The Philadelphia Flyers once again failed to win four games in a row, falling to the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in regulation. Four times this season, the Flyers have won three games in a row, and they've lost every single game that would've made it four straight wins.
It's happened twice since the Winter Olympic break alone, and they haven't won four games in a row since 2024. Aside from being a quirky stat, this penchant for losing immediately after winning three in a row speaks to a larger issue: an inability to step up when the games truly matter.
At the time of writing, the Flyers have a 9.2 percent chance of making the postseason, per MoneyPuck. The Blue Jackets now sit at a lofty 87.1 percent chance of making their first playoff appearance in years. Twice in the last two weeks, the Flyers have lost to the Blue Jackets, unable to find a way to win in what are essentially four-point swing games. The only consolation is that the Flyers did manage to get a point in their first meeting with Columbus, losing in overtime instead of regulation.
Since the Olympic break, the Flyers have gone 9-4-1, chalking up wins and forcing themselves back into the playoff race. Four of those five losses, however, have come against Metropolitan Division teams: twice to the Blue Jackets, once to the Washington Capitals, and once to the bottom-of-the-Eastern Conference New York Rangers. The two losses to the Blue Jackets loom large in the race to the postseason, but the Capitals have been hanging around the playoff picture too, and the woeful Rangers should've been an easy two standings points instead of a blowout loss.
The Flyers have 12 games remaining in the season. They will have to be close to perfect to keep their playoff hopes alive. If their losses since the Olympics are anything to go by, however, they can't seem to handle the pressure of big games. Hopefully, it's a learning experience for next season, because playoff games will be even more difficult.