They say the lower the lows the higher the highs. If this is true than you should continue reading this, it will make you feel happier someday. Tonight’s final home game of the 2024-25 season was a fitting end to a tumultuous year. The Flyers played hard, there were some bright spots, overall it wasn’t a bad game. Columbus goaltender Jet Greaves played an outstanding game and kept the home team off the board.
The Blue Jackets really needed to win this game. After tonight’s victory they are going into game 82 still with a shot at claiming a wildcard spot. The Flyers have been out of contention for weeks now and will make yet another early exit after Thursday night’s game in Buffalo.
The Flyers Morning Skate was upbeat, hard working but easy going. The team was in good spirits and looking sharp as they ran through a number of drills. They have been scoring up a storm as of late and there seemed a possibility they could put something together tonight to send the fans home with a smile and a little something to hold onto over the long hot Summer. This did not turn out to be the case.
Columbus netminder Jet Greaves frustrated the Flyers time and time again. It’s not like the Flyers sticks suddenly went silent, Greaves played a great game. The Flyers had a number of chances. Travis Konecny had six shots on goal, Tyson Foerster had five. Some of the attempts looked like sure bets but Greaves was up to the challenge.
Spinning the Hits
The line of Nicolas Deslauriers, Garnet Hathaway, and Karsen Dorwart were a lot of fun to watch tonight. They were banging the heck outta the Blue Jackets. The Flyers out-hit Columbus 33-15. Hathaway had a game high 9 hits. When that line was on the ice with Nick Seeler on defense they were a really tough squad to play against.
Scoring
The Jackets scored twice in the 2nd period to keep the Flyers chasing the lead for half the game. A two goal lead with the way the Flyers have been scoring did not seem like an impossible feat. The final goal 13:28 into the third period made the game seem like a lost cause. It kept Ersson in the net till the final buzzer. There was no final push. The game just grinded down to Columbus and their netminder protecting a three goal lead.
Columbus kept Flyers rookie sensation Matvei Michkov without a shot on goal in this game. Side note: it’s really impressive that you can already take it for granted that if Michkov does not have a lane open up for him he is going to find someone who is open and put the puck right on their tape. It’s really impressive.
The Bitter End
As the final moments of this game were winding down things just got flat out sad. The crowd, which was kind of small to begin with, started to really thin out as time got short. With about two minutes left the Eagles chants started. A chorus of boos rained down as the final minute clicked away.
There was still a smattering of booing at the final horn. I can imagine the Flyers would probably have loved to head right up the tunnel but it’s tradition to come out on the ice as a team and raise your sticks to the crowd at the end of the season. The booing eventually turned into polite applause and nothing about the whole thing felt quite right.
It’s hard to watch because it is not like this team isn’t trying. They are doing their best with what they have. This roster is not built to compete. It’s built to pay off old debts and create cap space. It’s built to go through the pain now for future gain. It’s been picked through, traded off, and stuck in a holding pattern waiting for the returns sometime in the future. This group is literally “taking one for the team”. There are a bunch of really solid guys on this squad. If they’re not giving it to you it’s only because they don’t have it to give.
After announcing the stars of the game Lou Nolan said “We’ll be hack next year and we’ll do better”. We were told this is “rock bottom”. For everyone’s sake I sure hope that it is.
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