The Philadelphia Flyers will look to snap a three-game losing streak when they return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
The Flyers fell 2-1 in overtime to the Seattle Kraken and 4-3 to the Calgary Flames to close out 2023. The trend continued in a 5-2 road loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Travis Konecny had one goal and one assist, but the Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play. They also couldn't overcome one goal and four assists from Connor McDavid.
Goaltender Carter Hart, an Alberta native, made 31 saves for the Flyers, who still have exceeded expectations in what was believed to be a rebuilding season.
"I definitely had some people out to watch," Hart said of playing in front of hometown fans. "You've got to battle, and we know that they've got a ton of skill on that team. Five-on-five, we're right there with them, we can compete.
"We can take them five-on-five, but they won the special-teams battle tonight. You've just got to be ready for anything. You've got to be aware when (McDavid's) out there."
Special teams were an issue against the attacking Oilers, which left too much pressure on Hart.
"We finally find our game in the second period, and we just need to kill that one off at the end," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. "I think we were looking to try to get a (short-handed goal). We left the zone a couple of times, and it ends up in the back of our net."
Flyers forward Nicolas Deslauriers was a healthy scratch.
The Blue Jackets will aim to halt a two-game skid when they battle the Flyers.
Columbus, which has dropped five of six, fell 4-1 to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. Kent Johnson scored the lone goal and Spencer Martin stopped 23 shots.
It was Martin's first start since Dec. 7.
"They're a good team for a reason," Johnson said of the Bruins. "They've been doing it for years. So, they're definitely good at it. Any time we're playing top teams, we can kind of learn from them. It's a copycat league -- try to be like them, whether it's systems, special teams or plays their top guys are making. There is always something you take."
Forward Adam Fantilli had his four-game points streak end against the powerful Bruins.
The struggling Blue Jackets played from behind and struggled to gain much positive momentum.
"That's how they play," Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent said, referring to the Bruins. "They wear you down. Nothing flashy, just strong one-on-one simple plays. Every mistake you make, they're going to make you pay. But they don't force things with the puck. Real good teaching game for us on how to play where we want to be."
Ultimately, the Blue Jackets want to execute like the Bruins or Vegas Golden Knights -- ultra-talented teams which compete at a high level on a consistent basis.
"There are so many teaching moments that we can use," Vincent said. "We've been studying different teams, Vegas and Boston, in the summer. That's where we're aspiring to be in the near future."
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