Home Sweet Nuthin: Flyers Lose Fifth in a Row at Wells Fargo Center

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Is it too late for the Flyers to tank their
way out of home ice advantage in the playoffs? I kid, of course, but
the situation in South Philly hasn't been pretty lately. On Thursday
night, the Flyers lost their fifth straight game in the Wells Fargo
Center, a 1-0 shutout at the hands of the soon-to-be-eliminated Atlanta
Thrashers. The folks in the playoff ticket sales department can't be
thrilled. Those OTL points don't sell as well as W's... 

The lone bright spot in the night was another strong performance from
Sergei Bobrovsky. Bob didn't have to face a lot of shots (just 22), but
he managed to stay sharp throughout and stop some tough ones. A puck
directed in off the skate of Nik Antropov was the only "shot" to beat
him. Notes after the jump. 

•The Flyers generated some quality scoring opportunities, but
couldn't solve Thrashers goalie Chris Mason despite piling 43 shots on
him. 

•The importance of shot totals (or lack thereof) was on display
again: Per the postgame notes, it was the 15th time the Flyers have
registered 38 or more shots, and their record in those games is just
7-6-2, with five of the losses being shutouts. Hockey's a sport where
"snakebitten" is a reality, and the goal that beat Bobrovsky being the
sole marker in a game the Flyers dramatically outshot their opponent is a
good illustration. It was mind boggling that some of these shots didn't
go in. It was part bad luck, but there were definitely some
opportunities squandered by not getting the puck over Mason's
outstretched pads. 

•Evander Kane frustrated the Flyers again, and not just by earning
his fourth point in as many games against them this season when
assisting on the game's lone goal. Kane also drew two penalties, with
one in particular involving some flair for the dramatic. Soon after
catching Andrej Meszaros with his butt end while throwing his hands up
to avoid a Big Mesz, cutting Meszaros' nose in the process, Kane would
throw his own head back on a subsequent contact by Meszaros for a
penalty. 

•Great night for the PK unit, which absolutely smothered the
Thrashers over six power plays. Unfortunately, the Flyers' power play
unit was almost as impotent and just as ineffective. 

•Jeff Carter had a great opportunity to tie the game in the waning
seconds, but couldn't get it past Mason after a Mike Richards shot
caught iron. 

The loss wasn't the end of the world, nor cause for ritual sharting,
but it's an exercise in optimism to look for the bright side in getting
shut out. Overall, they outplayed the Thrashers for much of the game,
put a lot of shots on net, and got a very good showing from their rookie
goalie. Fortunately, they won't have to play Atlanta in the playoffs,
because that team just has their number lately. But the Flyers aren't
out of the woods yet, failing to win consecutive games for the fourth
straight opportunity. It's looking likely the they will enter the
playoffs with some questions to answer, and not just the annual one
between the pipes.

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