In the last five weeks, the Flyers have just six wins in 16 games. All of those victories were against teams currently out of a playoff spot.
The Flyers, who have seven games left, have not beaten a team currently in a playoff position since Feb. 20, when they defeated the New York Rangers, 4-2. Since then, they are 0 for 6, losing to Phoenix, Buffalo, the Rangers, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Boston.
On Tuesday night, they face a Pittsburgh team that has stayed within striking distance of first place despite playing a good portion of the season without its two best players, injured forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins scored a 2-1 shootout win over the host Flyers on Thursday.
Led by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh has won four straight - and set an NHL record by winning all four in shootouts.
The Flyers, who have been atop the East since Jan. 8, were given their seventh day away from the ice Monday in the last 22 days. They have had 10 nongame days in that span, and have not been on the ice for seven of them, though they have been in the weight room.
After the Flyers' latest loss, winger Kris Versteeg said, "I don't think we had the 60-minute effort we needed."
That's been the team's common refrain over the last five weeks as they have talked about their opponents playing with more urgency and desperation.
If the Flyers don't find it soon, they could tumble to fourth in the Eastern Conference. The first three teams are the division winners, regardless of their point totals. In other words, if the Flyers finished second in the Atlantic, they would tumble to fourth even if they had more points than the other two division winners.
