Flyers Vs. Capitals: ‘It's a Problem Here,' John Tortorella Says of Offensive Woes

'It's a problem here' — Flyers fall short in 3rd period of another tight game originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers missed out on a nice opportunity to finish with a winning homestand as they lost to the Capitals, 4-1, Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

John Tortorella's club went 2-3-0 on its five-game stretch in Philadelphia. There were positives for the Flyers, but Wednesday night's game was very winnable.

Kevin Hayes scored the lone goal for the Flyers, who dropped to 1-4-4 when entering the third period in a tied game.

"We don't really have a full-on superstar on this team that's going to get two or three points a night," Hayes said. "In order for this team to win, with the injuries that we've had — we're getting guys back now, which is nice — but with the injuries that we have, it's tough to have mental lapses. I think that's a big thing we're harping on. It gets frustrating when you play two great periods and you kill off a bunch of penalties and you're still tied."

Washington's Dylan Strome scored the game-winning goal on an impressive redirection from the circle. The marker came a little under halfway through the final frame.

The Flyers had a third-period power play but couldn't convert the equalizer. Hayes came close on the doorstep.

Alex Ovechkin sealed things up with two empty-net goals.

The Flyers (9-13-5) haven't won consecutive games since Nov. 5-8. They're 2-10-3 over their last 15 games, a stretch in which they've scored 2.13 goals per game.

"We work our fricking bags off every night, we work so hard," Travis Konecny said. "There's a lot of credit to be given out, but we hate losing. Just tired of looking at the positives all the time."

On the homestand, their wins came over the Avalanche and Islanders.

The Flyers are 0-1-1 against the Capitals (12-12-4) this season. They face Washington two more times: Jan. 11 and 14.

Similar to the Flyers, the Capitals have dealt with injuries to a number of key pieces this season.

• Overall, an OK homestand for the Flyers.

Considering they were the walking wounded and had lost 10 in a row coming into this stretch, they'll take a pair of victories.

They got healthier and were completely outplayed in only one of the games — the 4-1 loss to the Lightning.

However, the Flyers need to show more growth with execution late in tight games. They're in games, but that's no consolation prize.

"We just struggle generating offense. It's a problem here," Tortorella said. "Some is confidence, some is we just struggle offensively.

"We give up 11 scoring chances tonight. We lose another hockey game. We develop only 11. We can't find a way to score the next goal in the third period. ... It's who blinks first in the third period. We did, we lose the game."

• In his 20th start, Carter Hart made 23 saves on 25 shots. He gave his team another real good chance.

The Flyers put Washington on four power plays. The Capitals scored on one of them.

"If we just keep doing things the way we should be, playing hard, playing to our strengths, being hard to play against, eventually things are going to go our way and we're going to get a few wins here," Hart said. "We've just got to stick to the process."

Charlie Lindgren, in Washington's net for the injured Darcy Kuemper, stopped 29 of the Flyers' 30 shots.

• James van Riemsdyk returned to the Flyers' lineup after missing the last 20 games recovering from a fractured left index finger.

The Flyers entered Wednesday 31st in the NHL with 2.46 goals per game and 30th in power play percentage at 16.1, so they could use van Riemsdyk's offensive ability.

JVR committed a penalty in the second period that led to a game-tying T.J. Oshie power play goal.

For the Flyers, their man advantage has shown improvement as the team has gotten healthier. It's 4 for 9 over the last three games after going 2 for 34 in the previous 12 games.

Hayes scored the game-opening goal Wednesday on a first-period power play as the Flyers went into first intermission with a 1-0 edge. The 30-year-old center has 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 27 games. Imagine where the Flyers would be if Hayes wasn't scoring over a point per game?

The Flyers led at first intermission for the second straight game. They led at first intermission just two times in their other 25 games.

• Tanner Laczynski was placed on injured reserve Monday and Egor Zamula is likely headed to the Phantoms. More on both here.

• The Flyers open a four-game road trip Friday when they visit the Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).

Subscribe to and rate Flyers Talk

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | YouTube