Flyers Notes: No turning point against Penguins

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Claude Giroux said at the Flyers' morning skate on Thursday that their showdown against the Penguins represented a turning point in their season.
 
Instead, the Flyers played a brutal second period that cost them dearly in a 4-1 loss to the Penguins (see game recap).
 
So now what?
 
“Well, obviously, that is how I felt,” the Flyers captain said. “I think if we won that game it would have been a big turning point. It didn’t happen, so.”
 
Now they have six days off before meeting the Rangers. It is expected Craig Berube will skate them hard, partially because the team’s overall conditioning is lacking.
 
“We have a lot of time to look at tapes and what we are doing wrong,” Giroux said. “If we play 60 minutes of responsible, disciplined [hockey], we will be fine. We’ll start winning games.”
 
Crosby says
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby predicted a “desperate” Flyers club.
 
Well, that didn’t show up until the third period.
 
“They were desperate,” Crosby said. “You could tell they really wanted one, they had some good looks. We got sticks on them, and they fortunately missed a couple good chances. Our mindset was good.
 
“We were patient, and even with that happening, I felt like we still stayed pretty composed. The penalties weren't undisciplined. They were penalties that were in battles, they happen, and the PK, like I said, did a good job.”
 
Crosby thinks the Flyers are better than their 1-7 record shows.
 
“They've got a lot of skill, they're fast,” he said. “That second-period goal with a couple seconds left gave them a big boost. You could tell they came out with a momentum. It was a big reason why they were able to draw those couple of penalties and carry the play for at least the first 10 minutes there.
 
“They've got a lot of weapons, and they did a good job of forcing us to make mistakes there, especially in the first 10 minutes."

Second period
Berube was asked what was said in the dressing room between the second and third periods. The Flyers were badly outplayed in the second.

“You could probably guess what was said,” Berube said when asked, adding he prefers to keep those things internal.

Another suggested Berube didn’t like what he saw in the second.

“Did you,” Berube asked.

Loose pucks
The Flyers won 66 percent of faceoffs over the second and third periods (31 for 47) after winning 8 of 20 in the first period and just two of the first 14 in the game. They finished the game at 58 percent (39 for 67). ... They had 38 shots that never made contact with the net. Yep, the gang that couldn’t shoot straight. … Defenseman Nick Grossmann has five blocked shots.

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