Flyers fall short, but not without effort

THE HORN sounded with the puck a few feet from Jake Voracek's stick, his final stride of the season made with resignation, the clock finally expiring on the Flyers season nearly a week after un ugly storm of flung wristbands strongly implied that it already had.

A final lull in a game pockmarked by too many of them greeted the sound, the slumped bodies of the 19,925 at Wells Fargo Center mirroring those bent over their sticks out on the ice. Disappointment, exhaustion, the push and pull of emotions required to watch a team big on heart and low on proficiency had drained everyone.

At least for the moment. But then they rose, many wearing the "Stay Classy, Philly" T-shirts handed out before the game, an indirect nod to the unflattering ending to Game 3 last Monday, when the Flyers fell apart amid a 6-1 thrashing, and some of their fans followed suit with a barrage of wristbands.

Now, though, after two highly unlikely victories and a spirited attempt to push this series to seven games, they rose one last time to their feet for an appreciative roar, one last "Let's Go Flyers" chant providing the perfect punctuation to a season that should be noted for what this team became rather than what it still is not.

"The thing about Flyers fans is they know when the guys work hard and when they didn't," said Claude Giroux after the Flyers were eliminated in Game 6 of their first-round series with the Washington Capitals, 1-0. "In that third period we gave everything we had."

He did too, even if the stat sheet suggests otherwise. Giroux registered a single assist for the six-game series, on the team's lone power-play goal. His counterpart, Nicklas Backstrom, had seven points, including the only goal Sunday, registered shortly after the Flyers squandered a two-man advantage for nearly two minutes, and nearly four minutes of power-play time overall.

What the stat sheet really suggests, though, is this: The Flyers need an overall upgrade in snipers and size. They need the arrival of just a few of those talented blue liners in their system. And they need to build on the synchronicity in play that generated their surge to the postseason over the last three months, when this team got a true handle on the system put in place by first-year coach Dave Hakstol.

"I felt like we had moments in games where we started to back off," said Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. "And I feel that's something we're going to have to work on. But all along through the whole season we improved. From that first day the coach gave us the system. We believed in it. And we kind of believed in the coach and kept (working). If we keep on going with that belief of following the system, the pieces will continue to fall together.

"That's why we made such a good playoff push. Because we are growing up as a team all together. And the thing that we have to do to improve is to just follow that path."

Like many on this team, Bellemare, at age 31, was in his first playoff series. To a man, those newbies spoke afterward of it as a teaching tool, something that must be experienced to build upon.

"It's a huge difference," said rookie Shayne Gostisbehere. "The intensity level is about 10 notches higher. Physicality, emotions, everything . . .

"That's what we realized."

The trigger to a resurgent power play and to their playoff drive after his mid-November arrival, Gostisbehere was well scouted by Capitals coach Barry Trotz - an admitted fan. He finished this series with a goal and an assist, which tied him with Sam Gagner, Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds for the team lead in playoff points.

Yeah, ugh. The Flyers lost because they could not generate enough traffic, enough shots, and because they could not wear on a team that was physically bigger and stronger and, yes, more skilled.

"There's a reason they were the best team in our league this season," said Gostisbehere, a refrain echoed in the home team's disappointed dressing room.

And echoed by the hugs and long conversations on the handshake line afterward. You can watch that for an entire lifetime and never tire of its novelty, the genuine hatred and aggression displayed toward each other over the last 11 days evaporating in mutual appreciation.

"We gave our hearts," said Bellemare. The Capitals saw it. The fans saw it too, finishing classy too - even if the series didn't always go that way.

"That was great," said Simmonds. "Those are the Philly fans we know and love. They're here through thick and thin. I think that was really classy of them, giving us an ovation like that. We really did give everything we had. Obviously we came up a little short, but it's not for a lack of effort.

"We're going to build off this for next year. We're going to come back bigger, stronger and better. So thanks, Philadelphia fans. That's for sure."

@samdonnellon

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