both fronts in a 6-3 loss at Little Caesars Arena, and their cushion on third place in the Metropolitan Division got smaller with three games left to play. They remain two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost 5-0 to the Buffalo Sabres, but are now just one point ahead of the New York Islanders, who downed the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs at home 5-3, getting perhaps that new-coach bump from Pete DeBoer. Some of the penalties the Flyers took were avoidable. Veteran David Perron surely knew what he was doing in instigating Matvei Michkov just two minutes into the first period, drawing a dunderheaded retaliation penalty on the second-year Flyers forward. Alex DeBrincat’s slick power-play goal just 21 seconds into the man advantage gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. Just before Michkov’s penalty, the Flyers couldn’t have drawn up a better opportunity to take an early lead when Trevor Zegras found Tyson Foerster alone in the slot. Foerster missed the net, though, preventing the Flyers from immediately discouraging a Red Wings team that lost a late lead to Columbus on Tuesday before ultimately falling in a shootout. While Michkov’s infraction wasn’t all that surprising considering he leads the Flyers in penalty minutes (71) and is tied for fourth in the NHL in minors (32), the penalty that really did them in was from an unlikely source. During a four-on-four situation to start the second period with the score tied at 1, Owen Tippett seemed to lose track of where he was on the ice, skating backwards and smack into goalie John Gibson just 15 seconds into the frame for an easy call by referee. The Flyers were already about to be down a man thanks to a questionable series of calls to close out the first, when Porter Martone and Rasmus Ristolainen were issued minor penalties in what looked like a standard post-whistle scrum while the Red Wings lost only Lucas Raymond. Moritz Seider promptly converted on a five-on-three to give the Red Wings the lead back with a rocket from the top of the circle, and Larkin’s goal at 1:50, with Detroit still on a five-on-four power play, earned them a two-goal cushion. A short-handed goal by Larkin at 4:56 of the second was the exclamation point on the Flyers’ special-teams woes. The most distressing aspect of the Flyers’ performance, though, is that the push-back and desperation that they’ve exhibited so often over the last few weeks really wasn’t there. Martone’s power-play goal at 9:25 of the second period brought the Flyers back to within 4-2, giving him six points in his first six career games, but the Flyers managed just two more shots in the period after that. What could have been a turning point to get back into the game was wasted. There wasn’t much juice from the Flyers to start the third, either, allowing the Red Wings to pad their lead on goals from Patrick Kane and Larkin, who completed the hat trick. One key Flyers player that seems to have disappeared of late is, surprisingly, Travis Konecny, who has just one assist in his last four games. Noah Cates, who has been one of the more productive Flyers coming out of the Olympic break, has just one assist in his last five games, too. Perhaps the game was just a one-off. The Flyers may have been due for a stinker. Even in some of the recent games they dropped, they played relatively well, including a 4-2 loss to the Red Wings at home on April 2 in which they greatly out-chanced Detroit. Thursday marked the first time the Flyers lost by more than two goals in a month, with their last a 6-2 loss at home on March 9 against the New York Rangers. But the timing, of course, is less than ideal, because it won’t get any easier on Saturday in Winnipeg against a Jets team that’s making a late playoff push themselves. The Jets beat the Blues 3-2 in St. Louis on Thursday, so they’ll still be alive when they host the Flyers. The Flyers have generally responded well to losses this season. After that aforementioned Rangers game last month, for example, they went on a 5-0-1 run to get back in the playoff conversation. They still control their own destiny, and would secure third place in their division with wins over the Jets, the Carolina Hurricanes at home on Monday, and the Montreal Canadiens at home on Tuesday. Winners of three straight entering Thursday, they still just can’t win four in a row. That hasn’t happened since Feb. 6-12, 2024. Fortunately for them, they don’t have to for the rest of the season. But they’re going to have to quickly recapture what they had going for them for most of March and early April if they’re going to push this over the finish line, and earn what would likely be a first round matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. As impressive as their late push has been, now they’re really about to get tested. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Kevin Kurz is a staff writer for The Athletic NHL based in Philadelphia. He previously covered the New York Islanders and the San Jose Sharks for 10+ years and worked in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Follow Kevin on Twitter @KKurzNHL