PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The inevitable has happened, with six games left — the Philadelphia Flyers are not making the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The frustrating trend of missing the playoffs every other season since 2013 continues.
“Definitely not the way we saw this year going,” Flyers center Scott Laughton said after their 5-3 loss to the lowly New Jersey Devils on Thursday. “Had very high expectations and just didn’t happen.”
That loss, paired with the Boston Bruins' 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, officially bumped the Flyers out of contention.
"High expectations" is the key part of Laughton’s comment. Compared to the other seasons in which the Flyers missed the playoffs since 2013 (not including 2013), they weren’t coming off of a decent playoff run.
In 2012, the Flyers won a thrilling first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins but then fell to the Devils in five games in the second round. Last season, the Flyers catapulted themselves to the top seed in the East, while in the Toronto bubble, and were one win from making the conference finals.
Coincidentally — because obviously the rosters were different and these seasons are separated by eight years — both 2013 and 2021 were not typical 82-game full schedules. A lockout shortened 2013, and the coronavirus pandemic affected this year. There was a lot less practice time, and the Flyers had a brief pause because of COVID-19. Prior to the pause, the Flyers were near the top of the standings. They were still in decent standing shortly after returning, but in March everything went downhill.
"Can’t use [lack of practice] as an excuse though," Laughton said. "Everyone’s kinda been battling this year. It’s been a difficult year for us. Got hit with COVID. That’s not an excuse, either, but condensed schedule, and just couldn’t get it going and get back on track after that. Yeah, it would be nice to have a couple practices with our group, but at the same time, everyone’s going through the same stuff."
Head coach Alain Vigneault, who is in his second season with the Flyers, wants to play the remaining six games before publicly reflecting what went wrong, Laughton shared some thoughts.
"I think, some nights, we worked hard and not smart," Laughton said. "It’s frustrating. Couldn’t get anything going. Seems liked we chased the game a lot. We’re down a couple goals, and it’s a hard league to come back in."
Slow starts were definitely an issue for Vigneault’s Flyers. Their penalty kill was also one of the worst in the league.
"One thing I will say is we’re trying to work some of our young personnel in and it’s been a learning experience," Vigneault said after Thursday’s loss in which the Devils were two for four on the power play.
Defense, especially after the unexpected retirement of veteran defenseman Matt Niskanen prior to the season, has been a problem in 2021. It’s one of many areas that need to be addressed this upcoming offseason.