Brayden Schenn

TAMPA, Fla. - The Flyers' latest loss - a 4-2 defeat to the scuffling Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday - was a microcosm of their forgettable season. They fell behind early and it proved fatal. They again came up short in a decisive third period. They continued to struggle on the road, dropping to a head-scratching 4-12 this season. The Flyers entered a quirky five-day schedule break after Monday's loss, a defeat that pushed them into 12th place in the Eastern Conference and further behind in the playoff race.

FOR THIS ONE night, no rah-rah, Herb Brooks, win-one-for-the-gipper speech was necessary. The standings are plastered on the wall in the Flyers' locker room - and their position was clear. A loss against the 14th-place Buffalo Sabres would have landed them in 14th place. "We all can read," Ilya Bryzgalov said. "We all can count. " You could count the ways the Flyers were different on Sunday night, from Claude Giroux's inspired first shift to Max Talbot's determined penalty-killing to Brayden Schenn's game-saving backchecking in the third period.

The Flyers held a lengthy team meeting after another loss Saturday, and no more discussion was required before Sunday's 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres at the Wells Fargo Center. "We all can read, and we all can count," goalie Ilya Bryzgalov said. They certainly could count to three, which was the length of the team's losing streak entering Sunday's game. In a condensed season, the last-place Flyers needed a victory in the worst way. They had not won since last Saturday. Coach Peter Laviolette stayed with Bryzgalov in goal on the second night of back-to-back games.

When the Flyers and Penguins pass one another on the crowded street of an NHL season, someone usually sticks out his skate or jabs a stick into an opponent's abdomen. The teams came into the league together in 1967 and have had a healthy dislike for each other ever since. And after three playoff series since 2008, that dislike has blossomed into palpable hatred. Thursday, at the Wells Fargo Center, is the third of their four meetings this season. - How do these teams despise one another?

ONE GAGGLE of cameras and audio recorders surrounded Wayne Simmonds. Another was quickly forming around Danny Briere. Brayden Schenn kept his head down and walked toward his stall in the corner of the Flyers' dressing room, distanced from the bright lights and eager microphones. Schenn, 21, entered Monday's action tied for 29th in NHL scoring with 19 points - ahead of such bigger names as Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Ovechkin and even Simmonds. Yet no player ahead of him on that list - especially no Flyer - has received less attention and fanfare this season.

Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, the Flyers will become the NHL's first team to hit the midway mark of this lockout-shortened season. With that, it's time to hand out something that continually got me in trouble growing up: a report card. OFFENSE: B+ After collecting just seven points in his first 13 games, Flyers captain Claude Giroux is close to breaking into the NHL's Top 10 scoring list thanks to newly returned forward Scott Hartnell and linemate Jake Voracek. Giroux has 15 points in his last 10 games and looks like the Hart Trophy contender most pegged him to be. Voracek (eighth in NHL with 22 points)

Even Simon Gagne was surprised by his effectiveness in his emotional return to the Flyers on Wednesday night. It's not that Gagne doesn't believe in his ability to still be a productive player. But he wondered if he would be rusty from a long layoff and a long plane ride that didn't get him from Los Angeles to Philadelphia until the wee hours in the morning. "I was worried about the way I was going to feel, especially traveling the whole night and not sleeping a lot of hours," Gagne said Thursday at the Flyers' practice facility in Voorhees.

For the sixth time this season, the Flyers have a chance to reach what coach Peter Laviolette calls the "starting point" - the .500 mark. The Flyers (9-10-1), winners of three of their last four games, finally can reach the international symbol of mediocrity if they can defeat improved Toronto and their old pal, James van Riemsdyk, on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center. "We had a couple of chances to go to .500 this year," captain Claude Giroux said. "We have to make sure we get those wins.

For the first time this season, the Flyers won when they didn't have a lead heading into the third period. Winger Wayne Simmonds completed his second Gordie Howe hat trick - a goal, assist, and fight - in the last three games as he scored on the power play with 11 minutes, 3 seconds left, keying the Flyers' 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. Skating by the crease, Simmonds took a slick backhand pass from Brayden Schenn (two goals) and rammed in his seventh goal of the season.

For the first time this season, the Flyers won when they didn't have a lead heading into the third period. Winger Wayne Simmonds completed his second Gordie Howe hat trick - a goal, assist, and fight - in the last three games as he scored on the power play with 11 minutes, 3 seconds left, keying the Flyers' 5-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. Skating by the crease, Simmonds took a slick backhand pass from Brayden Schenn (two goals) and rammed in his seventh goal of the season.