Flyers Drop 5th Straight

In what has become a an annoying trend lately, the Flyers softness in their own zone cost them another game, dropping one this time to the Eastern Conference worst Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 5 - 3. Marty St. Louis had a goal and two assists for the 'Ning as he continues to haunt the Flyers no matter how bad Tampa is these days. Mike Richards had 2 assists for the Flyers.

The announcers would have had you believe that lucky bounces cost the Flyers this game. To be sure, there were some lucky bounces, but typically, you make your own luck and I thought the Flyers allowed Tampa to be lucky.

Take the first goal; Jim Vandermeer outright whiffed on a clearing attempt/pass behind his net that can only attributed to lack of concentration. The whiff ended up a turnover which ended up in our net. By the way: Vandermeer almost committed the same exact mistake in the neutral zone after the Flyers had pulled their goalie. I don't believe the Flyers can go into the playoffs with Jim Vandermeer as one of their top 6 defensemen and expect to be successful.

The backbreaking goal was the Martin St. Louis goal just after Tampa had scored on the tail end of a power play. Kimmo Timonen blocked a pass from Lecavalier, but did not get great help from the forwards that were out there (RJ Umberger, I'm looking at you). The puck went straight to Dan Boyle, who, while avoiding a passively drifting Umberger, lasered a pass to St. Louis, who deftly tipped the puck passed Biron. I found Umberger's lack of effort in furthering the clear or playing defense in that particular play disturbing.

All in all, I thought the team definitely played better, but there are still deadly lapses in their game. Maybe the passing of this weekend will have a positive effect on this team as the Peter Forsberg situation becomes clearer. Regardless, the more the Flyers screw around, the further they are falling in the Eastern Conference standings

Did you notice?:

- Steve Downie's shorthanded goal was a great shot. He will probably play PK in the future, because of his puck-hunting skills and underrated hockey smarts.

- Prospect Ryan Parent played in place of Derrian Hatcher, who needed to have his knee drained. Hatcher having knee problems makes sense; he's been terrible lately. Parent didn't look particularly out of place and I can't help but wonder if the Flyers aren't showcasing Parent for a trade, because allegedly, Alexandre Picard is the Flyers' best defenseman at the AHL level (Picard is also a known Stevens pet project).