The Philadelphia Flyers looked like they were on their way to the playoffs this season, which would have been a surprise.
The Flyers were holding onto the third spot in the Metro division but are now 1-6-3 in their last 10 and no longer in a playoff spot. It has been an epic collapse for the Flyers, but how did it happen?
Three reasons for Philadelphia Flyers collapse
#1 Goaltending
The Philadelphia Flyers' goaltending has not been good this season, in large part due to Carter Hart being part of the Hockey Canada scandal and no longer on their roster.
However, this season, the Flyers are allowing 3.23 goals per game, which ranks 21st in the NHL. Philadelphia is on an eight-game losing skid, allowing at least four goals, including nine to the Montreal Canadiens.
It has been a frustrating season for Samuel Ersson in net and the Flyers goaltending.
#2 Power play
The power play has been a major issue for the Philadelphia Flyers this season. Philadelphia's offense has not been well this season, but their power play has been disastrous. The Flyers power play ranks dead-last in the NHL at 12.6% which is a problem.
The best teams in the league take advantage of their power play opportunities, while Philadelphia doesn't at all. The power play and lack of offense have been a problem and caught up to their lack of offense down the stretch.
#3 John Tortorella
The final reason is the coach John Tortorella and the players being sick of him. Tortorella coaches hard and is seen on the bench yelling at his players. He's a tough coach to play for, and perhaps he has lost the locker room, and the players no longer want to play for him.
However, Tortorella is still defending his team, despite their struggles recently.
“They need to answer the questions,” Tortorella said of his team after the blowout loss.
“I don’t question their effort because it’s been a strong group all year long,” he added. “I’m frustrated for them because this was rock bottom tonight for us and I hate to see us at this time of year be playing this way after all the good minutes we’ve put in throughout the year.”
Whether or not Tortorella remains the coach past this season remains to be seen.