While there may be panic on the streets, Flyers fans should rest assured it has not spread to the Orange and Black themselves.
They’re smart enough to realize this is a long, long haul. Still, Peter Laviolette and Co. wouldn’t mind snapping out of a two-game losing streak, highlighted by Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Blues.
“We have 82 games to build this and get it to where we want to be,” said Laviolette, following successive home losses to Washington and St. Louis by a combined 9-4 count. “We need to continue to work on things in practice. As we grow we’ll get strong by doing that.”
The biggest blunders in Saturday’s loss resulted from a breakdown between new goalie Ilya Bryzgalov and his defense. After a horrid start, in which the Flyers dug a quick 2-0 hole, they appeared to be recovering. Twice they drew within a goal, only to twice see Bryzgalov turn it over when no defenders came to assist.
“It needs to be a simple three words, so everybody understands everybody and we’re all on the same page,” said Bryzgalov. “Then we won’t have this problem.”
If a 4-0-1 start obscured the fact they have so many new pieces trying to mesh, the past two games were a grim reminder.
“Well, we’re only seven games in,” said Chris Pronger. “I don’t think anybody’s pushing any panic buttons. We knew it was going to be a work in progress.”
Show support for fight vs. cancer
The Flyers are asking fans to wear lavender today (7 p.m.) when the Flyers host the Toronto Maple Leafs.
As part of the NHL’s partnership with the Hockey Fights Cancer Initiative, Flyers players will wear decals on their helmets and the team will honor a cancer survivor prior to the game. There will be cancer-awareness groups stationed throughout the arena.
The Flyers travel to Montreal on Wednesday before returning home to host Winnipeg on Thursday.
