It's getting late early for the Philadelphia Flyers. There are only a few days and a mere two games until the Olympic break, and once again, they've found themselves mired in a losing streak: this one sitting at four games after Saturday's overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The Flyers are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and are tied with the New Jersey Devils for sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 58 points. After the buzz and solid play the team put together during the first half of the season, they have been crashing out for most of January.
There are only two games on the docket this week, both of them at home. First up, on Tuesday, the Flyers host the Washington Capitals. The Capitals have largely underperformed this season after last year's blistering pace; they're 27-22-7 and tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for 61 points. It's difficult to explain why the Caps aren't securely in a playoff spot: their goaltending has been fine, they're top-10 in expected goals for percentage (per Natural Stat Trick), and they've got enough depth and talent to hang with some really good teams. Their most promising stat is their plus-9 goal differential. Generally, teams with positive goal differentials find their way into playoff spots.
For the Flyers, it'll be an important Metro matchup. The Capitals are only three points ahead in the standings, and the Flyers need to start making up some ground within the division because the Atlantic Division is running away with the wildcard spots.
Speaking of those wildcard berths, the Ottawa Senators are the second and final team the Flyers will face before the break. Like the Capitals, the Senators have a positive goal differential, and they just got their starting netminder, Linus Ullmark, back in the lineup. Ottawa's not quite back in the playoff picture yet, but they've won three straight and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. They'd be in a better position if they'd started the season well, but better a second-half surge than no surge at all. Hopefully the Flyers can string a few wins together and get their own surge started.