Joseph Woll kept the Flyers in it Thursday night at the Rangers, but a 1-6-1 road record is now packed for Calgary on Sunday.
Philadelphia lost 3-2 at Madison Square Garden. Woll stopped 25 of 28 shots, and Noel Acciari and Simon Benoit scored, but it wasn't enough for a team that can't find points away from home.
The Flyers sit at 4-10-4 with 12 points, 30th in the NHL and 8th in the Metropolitan Division. Rick Tocchet's group has lost two straight and is 4-5-1 over its last 10.
The road trip started Thursday, and so far it looks like the rest of the season away from Philadelphia.
Home hasn't been great either, to be fair. The Flyers are 3-4-3 in their own building, which is mediocre, not a disaster.
The road is where the season is slipping. One win in eight tries is a number that wrecks any playoff conversation before it starts, and the Flyers haven't found an answer. Here is how Rick Tocchet's team needing a win in Calgary looked coming off Thursday.
Why Calgary on Sunday shapes the trip
Thursday followed the usual script. Benoit scored his first goal as a Flyer, as covered in Simon Benoit's first goal with Philadelphia, and Acciari added the other. The Flyers still left New York empty-handed.
The goal differential tells the larger story. Philadelphia has scored 39 and allowed 61, a gap of -22 that points to a team being outplayed on a regular basis, not one dealing with a few bad bounces.
Calgary won't be a soft landing. The Flames are 5-3-0 at home, and they know the Flyers arrive with the worst road mark of any team in this conversation.
Sunday is the second stop of the trip, and a loss would make this a real slide. A win would be the first sign that the road version of this team can be fixed.
For a team 30th in the league, there isn't much margin left. Two points in Calgary won't change the standings, but they would change the mood in the locker room.
Whatever happens, the Flyers have to find a way to win away from home soon. Right now, the schedule is not helping them.
Quick hits
MINNESOTA WILDMichael Russo just reported that forward Michael McCarron went down the tunnel late in tonight's 4-1 win over the Sharks. There's no update yet, and the Wild will want good news.
BUFFALO SABRESThe Sabres beat the Blue Jackets 5-2 at home tonight, with Josh Norris scoring twice. That's a loud answer in a game that mattered.
MILESTONEThe Anaheim Ducks' official account confirmed that Leo Carlsson has reached 100 NHL assists, and he got there tonight in Calgary. That's a big number for a young center.
CALGARY FLAMESThe Flames announced that Kevin Bahl is out with a lower body injury and won't play tonight against the Ducks. They lose a defenseman before puck drop.
FLORIDA PANTHERSNicolas Cloutier reports that Nikita Kucherov could earn as much in Montreal as he would in Florida on the same contract, and possibly more. That tweaks the money story.
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