Captain Claude Giroux wants the Flyers' never-say-die attitude to kick in earlier in games, not just when their backs are against the wall.
It was an all-too-familiar scenario for the Flyers against Montreal on Saturday as the visitors kept clawing their way back into the game, but never enough to find the equalizer.
Twice the Flyers overcame two-goal deficits to get back to within one, but ultimately it wasn’t enough as they lost 5-4 to the Canadiens and had their three-game winning streak snapped (see instant replay).
“Looks like when the game is coming to an end, we pick it up a little bit,” said Giroux, who scored for the Orange and Black in the third period. “But we have to find a way to play like that 60 minutes. It’s tough to play aggressive like that for a full game, but if we do that we’re going to be a dangerous team.”
It was more of the same for a Flyers team that overcame deficits in its last three games. The Flyers came from behind to beat Carolina, Detroit and the New York Islanders over the course of their winning streak.
“We’re playing some good hockey,” said Giroux. “We’re feeling good about our game. Even if we’re losing, we’re happy. If we play like we play tonight, we’re going to win a lot of hockey games.”
The Flyers (6-6-1) outshot Montreal 38-17 and managed to beat Carey Price four times. It’s the first time this season Price has given up more than two goals.
But the Flyers simply didn’t have enough in the tank to add a fourth come-from-behind victory to their streak.
Down 4-2 early in the third period, Giroux got one back for the visitors while playing with the man advantage.
With Andrew Shaw in the penalty box four minutes for a double minor — his high stick on Shayne Gostisbehere drew blood — Giroux scored his third goal of the season at 9:16. The Flyers captain simply threw the puck on net from distance, and Price never saw the shot with Wayne Simmonds acting as a screen.
“It sucks to say but it’s kind of been the identity of our team so far this year,” said Gostisbehere of the team’s never-give-up personality. “We’re coming back a lot and it just shows the fight in our team right now.
“We just put our head down and go to work. It’s that never-say-die attitude. You never let it sink in your head that you’re gonna lose. So you just go out there and give it your best.”
After Giroux’s goal, the Flyers had more than 10 minutes to find the equalizer, but instead conceded a shorthanded goal to Tomas Plekanec in the second half of Shaw’s double minor.
“The fourth and fifth were tough goals for our team to give up,” said head coach Dave Hakstol. “We just couldn’t get on the right side of this thing in the second and third periods even though our effort was really good.”
Down 5-3, Hakstol’s men still refused to roll over.
With less than four minutes remaining in the contest, Travis Konecny reduced the deficit once again. The 19-year-old scored his third goal of the season — and second in as many nights — to give the Flyers new hope.
With the Flyers again on the power play — this time Torrey Mitchell was in the box for holding — Konecny scored by deflecting Ivan Provorov’s shot from the point past Price.
The Flyers finished 2 for 5 with the extra skater.
“That’s what you expect,” said Hakstol of his side’s effort. “That’s Philadelphia Flyers hockey. That’s unquestioned. We’re disappointed we didn’t get two points. It doesn’t matter at the end of the day if you feel good about your effort. We’re disappointed leaving the building.
“We needed to get one more tonight to get a point and we couldn’t quite do it.”
Only a late penalty to Michael Del Zotto, who was making his season debut after missing the first three weeks with a left-knee injury, killed the Flyers' end-of-game momentum.
The 26-year-old Del Zotto finished with an assist, two shots and seven hits.
Michal Neuvirth, who made just 12 saves on 17 shots, blamed himself for the team’s sixth loss of the season.
“Tough giving up an early goal again,” he said. “I didn’t face a lot of shots so it was tough to stay in the game. It was one of those nights where everything ended up in our net.”
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