After two consecutive blowout losses, one thing is clear: the Philadelphia Flyers still have a long way to go before thinking themselves part of the NHL's top playoff pack.
The Flyers are, at the time of this writing, still sitting comfortably at 11th in the NHL with their 22-14-8 record and 52 points, but three games--6 points--separate them from as low as 25th in the league.
If the special teams continue to misfire and stall out, as they did against the Tampa Bay Lightning, once again, on Monday night, that free fall becomes a distinct possibility.
The Lightning, on the strength of Brayden Point (knee) and Brandon Hagel, scored on two of their four power play attempts, while the Flyers stumbled to 0-for-2 on the night.
And, not only did the Flyers not score, but they failed to do so at the most inopportune times, considering the context of the game and trailing for all but the first 1:10 of the contest.
It should be noted, too, that the Flyers actually out-hit the Lightning 32-10 on Monday night, which is just proof that you cannot put wrestlers up against sprinters in a race and hope to win.
Speaking of wrestling, it was encouraging that players like Rodrigo Abols and Nikita Grebenkin threw their weight around all night and then backed it up in their respective fights.
Grebenkin, 22, could have easily backed down as the young, inexperienced player, but instead tussled with the larger, older Max Crozier, took him down, landed some uppercuts, and taunted him after, much to the appreciation of Xfinity Mobile Arena's Pride Night crowd.
Generally, though, the Flyers' frustration with two losses in a row to Tampa Bay--which come at a combined score of 12-3--manifested in more ways than just physically.
Trevor Zegras slammed his stick on the ice and on the bench door multiple times, Travis Konecny was ejected for abuse of the officials, and even Dan Vladar ended up chasing Yanni Gourde around his net at some point.
For the second game in a row, the Lightning were too fast and too good for the Flyers, and the Flyers had no answers for it.
As for someone like Matvei Michkov, who should be a go-to difference-maker in games where the Flyers trail early and often, head coach Rick Tocchet says the 21-year-old is "easily checked" and "looks like he just got stuck in mud sometimes."
The difference between Tocchet and John Tortorella when it comes to handling Michkov is staggering, and it has reflected on the ice and statistically.
When a franchise-changing talent like Michkov is virtually invisible and made to play in ways that run counter to his skillset, how much of a chance do the Flyers really have in the long run?
A coin flip, according to MoneyPuck, who had the Flyers' playoff chances drop from 57.8% to 51.8% following the regulation loss to Tampa Bay.
Veterans like Sean Couturier and Nick Seeler, who witnessed firsthand the collapse of the 2023-24 season, chalked this one up to consistency and generally not playing well enough, but that cannot be the case in every loss to a good team for the rest of the season.
If it is, well, we have new knowledge about the Flyers and where they are in this rebuild thing.
It's not all doom and gloom yet, but consecutive thrashings at the hands of the Lightning will assuredly teach the Flyers just what it's like to go head-to-head with a top-tier playoff team several games in a row like they would in a series.
These last two games were a gut check for the Flyers and have now established the standard of performance going forward.