By Mary Cunningham
The look on Flyers goalie Steve Mason’s face said it all.
After the Flyers squandered a 2-1 lead late in yesterday’s game at Boston and lost 3-2 in OT, Mason (photo above) looked like he had just found out his dog had died.
How do the Flyers regroup after having the Bruins down and out on Saturday — with a chance to cut the deficit for a playoff spot to just two points — only to see everything go up in smoke?
The only bright spot for the Flyers is that they won’t have much time to brood about it: They play the Devils in New Jersey just 25 hours after a disastrous 3-2 overtime loss at TD Garden in Boston.
Now five points out of contention rather than two, the Flyers have just 16 games to make up ground not only on the Bruins but Florida and Ottawa as well.
The Flyers have lost some heartbreakers this year but this one takes the cake. There was a regulation loss with only 11 seconds left against Anaheim that comes to mind, but the consequences of that meltdown weren’t nearly as bad as this one.
And to make it all the more galling, Brad Marchand not only scored the tying goal with 14.1 seconds left in regulation time but the winner in OT (left).
All this might have been avoided if not for a Wayne Simmonds penalty with two minutes to play, essentially giving the Bruins a six-on-four until Marchand’s goal.
The Flyers gave a gutsy effort in a place where they almost never win.
Now, there are two ways to go from here: Pack up the tent and go home or vow to up their resolve to an even higher level.
Their prospects for making postseason play have taken a hit but it will be interesting to see how they react over this final month.
There could be jobs hanging in the balance — from the players to the coach. If they still believe in themselves, this is the time they have to show it.
