"We weren't good enough," coach Peter Laviolette said. "There were a few bright spots, but not enough . . .. I think we were inconsistent with our game. The energy was lacking at times on different lines for different parts of the game."
The Flyers remain one point ahead of Washington in the East, and four points in front of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. All three teams have four games remaining.
"Going into the playoffs, we have to get our game back on track," Timonen said. "You have to motivate yourself for these last four games and bring your 'A' game. The last five or six games, obviously it's been up and down. A few guys bring it, a few guys don't. We have to get on the same page and find our game again."
"That sense of urgency I don't think is there for 60 minutes, and it's going to need to be come playoff time," goalie Brian Boucher said.
Playing their second game on back-to-back nights, the Flyers allowed two late goals after Jeff Carter converted a slick Nik Zherdev pass to tie it, 2-2, with 15 minutes, 42 seconds remaining. Zherdev had been a healthy scratch in the previous 12 games, but Laviolette called him one of the team's best forwards in Friday's game.
"Speed," Timonen said, when asked what the Flyers lacked. "In this league, if you don't skate, you won't win any games. The games we have played bad, the speed and skating have been missing - and I think it was missing tonight, too."
"It's frustrating, the [same] things night in and night out," captain Mike Richards said. "I just don't think we're being strong enough to score goals, or intense enough to score goals. And a couple of bad bounces cost us a couple of goals, too."
The Flyers have held first place in the East since Jan. 8, but they can fall to second if Washington beats visiting Buffalo on Saturday night.
