Promise followed by drop-off, Flyers’ 2023-24 season ends on final day originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Needing three scenarios to fall in their favor, the Flyers didn’t get the bounces.
They lost to the Capitals, 2-1, in their 2023-24 regular-season finale Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Erik Johnson drew the Flyers even at 1-1 with a redirection in the second period.
T.J. Oshie won it for Washington on an empty-netter with three minutes left. The Flyers had to pull the goalie because they could not allow the Capitals to earn a point after regulation if they wanted to have a chance at finishing with the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
Not long before the final decision in Philadelphia, the Red Wings eliminated the Flyers by forcing overtime in Montreal and picking up a point.
The Flyers gave themselves a chance to play a meaningful Game 82. But an ill-timed, head-scratching eight-game skid and a brutal Monday night of scoreboard watching had their playoff hopes just barely flickering entering Tuesday.
To make the dance, John Tortorella’s club had to win in regulation and needed regulation losses from the Red Wings tonight and the Penguins on Wednesday. It turns out, Wednesday won’t matter.
With 3.3 seconds left in regulation, Detroit scored to tie its game against the Canadiens, ending the Flyers’ hopes.
The Flyers finished the regular season 38-33-11. The 87 points marked a 12-point jump from last season, when the Flyers went 31-38-13 in Year 1 under Tortorella.
To the surprise of just about everyone, the Flyers defied the rebuild label for a significant portion of this season. They held down third place in the Metropolitan Division for over two months before stumbling into their season-worst eight-game losing streak.
They stopped the spiral last week with a win over the NHL-leading Rangers and then edged the Devils to keep things interesting come the finale. But it was the first time the they had won consecutive games in almost two months.
The Flyers lost 19 of their last 28 games (9-14-5) and nine of their last 11 (2-7-2).
“I’m proud of the team,” Tortorella said Tuesday morning. “That was my message prior to the Rangers game, was let’s just be proud of ourselves and get this to Tuesday and see where we go. I’m proud of the team, how they’ve handled themselves. Even through some of the bumps we’ve had at the end of the year, they’ve stayed together, they’ve tried to figure it out and now they get to play a Game 82 that means…