Last season, the Flyers' performance in the playoffs made it easy for people to forget how close the club came to blowing a playoff spot -- and it wasn't just because of the team's horrid December, it was also because the club staggered down the stretch with a 4-7-1 miserable record over its final 12 games.

Over that span, the Flyers got shut out twice (by the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens) and lost several times to non-playoff teams, including the New York Islanders and the front end of the season-ending home-and-home set with the Rangers. That's how the Flyers' fate came down to a shootout on the final day of the regular season.

This year, the Flyers aren't exactly accelerating toward the finish line but they are actually playing better than they were a year ago at this time. Before losing 2-1 in regulation to the Bruins last night, Philly was 5-0-4 in its previous nine games. They are also still in the top spot in the East, although they've lost any margin for error.

So before we get into the issues that the team needs to correct before it drops to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, just take a little perspective. The club is deeper this year than a year ago, the goalies have shown their mental toughness by bouncing back after the debacle against the Capitals and the non-goaltending question marks that linger around the club are addressable.

OK, now with all that being said, last night's game against Boston was pretty disturbing to watch. Much like the Pittsburgh game last Thursday, the Flyers got pretty thoroughly outplayed as the game progressed. Despite the score, the Bruins seemed destined to win the game from the time they tied the score 1-1 onward.

Penalty killing has not usually been a problem for the Flyers, but the PK let the club down last night. Going 1-for-3 on the PK will doom you to defeat most of the time. There were major coverage breakdowns, especially on the game-winning goal. It happens.

More disturbing was the way the Flyers had no answers to strong defense by the Bruins. It was a virtual carbon copy of the Pittsburgh game. When the line rush wasn't there, the Flyers forced passes into traffic -- and play immediately swung the other way. Philadelphia once again seemed allergic to getting the puck in deep, cycling it and crashing the net.

There was precious little puck support along the walls. The Bruins, like the Penguins, won virtually every key puck battle and there seemed to be two white jerseys to every orange one. That's a telltale sign of one team outworking the other and playing with more cohesion.

Likewise, the fact that the Flyers only generated one power play opportunity shows that they rarely worked the puck into areas that pressured Boston . Forget the Flyers' power play struggles for a minute, I'm talking about the byproduct of effective five-on-five play here and not the outcome of the man advantage. Besides, even if you don't score on the power play, generating several PP opportunities can still have a wear-down effect on the other team over the course of the game.

Yet another key indicator of getting outplayed: The Flyers seemed to be starting up ice all night from deep in their own end, having to travel 200 feet. Meanwhile, how many times did the Bruins take over possession anywhere from the offensive zone circles to the defensive blueline? That forced the Flyers to have to expend a lot of energy defensivel. They actually did a pretty good job in their 5-on-5 coverages and recoveries. Even so, the Flyers were guilty of way too many giveaways, especially in the second period.

All of these issues were discussed after the Pittsburgh game. None were appreciably solved in the Bruins game. I would be lying if I said I was not concerned by the fact that the last time the Flyers beat a current playoff-position team from either conference within regulation or OT was their Feb. 3 win over Nashville.

There is no need to panic, but the Flyers had better rediscover their work ethic soon -- and not just for 20-30 minutes a game.

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