Flyers drop 10 straight for second time this season with 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets

What’s bleaker than a 10-game losing streak? Two of them.

The Flyers’ free fall down the standings accelerated Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center against Jake Voráček and the Columbus Blue Jackets, who secured a 2-1 victory over the home team. The Flyers haven’t won a game since Dec. 29 against the Seattle Kraken.

Earlier this season, the Flyers lost 10 straight from Nov. 18 until Dec. 10, against the Vegas Golden Knights. During that stretch, the Flyers fired former head coach Alain Vigneault.

Two Blue Jackets goals, one from winger Oliver Bjorkstrand and one from winger Patrik Laine, proved to be enough to take down the Flyers. Despite a late surge that saw winger Gerry Mayhew score his first goal as a Flyer with roughly seven minutes to go in the third period, the Flyers couldn’t capitalize on their five-on-five scoring chances or on their six-on-five in the final two minutes to overcome the Blue Jackets.

“Our bench tonight was pretty deflated, and no energy and no pop,” winger Cam Atkinson said. “Just have to stay positive at the end of the day. We’ll turn this thing around one way or the other. True character shows during these times and we have to stick together.”

For the first time in franchise history, the Flyers have two 10-game losing streaks in a single season. And there are 42 games to go.

» READ MORE: As Flyers fall further out of playoff contention, is it time to start building for the future?

More than halfway through the second period, the Blue Jackets got on the board first just as their power play expired. Defenseman Ivan Provorov attempted to start a breakout from the Flyers’ zone, however his pass intended for center Scott Laughton was batted away by center Sean Kuraly to force a turnover. Center Boone Jenner recovered the puck and passed it ahead for Bjorkstrand, who put the moves on goalie Carter Hart and beat him over his blocker.

Despite giving up the first goal for the eighth time in the last nine games, the Flyers kept the offensive pressure on the Blue Jackets for the remainder of the period. They outshot Columbus, 8-2, in the final eight minutes of the second. Additionally, the Flyers wouldn’t back down from a challenge — when defenseman Gavin Bayreuther hit winger Oskar Lindblom, then cross-checked him from behind as Lindblom attempted to stand up, Laughton dropped the gloves with Bayreuther.

“I know that this group cares,” interim head coach Mike Yeo. “This is not a lack of care. I didn’t see it as much tonight necessarily, but if you saw — and all of you did — the way that guys were blocking shots, putting their body on the line, Laughts jumping in for a teammate here tonight. Those are not signs of a group that doesn’t care. We just have to find a way to be a little bit better.”

Going into Saturday night and dating to the start of the losing streak, the Flyers ranked 26th in the league in power-play percentage (15.4%). After going 0-for-4 on the power play against the New York Islanders on Monday, the Flyers followed up with an improved man-advantage performance the following night against the Islanders, going 1-for-3. Against the Blue Jackets and their 23rd-ranked penalty kill, the Flyers sought to take another step on the power play, but struggled to do so in the first period.

Through two power-play opportunities in the first period, the Flyers only managed two shots on goal and struggled to enter the offensive zone cleanly. One of the Flyers’ few sustained efforts came when Keith Yandle kept the puck from bouncing out of the zone at the blue line at the end of the second power play. He passed it to Provorov, who sent it back to him, then Yandle fed winger Travis Konecny for a one-timer that wouldn’t go through the five-hole on goalie Elvis Merzlikins. In total, the Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play against the Blue Jackets, marking four missed opportunities.

“It’s not always gonna be pretty and you’re not always gonna score, but you can’t lay a goose egg like we did tonight,” Atkinson said. “We got zero momentum and that’s tough. At the end of the day, it’s the guys on the ice. It’s not what the coaches are doing or saying or drawing up plays. It’s us.”

Despite a slow first period for both clubs, former Blue Jacket Atkinson came out of the gate buzzing for a goal against his old team. After the first period, Atkinson and linemates Joel Farabee and Claude Giroux finished with seven shot attempts, only allowing one Blue Jackets shot attempt, according to Natural Stat Trick. More than halfway through the first period, Atkinson picked off a Blue Jackets pass in the neutral zone, skated to the net with speed, and fired a shot wide.

Later in the second period, shortly after defenseman Zach Werenski’s goal on Hart was successfully challenged by Yeo and waived off, Atkinson buzzed around the net again. Off a feed from Farabee, Atkinson couldn’t get a backhander from the slot past Merzlikins. Despite a strong effort, Atkinson was held scoreless on three shots on goal.

The Flyers travel north to Buffalo on Saturday to take on the Sabres at 1 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).