Sunday, March 6, 2011Posted: 3:08 p.m.5:03 p.m.
By Tim PanaccioCSNPhilly.com
BOX SCORE
NEW YORK -- Chris Pronger said not enough Flyers are on the same page right now.
Different chapter, maybe, quipped team captain Mike Richards after Sundays 7-0 emasculation by the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
It was the Flyers' most one-sided regular-season shutout loss in 17 yearsJan. 6, 1994 when they were pummeled, 8-0 at Dallas.
Whats the captains message to his club right now?
It was a beat down and a half, Richards said. But its something we have to bounce back with a better effortdont start pointing fingers. Be confident in the group.
NHL
Odie Sean ODonnell said it best. We have to put this behind us, have a good practice tomorrow and move on to Tuesday.
The Flyers were late on plays, shoddy on others, outworked, outhustled, outdefensed
When youve had a season and had a lot of success, sometimes you get away from the program, what the coaches are harping on doing and let things slide in there and that could have been evident before this skid and very evident during it, Richards said.
You can take all the Xs and Os you want, but you eventually have to play the game, and play with emotion and really, just play hockey.
Ryan Callahan had nearly as many goalsfouras Harry Callahan had bullets in his 357 Magnum (in the movie Dirty Harry). He blew the Flyers away. Elias confirmed it as the worst Flyers loss at MSG ever, eclipsing the 5-0 defeat on Mar. 21, 2007.
Whatever mojo the Flyers had back in January and early February has vanished. They are a ghost of their former selves. Incredibly after four straight defeatssix in their last eight (2-5-1)they still hold the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
But the margin of error for Peter Laviolettes club is gone. Pittsburgh trails them by two points, but also trails by two wins. Same thing with Boston.
Either could conceivably tie the Flyers in pointsbut not winsin their next outing.
Were at the stage now where its a test of our character, Pronger said. Were facing some adversity and weve got to show our mettle here and understand its going to take some hard work to get out of it and everybody on the same page.
We are still in a good position, but I dont think anybody in this locker room are happy with the way were playing right now. Its up to us to figure out a way to come together. Weve got to play as a team.
Some guys are on one page, some guys on another page. Weve got to get all on the same page to make sure that were playing a system and structure that the coaching staff put in place. Right now, were not.
Theyre not even on the same score sheet.
Right now, were having a difficult time getting out of a rut, Laviolette said. So today was not a good day. Youd like to take the opportunity, come in and take a step in the right direction where youre walking on air with points and youre happy with the way we did it. And we didnt do that.
It was pure chaos, start to finish. Brian Boucher didnt survive, either. He got yanked 6:28 into the second period after four goals. Rookie Sergei Bobrovsky finished.
Jeff Carter was spared from playing because of a re-occurrence of the flu. Lucky him, eh?
One of the huge reasons the Flyers got to the No. 1 seed this season has been their defense. Lately, however, there have been breakdowns and miscommunications galore in front of their goalies. Its killing them.
Two goals from Callahan in the first period saw defensive gaffes. On the games opening shift, Braydon Coburn simply gave up on Brandon Dubinsky behind the net, allowing the Rangers forward to wheel around and backhand a puck across the crease for Callahans tip-in. Callahan had outworked Claude Giroux in the slot, too.
Thats not being on the same page.
The Rangers made it 2-0 at 12:58 off transition from four-on-four hockey to a power play. This time, Pronger allowed Callahan several seconds too many uncovered as he measured Boucher, calculated how much room he had up top, then roofed the puck under the crossbar for his second goal.
Thats not same page, either.
You dont know when youve hit rock bottom, Boucher said, hoping this is it. When we start having two good periods and playing better, doing things like that, then you can start to see some good signs. Obviously, its not good right now. Weve lost four in a row. Theres been some games that are forgetful.
We have to realize weve won 40 games so far and we have to get back to the drawing board and figure how weve done that. It was through hard work. We need to get back to doing that and start winning some games.
One thing the Flyers desperately needed they couldnt geta break. In the first periods final seconds, Andreas Nodl got a two-on-one rush to the net with Giroux. Alas, Henrik Lundqvist just got a piece of his pad on Girouxs tip before the buzzer.
The game went to hell in the second period when Mats Zuccarello sped past Pronger at 4-on-4 and ripped one to the far side at 5:06. Callahan notched his hat trick soon after as he stripped Kris Versteeg of the puck on the breakout. That made it 4-0.
Callahan wasnt finished, either. He turned his skate on a power play deflection in the final period for his fourth goal.
Just to rub it in.
I guess when it rains, it pours, Callahan said.
Right now, the Flyers are drowning in their own mistakes.
A couple deep breaths never hurt anybody, but were in a stretch drive here, Pronger said. The teams that were playing now were in the exact same position we were in last year. Theyre hungry and need wins desperately. Weve got to understand that.
All these games coming up are playoff implication games. They mean a tremendous amount and they need to mean something to us, too.
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net
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