Flyers coach Craig Berube pulled Steve Mason (above) in favor of Ray Emery after Mason allowed two goals on 16 shots.
By Sam Bush
The Flyers held a team meeting following last night’s 4-1 loss at Calgary.
But their problems cannot be solved in a meeting, a seance or an intervention.
They are simply bad — and getting worse.
“Obviously we know the situation right now with where we’re at,” Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn said. “At the end of the day, it all comes down to pride a little bit, and obviously we didn’t have much of that tonight. Didn’t put enough on the line tonight. You get that type of result. It’s embarrassing for all of us obviously. Guys are still playing for jobs, and you want to play for your teammates. Unacceptable, obviously, the game tonight.”
Rookie Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and two assists, and Karri Ramo made 26 saves to lead the Calgary Flames to a the win.
The 21-year-old’s three-point night helped move Calgary (39-27-5) past the Los Angeles Kings into third place in the Pacific Division. It also put him at 56 points, one ahead of Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg for the rookie scoring lead.
Claude Giroux ended his 10-game goal drought when he scored for the Flyers (29-29-15), who have one win in their past eight games (1-4-3), three in 13, and nine on the road all season, the fourth fewest in the NHL. Philly is 10 points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with nine games remaining.
The Flames scored twice in a span of 1:42 late in the second period to take a 2-0 lead.
Picking off an errant pass from Schenn in the neutral zone, Dennis Wideman stepped over the Flyers blue line and worked a quick give-and-go with Jiri Hudler before scoring his 13th goal between the legs of goaltender Steve Mason at 16:15.
“You’d love to have it back,” Schenn said. “Saying that, mistakes happen. You’re not going to make the perfect play every time. I wish I could have that play back. I’m not going to beat myself up over it too much. I know better and I’ve got to make a better play.”
Flyers coach Craig Berube pulled Mason in favor of Ray Emery after Mason allowed two goals on 16 shots.
“Yep, I was (surprised),” Mason said. “But at the same time, trying to make a momentum move. We’re at the point where you try anything to get a win.”
With stops on Gaudreau and Sean Monahan seconds apart, Emery gave the Flyers an immediate boost, and they cut Calgary’s lead in half less than a minute later.
After scooping up the puck, Jakub Voracek drew checkers while cutting through Calgary’s zone before sending a pass back across his body to Giroux, who quickly snapped a shot by Flames goalie Karri Ramo with 8.8 seconds remaining in the second for his 19th goal, first since Feb. 26.
But 3:09 into the third and on the power play, Gaudreau gained the Flyers zone before sending a pass into the slot that Monahan one-timed by Emery’s glove for his 28th goal, restoring the Flames’ two-goal advantage.
Working with a two-man advantage, Hudler fed Gaudreau a cross-crease pass he tapped by Emery for his 20th goal to put the Flames up 4-1 at 7:02.
