Flyers aren't looking like a team headed to Stanley Cup finals

SAY WHAT you want, but I'm looking at this as a glass half-empty.

Some people will give the Flyers a lot of credit for fighting back from an early, three-goal deficit before losing, 5-4, in a shootout to the Washington Capitals last night at the Wells Fargo Center.

I'll say given the magnitude of the game and considering the Capitals were without Alex Ovechkin, what the heck were they doing going down 3-0?

Considering this was an opportunity to put a strong claim to the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, how could the Flyers battle all the way back to take a lead only to allow Washington a late goal to force overtime?

Something is not quite right with this hockey team.

It hasn't been for a while, and now, with just 10 games remaining in the regular season, time is getting a little tight to correct it.

It's not that the Flyers are falling apart. They're consistently getting points. With the exception of a recent four-game losing streak, they still are consistently winning more games than they are losing.

But you can cook numbers. You can manipulate them to make bad things look not so bad and good things better than they are. Sometimes, the best test is the eye test. That's the one the Flyers can't pass right now.

I remember the team that dominated the first half of the season, that came out of the All-Star break looking like a cinch to get back to the Stanley Cup finals.

I'm wondering where that team went. Maybe I'm being a little unrealistic, but I expected more of this team.

If this important game with Washington truly was the start of the playoffs for the Flyers, they don't appear to be ready.

Even with last night's shootout loss, you can look at the standings and say the Flyers are playing winning hockey. Only the Vancouver Canucks have more than the Flyers' 97 points. But are the Flyers playing Stanley Cup-winning hockey? Because honestly, this late in the regular season, that's what you are looking for from this hockey team.

You want to see that higher level of play, one that answers beyond a doubt that the Flyers are Cup worthy. All that we are getting now are scary questions.

Can a team win a Stanley Cup if it gives up three goals in the first 22 minutes?

Can a team win a Stanley Cup if it has to yank the goalie because he surrenders goals softer than cotton?

Can a team win a Stanley Cup if, after it fights back from a huge deficit to take a lead, it gives a demoralized opponent life by letting it score with 3 minutes remaining?