Were Flyers fans justified in throwing objects onto the ice in Game 3?

Did Flyers fans throw objects onto the ice Monday night during the Flyers’ embarrassing 6-1 Game 3 loss because they are awful fans?

Or because their team quit on them?

Capitals head coach Barry Trotzsays the Flyers just stopped playing when things got tough.

“Obviously we pulled the game away and they weren’t interested in playing anymore,” the coach, whose Washington squad now leads 3-0, said, “and so we ended up on the power play for the last seven or eight minutes. I just thought it wasn’t good for the game, plain and simple. We’re on national television I don’t think it displays our game very well.”

After a spectacular pregame light show that interactively gave each fan a wristband that lit up during the performance, fans littered the ice with the bands after a scrum toward the middle of the third period cost the Flyers 25 penalty minutes.

Ryan White was too busy being penalized for his own behavior to notice the behavior of the Philly faithful, but he empathizes with them.

“I didn’t realize they got warned or whatever,” White said.”But I mean, whatever. I love the Philly fans. I’d be doing it too.”

The incident, paired with an emotional tribute to founder and owner Ed Snider paints a dim picture of Philadelphia sports fans, one already tainted due to incidents involving thrown objects, booing and intentionally vomiting on 11-year old fans. But that’s a very very small minority.

“I think it’s just unfortunate that there were a few people not acting right and it ended up costing their team,” Caps winger Jason Chimera said, looking back at a two-minute minor penalty assessed to Philly after fans refused to listen to announcer Lou Nolan’s plea for dignity.”Guys are not trying to lose out there. They’re trying their best; they’re trying to win. It’s unfortunate for a few fans to ruin a good night.”

The Flyers have announced that there will be no light show in Wednesdays Game 4, and no chance for redemption from Philly’s misbehaving fans. But there is a shot at redemption for the players, albeit a slim one.

“Obviously, we’ve got to be hungrier, we’ve got to play a lot more desperate,” Wayne Simmonds said Monday.”Like someone said, ‘we’re hanging on to our lives here.’ We’ll never give up in this dressing room it will never be over. Keep fighting till it’s over. We know we have to come out we have to be extremely hungry next game, and we got to bring it.”

Game 4 begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on CSN in Philly.