Flyers further see glaring need as post-Fletcher era begins with loss to Pens originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
A day after the beleaguered Flyers made a massive change in management, it was more of the same on the ice.
With injuries, a suspension and four rookies playing up front, John Tortorella’s offensively-challenged club lost to the Penguins, 5-1, Saturday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
A 2-1 game turned lopsided in the final 5:36 minutes as the Penguins scored three goals — two at even strength and one an empty-netter.
Kieffer Bellows scored the lone goal for the Flyers (24-31-11), who are completely starved for offense. They went 0-3-0 on their road trip with just three goals.
Aside from Bellows, Justin Braun was the only other Flyer to record a point Saturday.
The Flyers have lost 15 of their last 19 games (4-11-4), a stretch in which they’ve scored a meager 2.00 goals per game.
Before March had arrived, the Flyers’ season became solely about evaluation for the future. Not just with the roster, but also in the front office. On Friday morning, the Flyers fired president of hockey operations and general manager Chuck Fletcher.
The game against rival Pittsburgh was Danny Briere’s first as interim GM.
The Flyers are 0-2-0 against the Penguins (33-22-10) and have been outscored 9-2. The two clubs meet once more on April 2 with another matchup in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins currently hold one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card spots.
More: What was as costly as anything in Fletcher’s tenure with the Flyers
• As Tortorella and the Flyers have admitted all along, they have a real talent deficiency.
Further addressing that in the offseason through the entry draft and other avenues will be crucial for whoever takes over the club’s hockey ops.
The Flyers are also hoping young prospects like Cam York, Tyson Foerster and Cutter Gauthier continue to develop. The quicker they take strides, the quicker the Flyers start seeing more talent within their roster.
With new management, the club’s roster could see considerable changes in the summer. The final 16 games are valuable audition time for just about everyone.
• In 14 games without Travis Konecny this season, the Flyers are 2-9-3 and have scored just 1.86 goals per game.
Without Konecny (upper body), Cam Atkinson (neck) and Sean Couturier (back), the Flyers’ offensive woes are amplified.
Emergency call-ups Foerster and Elliot Desnoyers played a second straight game Saturday as wingers Brendan Lemieux and Wade Allison were still banged up.
Foerster committed a penalty and drew a penalty.
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• Carter Hart made 27 saves on 31 shots.
A power play goal from Sidney Crosby broke a 1-1 tie in the second period.
The dagger was a redirection by Jason Zucker that just barely squeezed through Hart with 5:36 minutes left, cushioning Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-1.
Penguins netminder Casey DeSmith stopped 31 of the Flyers’ 32 shots.
Owen Tippett had eight of the Flyers’ shots. He continues to show major promise.
• Tony DeAngelo served the second game of his two-game suspension for spearing Lightning forward Corey Perry.
• The Flyers will be busy as they return to Philadelphia. Along with a seven-game homestand, they’re searching for two new hires: a president of hockey ops and a GM.
The seven-game stretch at the Wells Fargo Center begins Tuesday when the club welcomes the Golden Knights (7 pm ET/NBCSP).
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