Nothing is more frustrating than to see a team lose a game it had won.
Or blow a 2-goal lead.
And in the process, partially toss aside a very good effort from its goalie.
It happened again to the Flyers on Monday in Uniondale, NY with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders.
Loss aside, Jakub Voracek injured his left hand on a slashing from Cal Clutterbuck. The fact he went back to the bench but did not play the final 5:57 leads me to believe the hand swelled up in the glove. He is to be re-evaluated in Philly.
His loss would be a difficult one for the Flyers.
Now, if I were Ray Emery, I'd be upset with those odd-man rushes, with the blitz the Isles threw on me in that third period, and most of all, with the 9 penalties my teammates took. Again.
Two more bad Steve Downie penalties and this is the second time since Downie has been here that he had a penalty that resulted in the Flyers losing a game.
“Penalties, penalties, the whole game,” said coach Craig Berube who was trying to suppress his anger.
Downie's decisive hooking call was because he got caught on a long shift and was gassed.
“They got caught out there,” Berube said. “We got caught a few times [that period] and guys got gassed.
“I don’t think we made very good plays coming out of our end and guys turned the puck over a few times. We ended up getting caught in there for longer periods of time.”
Unlike Ilya Bryzgalov, who would throw teammates under the bus, Emery kept his cool. This was at least the fourth time Emery should have been rewarded by his team and wasn't.
“I mean, I try to stop the ones I need to stop and that’s how I go about it,” Emery said after the game. “We gave ourselves a chance. It’s a tough team. A good, young offensive team.
“Any time you give yourself a chance in their building, it’s not the worst thing that could happen. Going into the third [leading] 3-1, we want to win that one.”
The lost point was important because it kept the Flyers from regaining second place in the Metropolitan Division. They remain third behind the Rangers.
It also saw Matt Read's assault on the Islander go partially to waste, as well. He had two goals and it gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead going into the third period they could not retain.
Read has 15 points in 14 career games against them.
"I didn't know that," he said.
Seriously though, he was upset, too.
“Razor played really well and kept us in the game,” Read said. “Going into the third period with a 3-1 lead, it shouldn’t be like that.
“They had a couple of opportunities, breakaways and he stood on his head. It’s unfortunate we didn’t win for him.”
They get another shot Tuesday when Carolina comes to town. And maybe not blow the second point.
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