Overtime problems will crush Flyers’ hopes of being competitive if they’re not fixed

“Overtime” is not a welcome word in the Flyers’ workday.

Instead of extra money in the pocket, it means tired legs and an almost certain loss. Yeah, at least the team gets a point out of it. But overtime losses don’t snap a winless streak.

“We’ve got to figure out the overtime period,” coach John Tortorella said. “I don’t know how many we’ve lost there.”

Seven — that’s how many the Flyers have lost “there” in overtime. It’s also how many overtime and shootout games they’ve played and how many points they’ve lost from not walking away with wins.

How many points are the Flyers out from a wild card spot? Eight. If the Flyers had won their overtime games, they would be just one point out.

“We’ve got to figure it out,” Tortorella reiterated.

While overtime might not be a typical occurrence over the course of an NHL season, it’s become a more likely possibility for the Flyers as they’ve started playing within their structure and keeping games close. Three of their last four losses were decided by one goal. The fourth, a three-goal loss, was a one-goal deficit until Alex Ovechkin scored two empty net goals. Two of those three one-goal games went to overtime.

The Flyers’ overtime problems go back to the DNA of the team itself.

As Tortorella warned at the beginning of the season, the players were going to have to grind and claw for every goal because they don’t have many natural goal scorers. And once points were on the board, team defense was going to have to win the Flyers many games.

That doesn’t work in overtime. There’s no such thing as defending a lead. The only thing that matters is scoring, because it’s sudden death.

And with only three members on the ice for each team, the need for speed, skill and a finishing touch increases.

When building the roster for this season, the Flyers added hardworking, gritty players. The only player they acquired known for his skill is Tony DeAngelo, who was scratched without explanation Friday.

» READ MORE: Cam York infuses youthful spirit to a Flyers team searching for a win

The team also lost skilled players when Claude Giroux got traded at the deadline last season, Sean Couturier underwent another back surgery, and Cam Atkinson disappeared from training camp. Healthy, the Flyers were going to have trouble with overtime. Banged up, it’s even worse, as seen by the Flyers’ 2.41 goals per game, the second-worst in the league.

Even the Flyers’ success demonstrates their overall lack of options. At the beginning of the season, the Flyers were clearly outplayed in extra minutes, and thus overtime ended quickly. In their Nov. 1 loss to the New York Rangers, they didn’t even manage a shift change.

Sunday night against the Coyotes, the Flyers dominated puck possession and shots on goal in overtime, nearly making it to the end of the five minutes. Why? Because the young players they drafted for their skill and their speed, Morgan Frost and Cam York, were having great nights.

Tortorella placed his trust in those two by putting them out there for the first and second overtime shifts, and they were big reasons the Flyers controlled the pace. Tortorella said the other reasons they performed better in overtime were because they won the initial face off and made smarter decisions.

But he also decided to try an unorthodox strategy — he sent his forwards out with two defensemen. Other than York, none of them are known for the things one typically looks for in overtime. Ivan Provorov is known for his endurance, so he might have had strong legs in overtime, but he’s scored just one goal this season. Rasmus Ristolainen has been playing well but is not known for his speed or skill and has zero points this season. Travis Sanheim has been inconsistent and hasn’t found his offensive rhythm. Neither of them took a shot, but Tortorella liked what he saw.

“Feeling pretty comfortable using two D and one forward,” Tortorella said. “I think that’s helped us as far as puck possession.”

However, the need to rely on defensemen and his youngest players is worrying. When games are on the line, coaches should be able to rely on their veterans, their skilled players, their top lines. Two of the five forwards Tortorella sent out in overtime are 23 and one, Noah Cates, is a rookie. Three, Scott Laughton, Travis Konecny and James van Riesmdyk, are veterans who all recently returned from injury. Only Konecny has consistently been used as a top-line player, and he’s the only one who’s recently been able to beat goalies with his skill.

Tying in regulation and making it through 4:37 of overtime is a sign of progress, and that pleased Tortorella. But close is not close enough. As Tortorella has said, it’s a results-based league where progress in how a team plays doesn’t earn them a playoff bid if it doesn’t create wins.

» READ MORE: Morgan Frost has career night, but Flyers drop third straight with 5-4 OT loss to Coyotes

Flyers management has expressed hope that the team can be competitive this year, but that isn’t a reasonable dream this year or next year if the team doesn’t have guys who can finish a game or put points on the board. Their overtime struggles are harming their hopes this year, but they’re representative of the Flyers’ bigger problem: the lack of talent needed to win in the modern game.